Andean Telecom Partners makes debut debt issuance

The issuance was made by ATP Tower Holdings, Andean Tower Partners Colombia, Andean Telecom Partners Chile and Andean Telecom Partners Peru, while the guarantors were ATP Fiber Colombia, ATP Fiber Chile and Redes de Fibra del Peru.

The initial purchasers were Goldman Sachs & Co, JP Morgan Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities and Scotia Capital.

The issuance was rated Ba3, BB and BB+ by Moody's, S&P and Fitch Ratings respectively. The notes are secured on a first-priority basis by a pledge of all of the capital stock of Colombia TowerCo, Colombia FiberCo, Peru TowerCo, Peru FiberCo, Chile TowerCo and Chile FiberCo.

The financings were a key milestone for Andean Telecom Partners’ operation in Latin America, allowing for its consolidation as the largest privately-owned provider of telecommunications and digital infrastructure in the Andean region (Colombia, Peru and Chile) in terms of number of towers, as they will help ATP reduce its financial cost and finance its future growth.

Both transactions were launched under a regional co-issuance and co-borrower structure, which implied legal analysis and involvement of teams of four different jurisdictions (US, Chile, Colombia and Peru), law firm Garrigues, which advised ATP through its offices in Colombia, Peru and Chile, said.

The proceeds of the debt issuance were used, among others, to repay existing credit facilities, which added and additional set of negotiations for the prepayment of such debt and the release of the existing collateral.

Garrigues counsel Camilo Gantiva, who led the transaction for Garrigues Colombia, said: “It has definitely been a challenging transaction full of interesting complexities, that will allow Andean Telecom Partners to diversify its funding mix. The positive results achieved reflect the strength of ATP as a key player in the telecommunications sector on a regional basis”.

For his part, Garrigues partner Thomas Thorndike, who led the transaction for Garrigues Peru, said: “The resounding response for ATP’s inaugural debt issuance, which was oversubscribed several times, sends a clear message from and to the international capital markets with respect to the Andean region”.

“Furthermore, the fact that the issuance was very well received among investors, underscores the market’s confidence in ATP’s strategy, ambition and resilient business model,” Thorndike added.

“The market’s remarkably reception of this transaction reflects the strategic and growing importance of cell phone and Internet access in three of the most dynamic economies of Latin America,” Garrigues partner Pedro García, who led the transaction for Garrigues Chile, said.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted as international counsel to ATP; with a team comprising partners Juan G. Giraldez and Adam J. Brenneman, associates Laura Daugherty and Eric Finkelberg and law clerks Abdiel Ortiz Carrasquillo and James Abate.

Garrigues’ team advising ATP in Colombia was made up of partner Andrés Ordoñez, counsels Camilo Gantiva and Laura Galeano, senior associates Eduardo Carlos Sanmiguel, Laura Baron and Catalina Reyes, and associates Juan Sebastián Parra and Paula González.

The firm’s team in Peru advising ATP was made up of partners Thomas Thorndike, Sergio Amiel and Javier de la Vega, principal associate Rafael Martinelli and senior associate Miluska Gutierrez Vega, associates Maria Paz Delgado and Ian Forsyth.

The firm’s Chilean team comprised partner Pedro García Morales, counsel Sebastian Ferrer Del Valle, senior associate Daniel Hernández Zapata, and associates Maria Fernanda Jara, Juan Ignacio Lagos and Macarena Fuentes Noguera.

ATP’s in-house was chief legal officer Gabriel Musso, Humberto Escobar in Peru, Carolina Salazar in Colombia and Elizabeth Soto Provoste in Peru.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as international counsel to the initial purchasers and lenders, with a team comprising partner Juan F. Mendez, senior counsels Kirsten L. Davis and Jonathan Cantor, associate Dmitry Zelik and international associate Laura Ribero.

Cuatrecasas acted as Colombian counsel to the initial purchasers and lenders, with a team featuring managing director Manuel Quinche, senior associate Natalia Arango, and associate Veronica Ossa. The firm’s Chile office acted as Chilean counsel to the initial purchasers and lenders, with partners Roberto Guerrero and Macarena Ravinet, and associates Manuel Guerrero, Tomas Montes and Pilar Illanes.

Miranda & Amado acted as Peruvian counsel to the initial purchasers and lenders, with a team comprising partner Juan Luis Avendaño and associates Alvaro del Valle and Daniela Higueras.