Covage secures US$225 million financing for broadband PPP in France
This article is part of a daily series of MegaProjects articles. If you want to know more about PPP projects with a considerable size visit our MegaProjects section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.
Covage has announced that it has secured a debt financing package of EUR183 million (US$224.83 million) for its fibre-optic network project in the south of France. As reported on this platform, the telecoms company was awarded the contract to design, install, operate, commercialise and finance a Very High Speed (THD - très haut débit) broadband network in the department of Hérault earlier this year.
The estimated total investment of the project is EUR350 million (US$430 million). The network will cover 255,000 homes and businesses.
The non-recourse debt financing has a term of 21.5 years and was structured in the form of a soft-mini-perm loan. It was arranged and subscribed by Natixis and Caisse d'Epargne Languedoc Roussillon (40%), Banque Postale (30%) and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking (30%).
The loan has an availability period of 5 years, consistent with the development and construction phase of the network. At the end of this drawdown period, the loan will be amortized according to a defined profile and duration to take into account the economic equilibrium of the project and the duration of the PPP contract.
According to Covage, this is one of the largest financing packages of this type, unprecedented in the fibre-optic network market. Natixis acted as financial advisor for the transaction.
Covage aims to install the network in five years. The company will then be responsible for its operation for a further 20 years.
The project is part of France's Very High Speed Plan (Plan France Très Haut Débit), which aims to bring very high-speed broadband service to every home, business and government office in France by 2022. It was launched by the French government's Digital Agency (L'Agence du Numérique) in 2013.
Country news
-
-
March 08, 2018
Atlantia announces US$1.3 billion acquisition of Eurotunnel stakes
Atlantia has announced that it has reached an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Aero 1 Global & International S.à.r.l., an investment vehicle fully controlled by funds managed by Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners which owns 85,170,758 shares in Groupe Eurotunnel S.E (Getlink), representing 15.49% of the share capital and 26.66% of the voting rights of the company, based on the numbers published by Getlink on 16 February 2018.
Read more -
March 01, 2018
Arnaud Quémard new Managing Director of Abertis’ French subsidiary
The Board of Directors of Sanef, Abertis’ French subsidiary, has approved the appointment of Arnaud Quémard as new Managing Director of the company from the 1st March.
Read more -
February 22, 2018
Covage signs US$490 million broadband PPP in France
The infrastructure operator Covage has signed a PPP contract with the Department of Hérault for the deployment and commercialisation of a fibre-optic network in the areas of the department, located in the Occitanie region in the south of France, not covered by private broadband operators.
Read more -
February 19, 2018
EUR60 million wastewater project in France reaches financial close
Thau Maritima, a project company comprising the Investment and Development Fund for Public-Private Partnerships II (FIDEPPP2), which is managed by MIROVA and SUEZ Eau France, has secured financing for a project involving a wastewater treatment plant serving seven municipalities of the Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée (SAM) district, in the south of France.
Read more -
December 18, 2017
Land Degradation Neutrality Fund launched
The Land Degradation Neutrality Fund was officially launched at the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which took place in Ordos, China. The initiative is promoted by UNCCD and Mirova.
Read more
