Sorainen has advised the Bite Group on a EUR 700 million bond issuance and refinancing. Latham & Watkins and Ellex reportedly advised initial bond purchasers and mandated lead arrangers Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, ING Bank N.V., London Branch, and UniCredit Bank AG.
Bite Group is a telecommunications and media group based in the Baltics that is controlled by international asset management company Providence Equity Partners.
“The proceeds from the bond offering, together with cash in hand, will be used to repay Bite Group‘s existing financial debt and to return capital to shareholders,” Sorainen reported. “To secure the financing the issuer’s group will provide collateral packages in Lithuania, Latvia, and Luxemburg.”
According to Sorainen, the transaction consisted of two parts: First, “a bond issue by PLT VII Finance S.a.r.l., the parent company of Bite Group, which borrowed EUR 650 million in the international capital markets by issuing floating and fixed-rate notes due 2026,” of which “EUR 400 million of senior secured fixed rate notes and EUR 250 million of senior secured floating rate notes;” and second, “a EUR 50 million revolving syndicated financing transaction.”
Sorainen’s team included Partner Augustas Klezys, Rudolfs Engelis, and Saule Dagilyte, Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas, and Senior Associates Lina Ragainyte, Dalia Augaite, Rasa Mikutiene, Inese Heinacka, Jane Eespold, and Kaido Kunnapas.
The pan-Baltic team of Ellex included, in Estonia, Partner Ermo Kosk, Counsel Rain Raa, and Senior Associates Kadi Sink and Sandra Vark; in Latvia. included Associate Partner Valters Diure, Counsel Zinta Jansons, Senior Associate Beata Plocina, and Associate Marta Cera; and in Lithuania, Partner Giedrius Stasevicius, Associate Partner Migle Petkeviciene, Senior Associate Gintare Skroliene, Associates Dovydas Gudziunas, Paulius Vaitkevicius, and Edita Sinickaite, and Junior Associate Ainis Augustas Petrulis.
