Norton Rose Fulbright has advised a financial consortium on its PLN 10.5 billion financing for Grupa Polsat Plus entities Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel. Greenberg Traurig advised Grupa Polsat Plus. Pestalozzi reportedly also advised the lenders.
The Polsat Plus Group is a media and telecommunications group in Central and Eastern Europe including Cyfrowy Polsat, Polkomtel, Netia, Telewizja Polsat, and Grupa Interia.
According to Norton Rose, the approximately EUR 2.31 billion loan comprises “a term loan in PLN up to a maximum amount of PLN 7.25 billion (EUR 1.6 billion), a term loan in EUR up to a maximum amount of EUR 506 million, and a revolving loan in PLN up to a maximum amount of PLN 1 billion (EUR 220 million). The funds will be used by Cyfrowy Polsat and Polkomtel for repayment of existing financial indebtedness made available under the senior facility agreement dated September 21, 2015, financing renewable energy and real estate investments, and financing general corporate needs.”
Further, the firm reported that the consortium in question was led by “Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska, Bank Polska Kasa Opieki, BNP Paribas Bank Polska, ING Bank Slaski as global banking coordinators, Santander Bank Polska as ESG senior coordinator, ING Bank Slaski and BNP Paribas Bank Polska as ESG junior coordinators and included SMBC Bank EU, Bank of China Limited, Luxembourg Branch, Societe Generale Spolka Akcyjna Oddzial w Polsce, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Bank Millennium, PZU Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamkniety Aktywow Niepublicznych BIS 1, mBank, Credit Agricole Bank Polska, Erste Group Bank, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Bank Ochrony Srodowiska, Alior Bank, Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen, Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen na Zycie, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) Branch in Poland, Haitong Bank, as well as Santander Bank Polska as facility agent and Bank Polska Kasa Opieki as a security agent.”
According to Norton Rose, “the loan facilities made available under the senior facility agreement are linked to the sustainable development goals that the Polsat Plus Group is pursuing through environmental, social, and corporate governance ambitions set out in its Strategy 2023+ adopted in December 2021, which includes investment in zero-emission generation capacity, production of green energy, and the transition of group companies to using only clean, green energy in their operations. One of the factors on which the margin for the loan facilities will depend is the achievement of certain targets related to the production and consumption of clean, zero-emission energy by the companies of the Polsat Plus Group.”
Recently, Norton Rose Fulbright also advised Bank Pekao on financing the construction of a Lords LB-sponsored PV portfolio (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 21, 2023).
Norton Rose’s team included Partners Tomasz Rogalski and Alex Zekkos, Senior Associate Igor Kondratowicz, and Associates Daniel Ksiazek and Alannah Frost.
Greenberg Traurig's team included Partners Andrzej Wysokinski and Daniel Kaczorowski, Local Partner Paulina Kimla-Kaczorowska, Counsel Agnieszka Stopinska, Senior Associate Iga Czerniak, and Associates Katarzyna Goljan, Szymon Grudzien, Bartosz Skalski, Jakub Gajzler, Ernest Kraczkowski, and Natalia Potrubacz.
