Milbank Represents the Inter-American Development Bank in US $600 Million Senior Debt Financing for Colombian Telecom Operator Telefónica Móviles Colombia S.A.
WASHINGTON DC, February 5, 2008 - Colombian telecom operator Telefónica Móviles Colombia S.A. (TEMCO) completed a US$600 million financing with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in the largest syndicated loan facility undertaken by the IDB. The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by partner Glenn S. Gerstell, represented the IDB in this transaction.
TEMCO, which is the second largest mobile telephone company in Colombia and a subsidiary of Telefónica S.A. of Spain, operates under the “MoviStar” brand name.
Mr. Gerstell commented, “The transaction is notable not only for its size – at US$600 million it is the largest syndicated loan in the history of the IDB – but also for its complexity, because it involved both a new loan as well as the purchase by the IDB of existing loans from various commercial banks. Negotiating and coordinating with the borrower in Colombia, its corporate parent, Telefónica, in Spain, the IDB in Washington, and numerous commercial banks on three continents can be a challenge. Milbank was well-positioned to handle this kind of international transaction and to craft documents that solved the needs of all parties because of our extensive experience in global telecom financing.”
Mr. Gerstell is the managing partner of the Washington, DC office and heads the Firm's global communications practice. In addition to Mr. Gerstell, the Milbank team representing IDB included associates Alexander S. Choinski and J. Christina Broch. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., BNP Paribas Securities Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Santander Investment Securities Inc. served as joint Lead Arrangers of the financing, in which numerous other banks participated.
IDB was advised by Leif Weizman of the IDB’s Legal Department; by Milbank as to US law; and by Posse, Herrera & Ruiz Abogados as to Colombian law. TEMCO was advised by White & Case as to US law and by Baker & McKenzie as to Colombian law.
About the IDB
A long-standing initiative of the Latin American countries, the Inter-American Development Bank was established in 1959 as a development institution with novel mandates and tools. The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social and institutional development projects and trade and regional integration programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the oldest and largest regional development bank.
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent global law firm that for more than 140 years has provided innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions and litigation. Our transactional expertise includes capital markets, corporate finance and transactions, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of law practice. Milbank litigation teams resolve disputes involving mergers and acquisitions, proxy battles, financings and securities offerings, intellectual property, white collar crime, and corporate restructurings, among others. Our clients range from prominent multinational financial, industrial and commercial enterprises to governments, institutions and individuals. The Firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, DC.