Milbank LLP represented Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, HSBC, BBVA and JPMorgan, as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, for an approximately $4.50 billion senior secured credit facility and Merrill Lynch International, BNP Paribas, HSBC, BBVA and JPMorgan, as joint book-running managers, in placing €1.675 billion of senior secured notes comprised of €905 million senior secured notes due 2025 and €770 million senior secured notes due 2027 for Spanish pharmaceutical firm, Grifols, S.A. These were the first secured notes issued by the Grifols.
The notes and credit facility are supported by a cross-border guarantee and first lien pari passu collateral package. The proceeds of the credit facilities, which include a $2.50 billion dollar tranche term loan B, a €1.36 billion euro tranche term loan B and a $500 million multi-currency revolving facility, and the proceeds of both tranches of notes were used to refinance Grifols’ existing loans.
The refinancing was initiated on October 28, 2019 and closed and funded in less than three weeks. Alfredo Arroyo, CFO of Grifols, commented on the swift nature of the transaction stating, “Grifols’ solid performance and long-term growth perspectives, coupled with advantageous market conditions, allowed us to finalize the debt refinancing in record time and achieve far better financial terms.”
As a leading global producer of plasma medicines, Grifols has a presence in more than 100 countries and is the world leader in plasma collection, with more than 160 plasma donation centers across the US. The company is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain and employs more than 14,000 people worldwide.
The Milbank Global Leveraged Finance team was led by partner Marcus Dougherty and included special counsel Meir Hornung and associates Chris Kwan, Juyon Kang, Allison Cho and Jonathan Edward. The Milbank Global Capital Markets team was led by partner Rod Miller and included special counsel Jonathon Jackson and associates Alex Becker and Andi Hasaj. Also providing advice on various points in the transaction were Tax partner Andrew Walker and associate Archan Hazra, Intellectual Property associate Javier Ramos, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits associate Christina Skaliks, Environmental partner Matt Ahrens, Real Estate associate Lisa Brabant and Transportation and Space associates Bijan Ganji and Sean Heiden.
