Aviva Investors has completed the acquisition of EUR84.5m in privately placed senior secured notes issued by Reggefiber, the Dutch telecommunications infrastructure provider.
The transaction refinances a short-term construction bridge facility provided by ABN AMRO and provides long term capital for Reggefiber to facilitate the continued expansion of its Fiber-to-the-Home (FttH) networks. This marks the first investment for the Aviva Investors European Secondary Infrastructure Credit SV (Securitisation Vehicle), which launched in July 2013.
This is Reggefiber’s first capital markets transaction, having previously obtained debt financing via project finance facilities in the banking market. The transaction comprises a fixed-rate tranche and a floating rate-tranche, both with a tenure of 10 years. The notes have been placed exclusively with Aviva Investors, which is one of the most active institutional investors in the European infrastructure finance market.
The transaction was arranged by ABN AMRO.
Reggefiber is a joint venture between KPN and Reggeborgh, which builds, owns and operates FttH networks in the Netherlands. Founded in 2005, the company is active in more than 175 municipalities with more than 1.5 million homes connected and seeks to provide the fastest open-broadband network for Dutch households. It manages an open access fibre optic network for KPN as well as other telecom operators and consumers are able to choose their own telecommunication service provider.
Florent del Picchia, fund manager, infrastructure at Aviva Investors, says: “We are pleased to have worked with Reggefiber and ABN AMRO to conclude this debt investment. This senior debt investment in an operational infrastructure asset fits well within the investment focus of our recently closed European Secondary Infrastructure Credit product.”
Laurence Monnier, fund manager, infrastructure at Aviva Investors, says: “Infrastructure debt is an attractive asset class with a wide spectrum of investment opportunities. Within this diverse market, we are focused on leveraging our infrastructure knowledge and financing skills to identify robust opportunities for the benefit of investors.”
