Ropes & Gray Continues London High Yield Success Story with Telenet Deal

Ropes & Gray represented Telenet Finance Luxembourg S.C.A. in connection with the issuance of its €500 million 6⅜% senior secured notes due 2020. The proceeds of the issuance will be used to fund a loan to a subsidiary of Telenet Group Holding NV, an indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global Europe Holding BV, under an existing senior secured credit facility. Ropes & Gray advised on the high yield offering and the related loan and security arrangements. Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas acted as joint lead and book-running managers; the transaction launched on October 28 and priced on October 29.

The Telenet offering is the latest indicator of a robust market for high yield offerings in Europe. According to a September 2010 report by Standard & Poor's, high yield bond volumes in Europe are set to top last year’s record levels. European high yield issuance has already reached €31.8 billion in 2010 compared to a total of €38 billion for all of 2009.

"The market demand for top quality high yield expertise is exactly what attracted me to London,” said Jane Rogers, the Ropes & Gray lead partner on the deal who recently relocated to London from the firm’s Boston office. “Ropes & Gray intends to be a significant player in this market.”

Ropes & Gray’s London team has now advised Liberty Group and its group of companies on four successful high yield offerings since November 2009. It is the second transaction to use an innovative SPV structure to facilitate a high yield offering, following the Almatis high yield offering that the firm acted on in October.

In response to client demand for advice on high yield offerings, Ropes & Gray has built one of the largest high yield teams in London over the past year. Recent additions include senior associate Michael Kazakevich, who joined from the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by Ms. Rogers and supported by London associates Robert Haak, Haden Henderson, Eric Issadore, and Mr. Kazakevich. Tax advice was provided by Chicago partner Jeff Greenblatt and Boston associate Pamela Glazier.