Allen & Overy advises Scotiabank in KKR’s acquisition of Telefónica’s fiber optic network assets

Telefónica is a Spanish telecommunications company and one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers globally.

Allen & Overy also advised Scotiabank as global coordinator and lead arranger of a senior secured financing in connection with KKR’s acquisition of a majority stake in Telefónica’s fiber-optic network assets and related business operations in Chile, which closed in summer 2021. The deal was a first of its kind in Chile and Latin America, with the resulting enterprise serving as Chile’s first wholesale digital infrastructure network, open to all current and future telecom operators in the country.

As part of both transactions, KKR also acquired a majority ownership interest in a newly formed joint venture holding Telefónica’s existing network, which is the largest in both Colombia and Chile.

New York-based Leveraged Finance Partner Todd Koretzky, who led the transactions, said: “We are proud to have been a part of a transaction that will help grow digital infrastructure throughout major cities in both Colombia and Chile. As evident in these first-of-a-kind transactions, we are starting to see a migration in the LatAm infrastructure sector, with flexible LBO-style acquisition financings for operating assets occurring more frequently in the region.”

The A&O deal teams were led by Koretzky, with support from New York Senior Counsel Ally de Padua and Associate Daniel Resnick. The deal team for the transaction in Chile was further comprised of New York Partner Dorina Yessios and Associate Sagarika Sridhar.

For further information, please contact Lisa Donohoe in New York at Lisa.Donohoe@AllenOvery.com or Devin Shorey in New York at pro-a&o@prosek.com.