Wind Tre: Bonds above £750m and Overall Deals of the Year Awards 2017 Winner

“The Wind Tre deal shows that detailed planning and execution in high-yield markets can be highly effective.”

Deal highlights

Issuer Wind Tre

Amount £9.6bn

Structure A four-tranche secured bond, term loan and RCF

Rating (at time of deal) B+/B-/BB-

Currency and tenor €/5yr, 6yr, 7yr; $/8yr

Interest rate/coupon Av 2.7%

In a closely fought category, Italian mobile communications giant Wind Tre caught the judges’ attention with an ambitious refinancing of its entire corporate debt and capital structure. Wind Tre was named winner in the Bonds above £750m category and Overall Deals of the Year Awards winner for 2017.

In October last year, Wind Tre priced a £9.6bn issuance, in a four-part, cross-border secured bond offering, along with a five-year term loan and a €400m revolving credit facility (RCF).

The new debt package, consisting solely of secured bonds, de-risks Wind Tre’s financing and lowers its costs through reduced interest payments.

The transaction represents the largest-ever refinancing by a European issuer involving sub-investment-grade loans and high-yield bonds, and the largest high-yield bond offering globally for 2017.