Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) acted as legal advisor to Greek telecommunications operator Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation S.A. (“OTE”) on a €150m loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (“EBRD”).
The funds will enable OTE to finance the rollout of its “Fiber to the Home”(“FTTH”) broadband infrastructure to approximately 371,000 households and businesses in 12 regions across Greece. This will result in a reduction in greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and contribute to the Greek economy’s green transition.
The project is the first under OTE’s Digital Transformation pillar, using funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Facility ‘Greece 2.0’, financed by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme. The eight-year loan consists of EBRD’s €56.25m tranche, as well as a €93.75m tranche financed by the EU’s RRF channelled by the Greek Ministry of Finance. OTE’s own contribution to the project is €37.5m.
Part of Deutsche Telekom, OTE is the largest technology company in Greece, offering a wide range of products and services including fixed-line and mobile telephony, broadband services, pay television and ICT solutions.
The WFW Athens team that advised OTE was led by Project and Structured Finance Partner Nikolaos Kostikas and Assets and Structured Finance Partner Christina Giagka. They were supported by Associate Asimina Papakosta.
Nikolaos commented: “We are very pleased to have worked with OTE on this significant sustainable financing project which will contribute enormously to the digital transformation of Greece’s economy. This transaction highlights our expertise in advising on high-value loan agreements that have a lasting and impactful outcome”.
