NautaDutilh advises bondholders on the restructuring of Lebara
Further to advising an ad hoc group of bondholders of Lebara on a contested, coercive share pledge enforcement, which was approved by a Dutch court on 30 July 2019, NautaDutilh has advised the ad hoc group on the subsequent restructuring of Lebara’s capital structure.
Lebara is a telecommunications group that provides services to clients around the world. Lebara provide pay-as-you-go mobile SIM cards; their logo is a common sight in newsagents and other small retail outlets across Western Europe.
The restructuring was completed on 9 January 2020. Bondholders exchanged their existing bonds, issued by Vieo B.V., a Dutch entity, for new first lien bonds and tranche A second lien bonds, in each case issued by a new Jersey intermediate holding company (“Midco”). In addition, bondholders were issued warrants, which provide holders with the option of receiving class A share receipts in a new Jersey holding company (“Topco”). Certain bondholders who participated in a backstop arrangement have received tranche B second lien bonds issued by Midco, and class B shares issued by Topco. The new bonds are governed by Norwegian law. NautaDutilh worked closely with Kirkland & Ellis (London) and BAHR (Norway).
For more information on the enforcement, please see here.
