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Freshfields advises the Colonial group on the conversion of €4.6bn of senior bonds into 'green bonds'
Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised the real estate group Inmobiliaria Colonial (Colonial) and its French subsidiary Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL) on the successful conversion of all of the Colonial group’s outstanding senior bonds into 'green bonds'. The bonds represent an aggregate principal amount of €4.6bn and were issued by Colonial and SFL. They are listed on Euronext Dublin, Euronext Paris and the Spanish fixed income market AIAF. Freshfields acted as sole transaction counsel on the deal.
The Colonial group is a leader in the European prime office market, present in the main business areas of Barcelona, Madrid and Paris with a prime office portfolio of approximately 1.6 million square metres and a property portfolio valued at more than €12bn.
The conversion was carried out via a consent solicitation process whereby bondholders of 11 series of bonds were asked to approve the allocation of an amount equivalent to the outstanding principal amount of these bonds to the financing or refinancing of a portfolio of eligible green assets of the Colonial group. At the various bondholder meetings held, the bondholders of all 11 series approved the conversion into 'green bonds'. Colonial is now the first and only company in the Spanish Ibex 35 share index with 100% of green bonds.
The deal represents another milestone in our growing sustainable finance practice across Europe for our large clients in a wide range of sectors.
The Freshfields team advising Colonial and SFL was led by counsel Joe Amann in Madrid and partner Fabrice Grillo in Paris, with the support of associates Chelsey Kaka, Lou Bernard and Javier Gonzalez, partners David Franco and Duncan Kellaway and trainee solicitor Chloé Clavell.
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