Loan to fund expansion of Digicel?s telecommunications network

The Miami office of Hunton & Williams represented Citicorp International and Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) in a significant syndicated loan transaction for Digicel S.A. de C.V. (Digicel), one of the larger and technically advanced wireless telecommunications providers in El Salvador.

The US$32 million transaction involved five different loan facilities, which were syndicated to Citicorp, CDC, Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE), Ericsson Credit AB, and Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO).

?The transaction will not only help fund the expansion of the wireless telecommunications network of a major player in the Central American telecom business, but also signals a major development of renewed interest in the region and in the telecom industry,? stated Roberto Pupo, a Hunton & Williams partner from Miami who was responsible for the transaction.

?This deal is a significant development demonstrating that the larger lenders in the world have a positive outlook and faith in the improving Latin American economies,? concluded Fernando Alonso, a senior partner at Hunton & Williams? Miami office and chair of its Latin America Practice group.

Clifford Chance representó a FMO y a los demás prestamistas y Thelen Reid Priest actuó en representación de Digicel.