Latham Advises on FIVE’s Debut Green Bond and Revolving Credit Facility for Financing the Acquisition of Pacha Ibiza
Latham & Watkins has advised the joint lead managers in relation to the debut offering of US$350 million 9.375% senior secured green notes due 2028 by FIVE Holdings (BVI) Limited (FIVE), an international hospitality group operating luxury hotels in Dubai and Switzerland. In conjunction with the offering, Latham also advised the mandated lead arrangers in relation to a US$200 million revolving credit facility for FIVE.
The proceeds of the financing will be used, among other things, to finance a portion FIVE’s acquisition of Universo Pacha S.A., the owner of the iconic Pacha Nightclub in Ibiza and certain related assets, as well as for refinancing certain existing debt of the FIVE group. An equivalent of the net proceeds of the notes will also be used to finance and/or refinance eligible green projects, as outlined in FIVE’s Green Bond Framework. The notes and the revolving credit facility are each guaranteed by FIVE’s material subsidiaries in the UAE and secured by a substantial portion of FIVE’s assets in the UAE. The notes were rated “BB” by Fitch and “B+” by S&P and were listed on Nasdaq Dubai and the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market.
In relation to the notes offering, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and Emirates NBD acted as joint global coordinators, joint lead managers, and joint bookrunners, with Arab African International Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Mashreq Bank acting as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers. In relation to the revolving credit facility, Arab African International Bank and Commercial Bank of Dubai acted as mandated lead arrangers.
The Latham team was led by Dubai capital markets partners Nomaan Raja and Basil Al-Jafari, with associates Ross Whibley and David Hayward. Advice was also provided on finance matters by Dubai partner Christian Adams, with associate Mustafa Darwich; and on tax matters by New York partner Bora Bozkurt, with associate Farrah Yan.
“The success of FIVE’s debut green bond is a major vote of confidence in Dubai’s debt capital markets and recognition of FIVE’s success as an iconic brand in Dubai’s important hospitality and entertainment sector,” said Nomaan Raja, Office Managing Partner of Latham’s Dubai office. “The Pacha acquisition represents a key milestone in FIVE’s remarkable journey to date and testament to FIVE’s visionary approach to expanding and diversifying its global footprint.”