Financing of Seacom Ltd

The firm advised the arrangers and underwriters on US$75m limited recourse project finance facility for Seacom Ltd, to build a state-of-the-art US$650 million fiber optic cable that will extend 15,000 km along the eastern coast of Africa, linking the continent to India and Europe. This was a complex financing deal that involved eight jurisdictions from Mtunzini (South Africa) to Mumbai (India) and Marseille (France), via Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, and Egypt. This project earned the firm Legal Adviser of the Year (2008) by the African Investor Infrastructure Awards. This project was the winner of Project Finance magazine’s ‘African Communications Deal of the Year’ award 2007 as well as the African Investor Infrastructure Award for ICT Deal of the Year (2008). Andrew Mitchell, the firm’s Senior Partner commented that: "We were thrilled to be involved in this challenging and interesting project. The project had unique legal implications which were addressed in a collaborative manner between all participants. Everyone involved should be commended on their input and commitment". The Fasken Martineau team was led by Andrew Mitchell and Ashen Jugoo.