Seaborn Networks has raised the US$500 million financing for its Seabras-1 direct point-to-point submarine cable connection between New York and São Paulo.
The financing has been completed for the new transoceanic subsea fiber optic cable system connecting points of presence (POPs) between the US and Brazil.
All conditions to the project financing have been fully satisfied, while debt and equity funds have been drawn. Full project equity capital was provided by Partners Group and development capital was provided by Seaborn.
The funding raised for the project also includes a total project debt commitment of up to US$267 million provided by Natixis, Banco Santander, Commerzbank and Intesa SanPaulo.
Seabras-1 is jointly owned by Seaborn and global private markets investment manager Partners Group, and uses next generation coherent technology to deliver high-capacity and low latency telecommunications for one of the fastest growing transoceanic routes in the world.
The six-fiber pair system with initial maximum design capacity of 72Tbps is the first system to provide a direct route between the United States and Brazil, and also includes branching units that point towards Halifax (Canada), Ashburn (US), Miami (US), St. Croix (US), Fortaleza (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Las Toninas (Argentina).
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP corporate partner John Franchini led the team representing Seaborn said he had been delighted to work with a leading subsea cable developer and operator, and a world class investment firm, to bring together the necessary financing. “We are seeing more and more interest in subsea telecom systems like Seabras-1 and expect that interest to continue,” he remarked.
