Caisse des Dépôts raises €400M in bonds to buy French tunnel operators
What's the deal? The Caisse des DépôtsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → group has issued €400 million in bonds to fund part of its acquisition of stakes in two French road operators, ATMBDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and SFTRFDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It bought roughly 67.30% of Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc (ATMB) and 99.94% of Société Française du Tunnel Routier du Fréjus (SFTRF) from the French State.
The terms: The bonds carry a 5.1417% coupon and are due September 30, 2045. They are admitted to trading on Euronext ParisDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Who advised: Clifford ChanceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → advised Caisse des Dépôts, with a team led by partners Cédric Burford and Auriane Bijon on capital markets, and partner Jean-Baptiste Merigot de Treigny on public law. GideDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → advised joint lead managers La Banque PostaleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Nomura Financial Products Europe GmbHDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? ATMB and SFTRF operate key alpine crossings linking France to Italy, including the Mont Blanc and Fréjus tunnels. Moving majority control to the state-owned Caisse des Dépôts keeps strategic transport infrastructure under public stewardship.
The signal: The deal shows governments continuing to channel ownership of critical infrastructure through state-backed financial institutions, using long-dated bond markets to fund the shift rather than selling to private operators.
Read more: cliffordchance.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
