Hughes Hubbard Assists in Financing of French Satellite System for Azercosmos

Hughes Hubbard advised the London branch Mizuho Bank as mandated lead arranger and lender in an 11-year export finance facility worth 132 million euros for Azercosmos, the Azerbaijani state-owned satellite operator.
 
The deal, announced on Nov. 11, 2015, finances the country's first earth-observation satellite, Azersky.
 
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Europe acted as coordinating arranger, agent, mandated lead arranger and lender. The loan facility is guaranteed by the French export credit agency COFACE and the government of Azerbaijan. French aviation and defense giant Airbus is the exporter. Airbus DS Geo SA of France is supplying Azercosmos with an integrated satellite system launched in June 2014. It will provide the in-orbit high-resolution SPOT-7.
 
The supply of the latest French technology also includes a control ground segment, a midstream facility, a multi-mission ground receiving station and mission facilities as well as associated services.
 
HHR issued the legal opinion on the French law aspects of the COFACE (the French ECA) Insurance Policy for the benefit of the banking pool.
 
Azercosmos, the leading satellite operator in the Caucasus, provides broadband and broadcast solutions to customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
 
Sena Agbayissah and Agnes Braka-Calas worked on this deal.