Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises on DFC-guaranteed financing for Telstra's acquisition of Digicel Pacific

Washington, DC: International law firm Clifford Chance advised the United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) on its agreement to provide a US$50 million guarantee of Export Finance Australia's US$1.33 billion financing package, which was provided to support telecommunications and technology company Telstra's acquisition of Digicel Pacific. Digicel Pacific provides telecommunications services in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga and Nauru.

The agreement delivers on a commitment made by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and US President Joe Biden at a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) event at the G20 Summit on 15 November 2022, to collaborate with Indo-Pacific partners to help meet their needs for high-quality, sustainable infrastructure.

Partner Lori Bean commented, "We are pleased to bring together an international team to support our long-time client DFC on a transaction that supports sustainable telecommunications infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region."

The cross-border Clifford Chance team was led by Bean (Washington, DC) and senior associate Greg Jehle (Abu Dhabi), and included partner Chad Bochan and senior associate Alexander Sorgese in Sydney, and associates Amelia Hirst in Perth and Trevor Nichols in Washington, DC.