Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises the underwriters and senior lenders on the sustainability-linked €2.4 billion portfolio financing of EdgeConneX's European data centres

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised the underwriters and senior lenders on the sustainability-linked €2.4 billion portfolio (re)financing of European data centres owned and operated by EdgeConneX, the EQT-owned edge-network data centre developer. This transaction is said to constitute Europe’s first sustainability-linked data centre platform financing.

The financing package both refinances EdgeConneX pan-EMEA data centre portfolio of operational facilities across seven jurisdictions and provides further CapEx facilities to support future developments. This financing is arranged across three tranches – a term loan, a CapEx facility, and a revolving credit facility, providing an optional line of credit if needed.

Beyond consolidating EdgeConneX pan-EMEA portfolio, this deal allows it to transition from stand-alone project financing to a structured corporate debt package – thereby unlocking more flexibility and funding capacity to support anticipated growth across the region. Read more about the transaction here.

The significant scale of this transaction was also recognised by IJGlobal, awarding the transaction with the European Digital Infrastructure Data Centre Deal of the Year Award 2022.

This landmark transaction builds on Clifford Chance's market-leading project and infrastructure finance practice and sector expertise in digital infrastructure.

The core Clifford Chance team in Amsterdam and London consisted of Hein Tonnaer, Matt Dunn, Philip Walsh, Mike Niekoop, Nanette Rutgers, Carlijn Tenge, Laura Dolstra, Sophie Riemer, Menno Postma, Angela McEwan and Lewis Whyte. The cross-border team further consisted of Paget Dare Bryan, Rachel Robertson and Emily Heath (Hedging), Nolan Groenland and Robin Houtveen (Tax), Liesbeth Buiter, Johanneke Butijn, Andrea Karkotis, Lotte De Bruin and Dolyne Munyampeta (Projects), Mark Jan Arends, Esmée Oldenkamp and Charlotte Horsten (Notary). Further Belgian law support was provided by Wim Aerts and Philippe Baert, and Pawel Puacz, Michal Jadwisiak and Aleksander Smakosz provided Polish law advice.