Baker & McKenzie Thailand and Hunton & Williams both played a role in advising on the establishment of a $1.63billion (THB48.9bn) credit facility for True Corporation. The Thai telecommunications company will use the financing to fund expansion of its wireless telecommunications business in the Kingdom.

The Baker & McKenzie team was led by Bangkok-based banking & finance partner Chaveewan LikhitwattanachaI and supported by lawyers Kullapa Stavorn and Kanokpan Poovaratanakul.

Bakers won the mandate through its long-standing relationship with True Corporation and its subsidiaries. “This financing transaction will, among other things, support our client’s nationwide network roll-out of the mobile business under the HSPA system, which will provide better, more advanced communication technology to users in Thailand.”

In addition to its plans to expand its HSPA wireless telecommunications business, True Group will use the money raised from this strategic transaction to refinance its existing debt and also use the remainder as working capital for business operations.

Hunton & Williams acted for the lead arrangers, The Siam Commercial Bank and Krung Thai Bank, and the lenders on this deal.

Concurrent to this transaction, Baker & McKenzie advised True Move Company – one of the largest mobile operators in Thailand – on the tender for purchase of its outstanding U.S. dollar-denominated bonds in the amount of 425 million and 225 million from the bondholders.ALB  

Other related stories:

• Freshfields, Bakers act on Vietnamese sugar deal (7 May 2011)
• Firms act on first Cayman Island merger de-listing in wave of PRC pharma M&A (20 Apr 2011)