Magic circle firm advises on ONO's Europe high-yield debt issuance

Clifford Chance (CC) has advised on a €700m (£592m) high-yield deal, representing one of the largest issuances of high-yield debt in Europe this year.

The magic circle firm advised ONO, Spain's second-largest broadband, television and phone line provider, on a senior secured notes offering due in 2018. The notes are governed by New York law and are expected to list on the Multilateral Trading Facility market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

CC fielded a team led by finance partners John Connolly and Carlos Hernandez-Canut, in London and Madrid respectively, alongside City high-yield partner Michael Dakin and US tax partner Avrohom Gelber.

Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Agricole, Santander and Societe Generale acted as joint global co-ordinators.

The banks were advised by Cravath Swaine & Moore's London managing partner Philip Boeckman while Uria Menendez provided Spanish advice, with Madrid managing partner Rafael Sebastian advising on the bond side and finance partner Sebastian Saenz de Santamaria advising on the banking side.

The deal is an example of the refreshed interest in high-yield debt in the European market that has recently seen London's magic circle firms expanding their capacity in the area.

It also marks the first instruction for CC since the return of high-yield partner Dakin. Dakin joined CC's London office in 2005 from Cahill Gordon & Reindel in New York but left to join his client Future Group, a Dubai-based investment company, in August 2009 as its chief legal officer. He rejoined CC in September 2010.

Dakin said: "This was a very exciting deal to advise on and it continues to highlight how dynamic the high-yield market is. It also continues to prove that this is a strong asset class which can be a very useful part of a corporate's balance sheet."