Hogan Lovells counsels IDB Invest on credit line granted to Tigo Colombia

Hogan Lovells has advised BID Invest on a standby credit facility in favour of Millicom subsidiary Tigo for broadband expansion in Colombia

 Global law firm Hogan Lovells has counselled IDB Invest, the private sector subsidiary of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), on a standby secured credit facility worth 625 billion Colombian pesos (approximately $155 million USD) to Tigo Colombia, the Colombian subsidiary of telecommunications company Millicom International.

This operation was announced on 5 January, under which IDB Invest will issue one or more standby letters of credit to eligible local banks, such as Bancolombia, to cover Tigo’s obligations to cover guarantees issued in favour of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) and the Single Fund for Information and Communications Technologies (FonTIC).

The secured credit facility, with a ten-and-a-half-year term and a term of up to two years for each standby letter of credit issued, aims to increase access and connectivity to mobile broadband, as well as increase opportunities for Colombia’s most vulnerable sectors, helping to close the digital gap in Colombia.

This line of guarantee will support TIGO’s deployment of telecommunications infrastructure in 177 localities that did not have access to mobile services with broadband connectivity. The transaction also seeks to upgrade the mobile service from 2G or basic 3G to 4G broadband for 340 municipalities in Colombia.

Tigo is a leading provider of telecommunications services in Colombia with more than 10 million mobile subscribers, 1.7 million fixed residential customers and more than 3,800 employees as of 31 December 2020. Tigo is owned by subsidiaries of Millicom International Cellular, S.A., and Empresas Públicas de Medellín.

Hogan Lovells’ team was led by partner Ricardo S. Martinez (pictured left) and associate Christopher Bonilla (pictured top right), both in New York, as well as associate Luis Leos (pictured bottom right) in Houston.