DibbsBarker fielded its team of banking and finance experts to help Tabcorp Holdings secure a $4.35bn syndicated loan to fund its acquisition of Tatts Group.
The deal, which closed yesterday, involved debt financing from a syndicate of domestic and international banks that included all of Australia’s major banks, Sumitomo Mitsui, and BNP Paribas. Tabcorp also entered into a cash-settled equity swap with UBS AG Australia for about 10% of Tatts shares.
The firm structured the financing arrangements, prepared the finance documents, and played a key role in significant transaction and payment mechanics to refinance Tabcorp’s bank facilities, DibbsBarker said.
“In what has been one of the largest acquisition financing transactions in recent Australian corporate history, banks were prepared to provide very large hold levels, which is reflective of a strong appetite in the bank market and confidence in the Tabcorp-Tatts merger,” said Jason Morris, the firm’s Melbourne-based lead partner on the deal.
He said the firm worked with Tabcorp’s treasury team, including Joshua Hunt, deputy general counsel for corporate. The complex financial deal involved months of negotiations and hard work from all sides, Morris said. Morris was assisted by senior associate Richard Fong.
Earlier this year, Gilbert + Tobin,
Herbert Smith Freehills, and
Clayton Utz confirmed their roles in the mega-merger. It involved
an unorthodox path to regulatory approval.
The combined gambling entertainment group will have a pro forma enterprise value of $11.3bn, with annual turnover of about $5bn. The merger is expected to go live on 22 December.
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