Leading global law firm Clifford Chance has advised BESI – Grupo Novo Banco and Credit Suisse, as arrangers and placement agents, on a $273.7 million financing for the Red Dorsal Nacional de Fibra Optica project. The nationwide fiber optic network will span approximately 13,400 km in Peru and is the first ever to be developed in the country.

The project financing was accomplished via a 4(a)2/ Reg S securitization of governmental payment obligations named "RPIs", and is the first such RPI-backed transaction in Peru with a delayed-draw funding structure to include both Peruvian and non-Peruvian investors. The deal also marks the first international securitization of Peruvian government-backed payment rights similar to RPIs (such as CRPAOs and RPI-CAOs) since 2012, in which Clifford Chance team members were also involved.

Broadband infrastructure in Peru is largely concentrated in Lima and the coastal region, while the jungle and mountainous parts of the country often lack access to high-speed data services. Upon its completion in 2016, the Red Dorsal network will connect 180 of the 195 provinces of the country to internet access and at a significantly reduced cost to end users.

The Clifford Chance team advising BESI – Grupo Novo Banco and Credit Suisse on this matter was led by Finance partner Gianluca Bacchiocchi and Capital Markets partner Jonathan Zonis, both of the firm's New York office. Associates Jeffrey Susskind (São Paulo), Carlos Arata (New York) and Diego Harman (New York) were also heavily involved.