The telecoms sector involves a wide variety of players, including providers of fixed line, mobile, cable, satellite and other infrastructure services, as well as ISPs and data network operators.
Telecoms companies are constantly evolving, expanding and seeking new markets. As new enabling technologies and applications are developed and regulations evolve, telecoms companies need new business models to exploit fully the opportunities, and to fend off competitors in this highly competitive market. The sector is increasingly global, driven by the determination of operators to expand their market share, increase margins and service the global needs of their multinational customers. In addition, cost saving measures such as leveraging low cost centres for off-shoring telecom functions and infrastructure sharing are becoming increasingly important to telecoms companies, as well as debt restructuring or refinancing.
Linklaters provides a full service to its telecoms clients such as Vodafone and BT, including advising on strategic M&A activity, complex, cross-border regulatory issues and major commercial contracts with customers and suppliers. Linklaters also advises both lenders and borrowers in the major telecoms markets, including on secured and unsecured syndicated loans, high yield bonds, lease finance, vendor finance, leveraged facilities and acquisition finance. The global sector team advises clients across the major European telecom markets, North Africa, Sub-Sahara Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The firm’s telecoms lawyers include experts from across Linklaters’ market leading corporate M&A, TMT, commercial and financial practices as well as regulatory experts. Working closely with industry regulators, government bodies and opinion-formers means that the team has exceptional insight into the complexities of the commercial and regulatory environment in which telecoms companies operate.
Contact us
To discuss legal issues with Linklaters’ global telecoms team, please contact sector leaders Iain Fenn, Tanguy Van Overstraeten, Celia Lam or Scott Campbell.
You can find out more about Linklaters’ telecoms capabilities from sector manager Miriam Donnellan (44 20) 7456 4386.
Recent telecoms transactions include advising:
- Vodafone on its acquisition of Essar from Hutchison and the subsequent negotiation of an infrastructure sharing arrangement with other Indian operators
- Harbinger on the regulatory aspects of the proposed acquisition of Inmarsat by MSV/Skyterra
- China Netcom Group Corporation (Hong Kong) Limited on its US$23.8 billion merger with China Unicom Limited by way of a Scheme of Arrangement, a landmark transaction in China’s restructuring of its telecoms sector
- BT on its agreement to become Reuters' supplier of network services, under which Reuters is expected to spend in the region of US$3bn over the next eight and a half years. Reuters will use BT's services to provide data connectivity in 196 jurisdictions
- Medi Telecom on a €1bn multi-source project financing of the second GSM licence in Morocco for Medi Telecom involving IFC, Swedish and Spanish ECAs, international banks and local banks
- Misrfone Telecommunications Company S.A.E on the $200m term loan for the establishment of a GSM network in Egypt
- The lenders on the US$1 billion financing of a mobile telephone network in Bangkok and surrounding areas
- Shin Satellite on the French legal aspects of the financing of the iPSTAR broadband satellite project, with specific emphasis on the COFACE tranche of the financing
- China Telecom Corporation Limited on its US$15.8 billion acquisition of China Unicom's CDMA business, a milestone in the development of China’s telecoms industry
