Natixis Provided Financing to Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and Aware Super Ltd.

Financing supported acquisition of Vocus Group Ltd.

Natixis acted as Joint Underwriter and Bookrunner on the A$2,150m senior financing provided to a consortium comprising Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and its managed funds (together “MIRA”) and Aware Super Ltd (“Aware Super”), ahead of its acquisition and privatization of Vocus Group Ltd.

Vocus Group Ltd. is an Australia-based fibre and network solutions provider. The Company owns a national infrastructure network of metro and back haul fibre, connecting capital cities and regional centers across Australia, New Zealand and into Asia.

Bruno Le Saint, Chief Executive Officer, Natixis CIB, Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to have played a key role in supporting MIRA and Aware Super in this transaction; our strategic relationship with Macquarie was without doubt key to making this a success. Clients have long been central to Natixis’ approach and under Groupe BPCE’s recently announced strategic plan for Natixis CIB, this will remain front and center as we move forward. With a focus on providing support across our 8 core industries, we will continue to build long-lasting, sustainable relationships with partners like Macquarie, on a global basis.”

Aurelia Vo Dinh, Head of Leveraged Finance for Natixis Australia, added: “ We’re extremely proud to have supported MIRA and Aware Super on the cross border AUD/US financing of Vocus, with the largest AUD covenant lite Term Loan B raised so far in the APAC market. Despite the on-going impact from the pandemic, we have seen solid demand from the leveraged loan market, as highlighted by the investor interest in this transaction. We look forward to seeing Vocus move from strength to strength as it embarks on the next chapter in its growth journey.”

MIRA and Aware Super entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed with Vocus to acquire all issued securities at $A5.50 per share via a Scheme of Arrangement on March 9, 2021. On June 24, 2021, Vocus Group shareholders voted in favour of the consortium’s acquisition of Vocus Group, and the transaction reached a financial close on July 22, 2021.