Clifford Chance has advised Citigroup, as Structuring Adviser and Global Coordinator, BNP Paribas and SEB, as Joint Global Coordinators, and Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs International and Nordea, as Joint Bookrunners, on the issue of almost SEK 15 billion hybrid securities by Telia Company, a leading telecommunications group in the Nordic and Baltic region, and a leading provider of mobile services in Eurasia, headquartered in Sweden.

The hybrid securities were issued in one EUR 900 million tranche with a maturity of 61 years with the first call date after 6 years, one SEK 5 billion floating rate tranche and one SEK 1.5 billion fixed rate tranche, both with a maturity of 60.5 years with the first call date after 5.5 years. A coupon of 3 per cent. for the Euro-denominated fixed rate tranche and 3.25 per cent. for the SEK-denominated fixed-rate tranche is payable annually to the first call date.

The hybrid securities have been rated by S&P (BBB) and by Moody's (Baa3) and will be treated as 50 per cent. equity and 50 per cent. debt by the credit rating agencies. These hybrid securities will be accounted for as interest bearing debt and will be subordinated to Telia Company´s senior debt.

Telia is the first Swedish company to issue Euro-denominated hybrid securities this year and only the second to ever issue SEK hybrid securities. The interest from investors in the hybrid securities was very strong.

The proceeds of the hybrid securities were mainly used to refinance three different series of Telia's outstanding senior notes expiring between 2019 and 2021. Tender invitations were initially subject to a cap of an aggregate principal amount of EUR 500,000,000, which was subsequently increased to just under EUR 550,000,000 as a result of strong investor appetite.

Clifford Chance (Paris) advised the banks as to English law on the issue of the hybrid securities, with Cédric Burford, partner, and Andrew McCann, senior associate leading the transaction. This is the second Sweden-based issue of hybrid securities that Clifford Chance (Paris) has worked on in recent years, having advised Volvo on its multi-tranche issue of hybrid securities in the fourth quarter of 2014. Clifford Chance (London) advised Citigroup and Nordea as to English law in their capacity as Dealer Managers on the tender offer, with Stewart Dunlop, partner, and Halim Uddin, associate, leading the transaction.