White & Case LLP and Ivorian law firm Jean-François Chauveau have advised Société Générale de Banques en Côte d'Ivoire (SGBCI) and Société Générale, as arrangers, and a group of lenders comprising SGBCI, Société Générale, Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB), Banque Atlantique de Côte d'Ivoire (BACI), Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie de Côte d'Ivoire (BICICI), BNP Paribas Fortis, Chaabi International Bank Offshore (CIB Offshore) and Standard Chartered Bank, on the negotiation of an equivalent of FCFA190 billion (circa €290million) loan agreement granted to Orange Côte d'Ivoire and signed on November 21, 2016.

The loan is composed of a €118 million tranche maturing in four years and a FCFA113 million tranche maturing in seven years. It will refinance Orange's external growth transactions in West Africa, notably the acquisition of the following telecoms companies: Cellcom Telecommunication Inc. in Liberia, Airtel Mobile Commerce Burkina Faso S.A. and Airtel Burkina Faso S.A., both in Burkina Faso.

The White & Case team in Paris which advised on the transaction was led by partner Paule Biensan with support from counsel Marianna Sédéfian. Ivorian law firm Jean-François Chauveau advised on matters of Ivorian law.