Choate Represents Seaborn Networks in $500M Equity Financing to Build Landmark New York-Brazil Subsea Cable

Choate today announced that it assisted client Seaborn Networks with the equity financing for the construction and operation of the first direct subsea fiber optic cable between New York and Sấo Paulo, Brazil.  Global private markets investment manager Partners Group will provide all of the equity financing for the cable project, known as Seabras-1, which has a total project cost of approximately $500 million. 

The Choate deal team included partners Robert V. Jahrling III, Louis Marett, and Kevin Tormey, and associate Rebecca Wilsker.

Seabras-1 will use next-generation coherent technology to deliver high-capacity and low latency telecommunications for one of the fastest-growing transoceanic routes in the world, offering point-to-point bandwidth and connectivity services between New York and Sấo Paulo.  Existing US-Brazil subsea cables carry approximately 65% of all internet, data and voice traffic between Latin America and the rest of the world.

Seaborn and Partners Group envision Seabras-1 as the first of a series of independent, carrier-neutral alternative networks providing broadband capacity between nations and serves as a template for the two firms to work together in the future to expand the portfolio.  The Seabras-1 cable network is expected to be operational within the next two years and has already sold substantial capacity, including to Microsoft Corporation, which contracted with Seaborn as a foundational customer in September 2014.

Seaborn Networks was formed as an independent cable operator to develop and operate subsea fiber optic cable systems in the telecommunications industry.  Seaborn Networks was founded by telecom executives who bring a successful track record in developing, financing, constructing, operating and maintaining many of the world’s largest submarine and terrestrial telecom networks.  In terms of submarine cable experience, this represents more than 75 cable landing stations, 250 global points of presence and 250,000 km of submarine cable (more than 6x the circumference of the earth).

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP also provided corporate advice to Seaborn, and Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP provided regulatory advice to Seaborn.