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CMS advises Telefónica Deutschland on issue of blockchain-based promissory notes

23/03/2018

Frankfurt/Main – Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG, a subsidiary of Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG, has completed a placement of promissory note loans and registered bonds. The transaction was supported by Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) and DZ BANK AG, Frankfurt am Main. The company chose blockchain technology for the emission. The innovative new instrument is being used in a promissory note loan tranche marketed by LBBW with a value of EUR 75 million and a term of one year. The company has also issued conventional tranches totalling EUR 175 million and featuring terms of between 7 and 15 years.

A team from CMS Germany led by partners Philipp Melzer and Oliver Dreher advised the company on all legal aspects of the transaction.

Blockchain technology allows financial transactions to be processed directly and securely worldwide in real-time. The details are saved on multiple servers and recorded in data blocks in order to make financial transactions more secure and to prevent manipulation. This digital technology aims to make processes more efficient, more cost-effective and more transparent. Telefónica is the second company in Germany after Daimler AG to implement a blockchain transaction. As such, the company has demonstrated the technology’s capability for the first time in conjunction with a traditional financing process.

Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG is a subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications group Telefónica S.A. and among the three leading integrated telecommunications providers in Germany, with a total of 50.4 million customer connections and almost 46 million mobile phone customers. CMS regularly advises the company on capital market transactions, including its IPO in October 2012, the placement of two benchmark bonds totalling EUR 1.1 billion (November 2013, February 2014), a capital increase worth around EUR 3.6 billion (September 2014) and a debut private placement combining promissory note loans and registered bonds with a total value of EUR 300 million (April 2015).

CMS Germany 

Philipp Melzer 
Oliver Dreher, both Lead Partners
Dr Orna von Fürstenberg, Senior Associate, all Banking & Finance

Press Contact
presse@cms-hs.com 

Related people

Portrait ofPhilipp Melzer
Philipp Melzer
Partner
Frankfurt
Oliver Dreher, LL.M. (King's College London)
Dr. Orna Freifrau von Fürstenberg