Arnold & Porter Closes $7.5B of Sovereign Finance Deals in Latin America and Turkey in Q2

Arnold & Porter advised the Republics of Colombia, Panama and Turkey in notable sovereign finance deals in Q2 2021 totaling $7.5 billion.

Sovereign Finance practice co-head Whitney Debevoise noted that once inflation fears ebbed in June, “the market responded strongly to Panama’s innovative four-part transaction that had simultaneous issues in the global bond and local bond markets,” including a first-ever switch tender from a global bond into a Euroclearable Panamanian Treasury Bond.

And co-head Gregory Harrington said that Colombia’s ability to “place $3 billion along its curve before the inflation scare in the second quarter” led to a “dual-tranche offering that was the largest global bond issuance in Colombia’s history.” See below for more details on the practice’s Q2 activity.

Deal specifics

Republic of Colombia

• Dual-tranche offering of $2.0 billion of global bonds due 2032 and $1.0 billion of global bonds due 2042. Closing: April 22, 2021.
  Significance: The total offering was the largest global bond issuance in Colombia’s history.
  Gross proceeds: ≈$3 billion

Partner Gregory Harrington led the team, which included counsel Carlos Pelaez and associates Mateo Morris and Valentina Garzon.

Republic of Panama

• Dual-tranche offering of $750 million of global bonds due 2050 and $1.25 billion of Euroclearable treasury bonds (Bonos del Tesoro) due 2031; executed concurrently with a local tender offer and a global tender offer to purchase global bonds due 2024; closing June 30, 2021.
  Significance: This deal included a first-ever switch tender from a global bond into a Euroclearable Panamanian Treasury Bond.
  Gross proceeds: ≈$2 billion

Partner Whitney Debevoise led the team, which included partner Gregory Harrington, counsel Carlos Pelaez and associates Mateo Morris and Valentina Garzon.

Republic of Turkey

• Issuance of lease certificates due June 22, 2026
  Gross proceeds: ≈$2.5 billion

Partners Christopher Peterson and Jeremy Willcocks led the team, which included associates Eric An, Brady Randall and Sara Kim.

Arnold & Porter’s Sovereign Finance Practice

Arnold & Porter’s Sovereign Finance practice advises sovereigns, sub-sovereigns and state-owned companies on their most challenging financial transactions, including sovereign bond issues, liability management transactions, derivative operations, and re-financings/restructurings. Our lawyers are thought leaders in sovereign finance, contributing to the development of aggregated collective action, equal ranking clauses, US AID-guaranteed issues, sukuk bonds, and diaspora bonds—a product which we pioneered.