Milbank Represents Government of Bermuda in Guarantee of Preference Shares Issued by Local Bank
Guarantee is Critical Element in Success of $200 Million Offering
NEW YORK, July 1, 2009 – International law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by Global Securities partner Robert W. Mullen, Jr., represented the Government of Bermuda in its guarantee of US$200,000,000 of 8.00% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Limited Voting Preference Shares issued by The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, a local Bermuda bank.
Commenting on the deal, Mr. Mullen said, “The Government’s guarantee of the Bank’s preference shares was a critical element in the success of the offering and enabled the securities to be rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA+ by Fitch Ratings. As a result, the Bank was successful in raising additional tier 1 capital at a low cost in order to provide the Bank with an added buffer during this period of economic challenge in the global economy.”
The preference shares were listed on both the Bermuda Stock Exchange and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, trading on the Euro MTF market. The Government’s guarantee of the preference shares extends for up to ten years and covers the payment of dividends and 100% of the liquidation value of the preference shares. In return, the Government received a guarantee fee as well as warrants to purchase common shares of the Bank.
Milbank’s extensive experience advising on sovereign offerings, expertise in capital markets and experience with financial institutions helped shape this preference share offering. In addition to Mr. Mullen, the Milbank team included Global Securities of counsel Frank Vivero and associate Jennifer Beaudry.
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Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a preeminent global law firm that for more than 140 years has provided innovative legal solutions in many of the world’s largest, most complex, “first-ever” corporate transactions and litigation. Our transactional expertise includes capital markets, corporate finance, project finance, acquisition finance, and other major fields of law practice. Milbank litigation teams resolve disputes involving mergers and acquisitions, proxy battles, financings and securities offerings, intellectual property, white collar crime, and corporate restructurings, among others. Our clients range from prominent multinational financial, industrial and commercial enterprises to governments, institutions and individuals. The Firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, DC.