Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has represented underwriters Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Securities in a $1 billion bond offering by Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica’s largest bank.
The issuance consists of two tranches: $500 million of 4.875% senior notes due 2018, and $500 million of 6.250% senior notes due 2023.
Banco Nacional is wholly owned by the Costa Rican government and is the country’s leading bank as measured by total assets, loans, and deposits.
New York-based partner Marcelo Mottesi, head of Milbank’s Securities group and member of its Latin America practice group, led the deal team, which also consisted of Tax partner Andrew Walker and associate Lysondra Ludwig, Securities associates George Naya and Donald Canavaggio, and international attorney Mario Sosa.
The Banco Nacional offering follows a series of recent capital markets transactions that Milbank has handled for issuers in Costa Rica. This past May, the firm advised underwriters in offerings by the central government as well as Banco de Costa Rica and Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the country’s largest electric utility; the three deals raised a total of $2 billion. Milbank has worked on $4 billion in bond issuances by Costa Rica's government and corporate issuers in 2012 and 2013 to date.
Mr. Mottesi said, “We’re very pleased to have worked on the first-ever international capital markets offering by Costa Rica’s largest bank, having advised on a similar issuance by the second-largest bank just a few months ago. Our work this past spring on offerings by Costa Rica’s government and state-owned power company is further evidence of the strength and stability of the country’s debt.”
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is a leading international law firm that has been providing innovative legal solutions to clients throughout the world for more than 145 years. Milbank is headquartered in New York and has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.
The Firm’s lawyers provide a full range of legal services to the world’s leading commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, as well as to institutions, individuals and governments. Milbank’s lawyers meet the needs of its clients by offering a highly integrated and collaborative range of services across key practice groups throughout its global network. Milbank’s integrated practice is underpinned by its attorneys’ acknowledged technical excellence, sectorial expertise and a strong tradition of innovation and client service.
Milbank's Latin America Practice Group is one of the most successful and diverse in the region. For the past three years, Milbank has been named the Top Project Finance Law Firm in Latin America by Chambers. The group’s attorneys have advised clients on some of the largest and most innovative transactions across the Americas, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Peru. Attorneys in the group specialize in securities, M&A, project finance, private placements, litigation & arbitration.
