Cleary and Sullivan steer Colombian bank's $1bn debt offering
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Sullivan & Cromwell have acted as lead advisers as Colombia’s Bancolombia completed its $1.15bn (£700m) debt offering on the international markets.
The transaction, which aims to prepare Colombia’s largest bank for potential finance takeovers across South America, was closed on 10 September.
Since the issuance, Bancolombia has subsequently offered to buy back an estimated $400m (£247m) in subordinated dollar bonds that are due to expire in 2017 in exchange for securities due in 2022 in order to extend maturities and reduce financing costs.
Sullivan and Colombian firm Gómez-Pinzón Zuleta Abogados advised Bancolombia on the issuance.
Washington DC-based corporate finance partner Robert Risoleo led the Sullivan team along with associate Adrianna Mikoczi in Washington DC and Jaime Ramirez in New York.
Gómez-Pinzón banking and finance co-director José Luis Suárez-Parra advised Bancolombia on the Colombian aspects of the deal alongside associates Alejandro Botero and Francisco Gómez in Bogotá
Cleary and Colombian firm Prieto Carrizosa acted as counsel to the underwriters, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley.
New York-based corporate finance partner Francesca Odell led the team at Cleary, which included associates David Flechner and Carlos Soto and international lawyers Amit Parekh and Lorena Slebi. They also turned to counsel Doug Boriskey and associate Kevin Swartz for advice on several tax aspects of the deal.
Prieto corporate partner Juan Fernando Gaviria and associates Carolina Duque, Diana Avila, Alejandro Bonfante and Andrea Prieto acted on the Colombian aspects of the transaction.
Background to this deal:
The firms have all advised on Bancolombia offerings in the past, including taking on identical roles in 2010 when Bancolombia sold $620m of 10-year subordinated bonds.
