LONDON, April 29, 2024: Morgan Lewis and client Bank of America Securities earned the Ground-Breaking Deal of the Year Award as part of this year’s Bonds, Loans & ESG Capital Markets Africa Awards. The annual awards ceremony presents an opportunity to raise the profile of Africa’s financial markets with the international investment community and inspire future issuance by African companies.
Morgan Lewis’s role in the deal involved representing Bank of America Securities as sole initial purchaser and structuring agent on a $500 million debt-for-nature “blue bond” offering for the Republic of Gabon, structured as an issuance of 15-year notes pursuant to Rule 144A and Regulation S by a special-purpose Delaware trust, with the proceeds ultimately being lent to Gabon. This was the first-ever debt-for-nature conversion in Africa.
Partner Sandra Vrejan, along with partners Carter Brod, Charles Sweet, Peter Sharp, Daniel Nelson, Julie Stapel, and Carl Valenstein and associates Gregory Mottla, Eliza Biswas, Petrina Mironis, Saba Habte, Kimberly Liu, and Andrea Laprade, represented Bank of America.
Winners were announced at an awards ceremony on March 6. For more information, read Bonds & Loans’s announcement.