Cleary and Ritch Mueller advise on $1.5bn CFE offering
Cleary Gottlieb has advised Mexico’s state-owned electricity utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), and Ritch Mueller advised the initial purchasers, on its issuance of USD $1.5bn principal amount of sustainable bonds.
The amount was comprised of USD $1.0 billion principal amount of 6.450% sustainable bonds due 2035 and USD $500 million principal amount of 5.700% sustainable bonds due 2030, issued under foreign law. Both are guaranteed by certain subsidiaries of the company.
CFE intends to use an amount equal to the net proceeds of the offering to finance or refinance eligible green or social projects under CFE’s sustainable financing framework.
The offering listed on 17 September and closed on 24 September, with Simpson Thacher acting as advisor to the initial purchasers in the US, and Creel García Cuéllar Aíza y Enríquez acting as advisor to CFE in Mexico.
BBVA Securities, Bank of America Securities, Citigroup, HSBC and Mizuho acted as global coordinators and joint book-running managers for the offering, while BNP Paribas, Santander, Scotiabank and SMBC Nikko acted as joint book-running managers.
The notes are expected to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Cleary’s corporate team included partners Jorge Juantorena (pictured bottom left) and Manuel Silva (pictured bottom right), associates Carla Martini and Nicole Mueller, and international lawyer Hector Rafael Figueroa. Partner Matthew Brigham and associates Adriana De Bartolo and Julia Huang advised on U.S. tax matters. Partner Amber Phillips and associate Anna Bintinger advised on Investment Company Act matters. All lawyers are based in New York, except Amber Phillips and Anna Bintinger who are based in Washington, D.C.
Ritch Mueller’s team was led by partners Eric Silberstein Lerner (pictured top left) and Asaf Jiménez Adorno (pictured top right), with support from Alonso Montes de Oca Márquez, Ernesto Talamás Velázquez and Santiago Zardain Escudero.