Cleary assists in Chile’s $1.75bn SLB bond offering
Cleary Gottlieb has assisted the initial purchasers in the Republic of Chile’s (Chile) global offering of its 5.3% SLB bonds governed by Chilean law and maturing in 2037, which consisted of a public offering in Chile and a simultaneous offering and sale of bonds to eligible investors outside Chile.
BofA Securities (BofA), Citigroup Global Markets (Citi), Itau BBA USA Securities (Itau) and J.P. Morgan Securities (JPM) acted as initial purchasers.
Chile offered investors outside Chile 720.2 billion pesos of the bonds. BofA, Citi, Itau and JPM acted as initial purchasers of the bonds sold to investors outside Chile. The global offering was launched on 19 July 2023, priced on 20 July 2023 and closed on 24 July 2023.
Under the terms of the bonds, Chile offered to pay upside fees (15 or 30 basis points) if Chile does not achieve the following sustainability targets: (a) absolute annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 95 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, (b) a GHG budget of 1,100 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide between 2020 and the end of 2030, and/or (c) at least 40% women on the boards of companies reporting to the National Financial Market Commission by the end of 2031.
This is the first issuance of an SLB in Chilean pesos and it is also the first issuance of an SLB by a sovereign that incorporates an objective linked to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Cleary’s team included partner Jorge Juantorena (pictured) and associates Ignacio Lagos and Rodrigo Lopez Lapeña. Counsel Matt Brigham and associates Jesse Hong and Daniel Solecki advised on New York tax matters. All lawyers are based in New York.
