Cleary counsels CFE on $1.75bn sustainable bond issue
Cleary Gottlieb has assisted Mexico’s state-owned power utility, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, in its inaugural offering of sustainable bonds
Cleary Gottlieb has counselled Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s state-owned electricity company, in connection with the issuance of $1.25 billion US dollar principal amount of 4.688% sustainable bonds due 2029 and $500 million principal amount of 6.264% sustainable bonds due 2052, both secured by certain of the company’s subsidiaries.
This is CFE’s first sustainable bond offering in the international capital markets. CFE’s objective is to allocate an equal amount of the net proceeds of the offering to finance or refinance new or existing “eligible green projects” or “eligible social projects” under CFE’s sustainable framework.
The offering was priced on 8 February 2022 and is expected to close on 15 February 2022.
The notes are expected to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
In this transaction, BofA Securities, HSBC, J.P. Morgan and Santander acted as global coordinators and joint book-running managers for the offering, while Barclays, Scotiabank and SMBC Nikko acted as joint book-running managers. Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez acted as local counsel for CFE.
Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez’ team was composed by partners Eduardo Flores Herrera, José Ignacio Segura Alonso and Jorge Correa Cervera, together with associates Luis Ernesto Salomón Llinás, Norma Chayo, Valentina Pliego Enciso and Diego Ernesto Aznar Gándara.
Cleary’s team included partners Jorge Juantorena (pictured left) and Manuel Silva (pictured top right), associate Belén Pironi and law clerks Carla Martini and Alejandro Martínez-Inzunza. Partner Jason Factor (pictured bottom right), associates Michael Sims and Samuel Kramer, and law clerk Kelsey Barthold advised on US tax matters. Associates Amber Phillips and Veronica Joubert advised on Investment Company Act matters. All lawyers are based in New York, except Carla Martini, who is based in Buenos Aires, and Amber Phillips and Veronica Joubert, who are based in Washington, D.C.
