H&K and TCA assist in $200m restructuring of Tierra del Fuego Securities
Holland & Knight and Tanoira Cassagne Abogados have provided legal assistance under the laws of New York and Argentina, respectively, in the restructuring of $200 million par value of 8.950% Guaranteed Debt Securities issued in 2017 by the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands.
The restructuring was carried out through a request for consents to amend its secured callable notes due 2027, which was accepted by 90.89% of the holders, thus exceeding the minimum 75% required for the application of the amendments to be extended to all bondholders. This move allowed the application of the collective action clauses of the indenture to amend all the bonds. The transaction was closed on 28 December 2023.
Among the proposed amendments to the terms and conditions of the Notes, the terms were extended by 2 years and 9 months from the original maturity date of April 2027 to January 2030, as well as the modification of the principal amortisation schedule to 20 instalments starting in April 2025 and the modification of the interest payment date maintaining the original interest rate.
The same collateral scheme, consisting of the payment of hydrocarbon royalties to the province, was maintained, and those holders who gave their voluntary consent received an aggregate consent consideration of USD 6,000,000.
In this way, the province adapted to the regulations in force by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic as set out in Communication “A” 7782. The scheme chosen for the restructuring was similar to that used by other provinces and sovereign bonds.
BCP Securities and Puente Servicios de Inversión acted as dealer managers, advised by H&K; while Puente Hnos. acted as local consent solicitation agent in Argentina; Contexto Investments acted as financial advisor and Morrow Sodali International LLC as reporting and tabulation agent.
H&K’s team was led by partner Stephen J. Double (pictured left), with support from associate Pedro de Elizalde and international law clerk Cristobal Morales.
TCA’s team included partners Alexia Rosenthal (pictured centre) and Jaime Uranga (pictured right) and associates Lucía Viboud Aramendi, Teófilo Trusso, Juan Manuel Simó and Ana Lucía Miranda.
