November 9, 2012
Newly issued French bond will provide local authorities the opportunity to finance public investments previously stalled by liquidity crunch.
On November 8, it was announced that a group of 44 French local authorities, including regions, cities, and other local public institutions, successfully launched a €610 million jumbo bond at 4.30% due in 10 years. A multidisciplinary team of Willkie attorneys represented all 44 issuers and bank pools including Natixis, CACIB and HSBC. The newly announced bond issue, the first bond issue of this size in France relative to the large number of entities involved, will finance public investments that were pending due to the several months-long banking liquidity shortage. More than 30 French and international investors have already subscribed to this currently unrated bond.
From a legal perspective, the transaction required careful coordination with all 44 authorities to confirm that all involved authorities were validly committed within the tight schedule of the bond issue. The completion of the prospectus involved a close collaboration with the French securities regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), which granted particular attention to this matter at the highest level.
Willkie partner Thierry Laloum, national partner Vincent Brenot and associates Iris Géniès, Emilie Patoux, and Alexis Grisoni provided public law advice. Associates Michaël Armandou and Farah El-Bsat handled the financing aspects.
