Arthur Cox has one of Ireland’s leading Capital Markets practices with an extremely impressive domestic and international client base. The Capital Markets Group advises originators, lead managers, dealers, rating agencies, trustees and issuers on a wide range of debt capital markets transactions, including bond issues and debt issuance programmes, repackagings, LPNs, securitisations, covered bonds, CDO/CLO transactions and derivatives.
The firm’s strong Irish client base generates a significant volume of domestic debt capital markets transactions. We continue to have a leading position in the Irish covered bond market, acting as dealers counsel on all public mortgage covered bond programmes. We have been at the forefront of Ireland’s securitisation market, advising on the first ever RMBS and the first ever, and only, public CMBS. We have advised issuers and managers on a variety of Tier 1 and Tier 2 issues by Irish credit institutions. We have also seen the trend continue of having Irish originated capital markets transactions documented under Irish law. Apart from Arthur Cox, very few Irish firms have the expertise and capacity to do this.
Recently we have been advising clients (both credit institutions and other corporations) on a variety of liability management projects involving the buy-back of securities and loans.
Additionally, the combined strength of our Tax and Capital Markets groups has given us a significant edge in the international debt capital markets. In this regard, we continue to be by far the leading advisor on Russian LPN issues using Irish special purpose vehicles, whilst also advising on Russian securitisation transactions and ECP programmes.
Cormac Kissane (ex Clifford Chance and Sidleys) and Glenn Butt (an ex Allen & Overy Capital Markets partner) are the specialist debt capital markets partners within the Capital Markets Group. Between them they hold a wide range of expertise and experience, having had extensive experience as lead lawyers at major international law firms.
The strength of our tax practice, headed by Conor Hurley (ex Linklaters partner), and including senior tax partner, Caroline Devlin and partners Fintan Clancy (ex Skadden) and Ailish Finnerty, is integral to the success of our Capital Markets Group. We work extremely closely with our Tax Group and they play a significant role in all of our debt capital markets transactions.
We have a specialist business dedicated to advising clients on the listing of debt securities on the Irish Stock Exchange. Arthur Cox Listing Service (ACLS) has been tremendously successful and Director of Listings Helen Berrill (ex Irish Stock Exchange) heads up the listing team. Clients benefit from the one-stop shop offered by our Listings and Capital Markets Groups. ACLS advises European, US and Russian clients on the listing of a wide range of debt products including high yield debt, MTN programmes, CDOs, CLOs, securitisation, US shelf programmes and exchange offers. ACLS listed the first Islamic Finance programme on the Irish Stock Exchange. ACLS, in combination with lawyers from the Capital Markets Group, also advises on the application of the Prospectus Directive, Market Abuse Directive and Transparency Directive from a listing perspective.
We also work closely with our Financial Regulatory Group when advising issuers, banks, financial institutions and other businesses on Irish regulatory and compliance issues. We have particular experience in advising clients on market abuse and related issues, regulatory capital treatment of securities and transactions and issues relating to the conduct of investment business in Ireland.
Our Structured Finance and Securitisation Group also advises on a wide range of structured finance and securitisation transactions.
Our expertise in debt capital markets transactions includes:
Debt Capital Markets
We advise on all forms of debt capital markets transactions, domestic and international, including stand-alone Eurobond issues and programmes, structured and tax-driven private placements, Tier 1, Tier 2 and hybrid securities, warrants and debt issuance programmes, including medium term note and euro commercial paper programme establishment, trades and updates.
Irish Covered Bonds
We advise on Irish covered bonds and continue to have a leading position in the Irish covered bond market, acting as dealers counsel on all mortgage covered bond programmes.
LPN Structures
We have particular expertise in advising on Russian loan participation note transactions involving the use of Irish special purpose vehicles. To date, we have advised on substantially all Russian LPN structures using an Irish SPV.
Convertible and Exchangeable Bonds
We advise on equity-linked transactions, including convertible and exchangeable bonds.
High Yield Bonds
We advise on high yield and investment grade debt offerings, including the first issue of high yield bonds by an Irish issuer and many high yield issues since.
Repackaging
We advise on debt repackaging programmes and trades for a broad range of financial instruments.
Regulatory Capital
We advise on regulatory capital raising, including structuring and implementing tier-one and tier-two financing.
Restructuring and Insolvency
We advise originators, issuers and trustees on “post-issue” matters, including the restructuring of loans and securities and defaulted structured finance instruments. We advise on solvent liquidations as a means of restructuring outside of formal insolvency proceedings and advise issuers, directors, liquidators and creditors on all aspects of insolvent liquidations.
Regulatory and Compliance
We advise issuers, banks, financial institutions and other businesses on Irish regulatory and compliance issues, including market abuse and other issues relating to transparency and disclosure.
Derivative Products
Arthur Cox has a market leading derivatives team that advises on the full spectrum of products, markets, participants and transactions involving derivatives.
Securitisation
We advise on domestic and cross-border securitisations involving all major asset classes, including residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, trade receivables, auto leases, credit cards and other consumer debt as well as on whole business, true sale and synthetic securitisations. We advised on the first ever RMBS and the first ever, and only, CMBS in Ireland.
Structured Products
We advise on all types of structured credit products including CDO/CLO structures (whether documented as stand-alone transactions or programme trades), both cash and synthetic, static and managed CDOs, ABS CDOs, leveraged loan CDOs, fund of fund CDOs, CDOs of CDOs and CRE CDOs.
Listings
See Listing Services.
For further details of our expertise in asset backed transactions, please see Structured Finance and Securitisation.
Some of the recent transactions in which the Capital Markets Group has been involved includes:
- Advised a syndicate of five banks on the Irish aspects of a US$500 million cross-border refinancing of the debt of the ROLF Group
- Advising Barclays Bank as managers of a €6 billion long-dated bond issue by the State of Ireland, acting though its agent, the National Treasury Management Agency, which was awarded the “Best Euro Sovereign Bond in 2007” by EuroWeek. We have advised the managers of all of Ireland's public level issues since 2007
- Advising DAA Finance plc on a €600 million Eurobond issue guaranteed by Dublin Airport Authority plc
- Advising CRH America, Inc. on a $650 million bond issue under its US Shelf programme, guaranteed by CRH plc
- Advising CRH Finance (U.K.) plc on a £250 million bond issue, guaranteed by CRH plc, under its €3 billion Medium Term Note Programme
- Advising Barclays Capital, as lead manager, on the update of and trade under the AIB Mortgage Bank €15 billion Mortgage Covered Securities programme
- Advising the underwriters on Elan Corporation's $615 billion high yield bond
- Advising EBS Building Society on its €125 million Tier I capital issue
- Advising Credit Suisse on a transaction with Ecosecurities Group plc relating to the establishment of and provision of funding to an Irish vehicle involved in trading carbon emission reduction credits
- Advising TransCapitalInvest Limited on its dual tranche $600 million / $1.05 billion Loan Promissory Note
- Advising GPB Eurobond Finance plc on its CHF500 million Loan Promissory Note
- Lawyers from our Capital Markets group have been involved in the team advising the Department of Finance on the recent banking crisis in Ireland
The Capital Markets Group has also been involved in advising the following entities on their LPN transactions:
Alpha-Bank, Bank of Khanty Mansiysk, Bank Soyuz, Bank St. Petersburg, Bank VTB-24, Bank Zenit, Credit Bank of Moscow, EuroChem Mineral and Chemical Company, Locko-Bank, MDM Bank, National Bank Trust, Nizhenkamskeftekhim Inc. (NKNK), NOMOS-Bank, OJSC Coal Company Kuzbassrazrezugol, Promsvyazbank, Raiffeisenbank, Raspadskaya, Renaissance Capital, Tatfondbank, TransCapitalBank, Transneft, Trust Investment Bank, URSA Bank, VimpelCom.
Please see Structured Finance and Securitisation Group for details of our recent asset backed transactions, including CDO/CLO, RMBS and CMBS transactions.
- The National Asset Management Agency, Spring 2010
- Banking, Corporate and M&A, Financial Regulatory, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Tax, Property, Structured Finance and Securitisation, Company Compliance and Governance, Capital Markets, Financial Services Litigation
- 30.04.2010 | Format:
