2023 Q2Corporate Liability Management of the Year

Deals of the YEar awardsCorporate Liability Management of the Year: ValeIntro DividerThe old cliché that every challenge is also an opportunity could aptly apply to the winner of the award for Corporate Liability Management of the Year. In June 2022, when capital markets were shaken by geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, Brazilian miner Vale decided to buy back up to $1 billion in bonds to improve the profile of its debt. At the time, the company had plentiful reserves of cash to hand and believed that bondholders would be open to accept a tender offer on terms that were favorable to the company. “Political and geopolitical instability was partially responsible for the global hike in interest rates, which as a result made attractive the buying back of the bonds,” says Vale’s CFO Gustavo Pimenta. “The tender offer was very well received by bondholders and there was no need to adapt the structure to convince investors to participate.” The tender offer was in fact so successful that the company decided to up the value to $1.3 billion. Pimenta and his team decided to innovate and opted to launch a “droppable” any-and-all tender of six series of bonds ranked in order of priority, as suggested by its bankers. “We chose this format so that we did not get too far from the buy-back limit defined by the offer,” Pimenta says. “Also because it is a structure that, thanks to its fastest execution period, is more favourable in periods of high market volatility.” According to the company, the deal aimed to prioritize repurchases of notes with maturities in 2026 while paying a modest premium. “Among our goals, we wanted to reduce short-term debt, as there was a concentration of debt in that period and take advantage of an attractive pricing at the time to repurchase bonds,” Pimenta says. “We believe we have achieved both goals.” LFDividing RuleSUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:Joint Deal Managers: Citi; BMO; Credit Agricole; MUFG; Scotiabank; SMBC NikkoIssuer's Legal Advisors: Cleary Gottlieb; Stikeman Elliott; Walkers
Dealer Managers' Legal Advisors: Gibson Dunn; Pinheiro Guimarães Issuer's Trustee: BNY Mellon Tender/Information Agent: D.F. King & Co
All supporting financial institutions and law firms were transmitted to LatinFinance by the award category winners. For updates please email awards@latinfinance.comCoverMastheadLetterTable of ContentsDatabankMarket Talk: BondsMarket Talk: EquityMarket Talk: M&AMarket Talk: LoansCover Story: LatAm Capital MarketsScotiabankCover Story: Local Currency BondsBrazil: Economic PolicyBrazil: Interview: Gustavo LoyolaBrazil: Local Bond MarketsBrazil: Capital Market RegulationNearshoring in MexicoPeru's EconomyWinners: 2022 Deals of the Year AwardsSovereign Issuer of the YearCorporate Issuer of the YearSustainable Borrower of the YearSovereign Bond of the YearQuasi-Sovereign Bond of the YearCorporate High-Grade Bond of the YearCorporate High-Yield Bond of the YearSubnational Deal of the YearSovereign Liability Management of the YearQuasi-Sovereign Liability Management of the YearCorporate Liability Management of the YearIPO of the YearEquity Follow-On of the YearPrivate Equity Deal of the YearSovereign ESG Deal of the YearCorporate ESG Deal of the YearCross Border M&A Deal of the YearDomestic M&A Deal of the YearSyndicated Loan of the YearFinancing Innovation of the YearSovereign Restructuring of the YearCorporate Restructuring of the YearFI Deal of the YearSovereign Local Currency Deal of the YearCorporate Local Currency Deal of the YearStructured Financing of the YearLaw Firm of the Year - Latin AmericaSustainable Finance Law Firm of the YearLaw Firm of the Year – MexicoLaw Firm of the Year – BrazilLaw Firm of the Year – AndesBond House of the YearM&A House of the YearEquity House of the YearLoan House of the YearInvestment Bank of the Year Latin AmericaParting Shot: Maisa Rojas