GTBank announces final tender result for $500m eurobond

Guaranty Trust Bank plc has announced the expiration and final tender results of its cash tender offer  with respect to the U.S.$500,000,000 7.50 per cent notes due 2016.
  
According to a statement by the bank, as the expiration deadline for the tender offer was February 10, 2016, the deadline for tendering the securities under the offer has now passed.
  
It explained that an aggregate principal amount of U.S.$ 126,586,000 of the securities that were validly tendered on or prior to the expiration deadline and not validly withdrawn were accepted.
 
“No Securities were tendered through the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Tender Offer Memorandum dated February 4, 2016 (the “Tender Offer Memorandum”). The Settlement Date for the Tender Offer is February 16, 2016.
   
The bank explained that the tender offer is consistent with its liability management strategy and reflects the bank’s ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency of its funding and capital structure as it seeks to reduce its overall funding costs.
 
It added: “Subject to applicable law, the offeror or any of its affiliates may at any time and from time to time following completion of the Offer, purchase the remaining outstanding securities by tender, in the open market, by private agreement or otherwise on such terms and at such prices as the offeror or, if applicable, its affiliates may determine. Such terms, consideration and prices may be more or less favorable than those offered under the tender offer.”
 
The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Segun Agbaje expressed satisfaction at the outcome of this exercise.
 
He pointed out that the offer, which is the first of its kind involving a Nigerian corporate in the international financial markets, has enabled the bank to achieve the objective of reducing some of it’s borrowing costs ahead of the maturity of the eurobond in May 2016.
 
Agbaje added that the tender result is also a testament to the strength of the. Bank’s credit in the international capital markets.

“It is gratifying and humbling at the same time to note this level of investor confidence in the Bank”.
  
The bank explained further that the tender offer was made pursuant to the tender offer memorandum, which set forth in more detail the terms and conditions of the offer.

J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley acted as the Joint dealer managers for the Offer while  Lucid Issuer Services Limited acted as tender agent and Information Agent.
 
Legal Advisers for the offer, according to the bank were White & Case LLP (English and U.S. Law Counsel to the Bank and the Offeror), Linklaters LLP (English and U.S. Law Counsel to the Joint Dealer Managers), among others.