Norton Rose Fulbright advises Ecobank on this year’s first public Eurobond by a bank in sub-Saharan Africa

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank) on this year’s first public Eurobond by a financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa – and only the second to be issued since 2021.

Ecobank is the holding company for the leading pan-African banking group, with a presence in 35 African countries across Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The group is systemically important across sub-Saharan Africa, servicing regional and global corporations, governments, international organisations and over 32 million customers.

Ecobank issued US$400 million 10.125 percent senior bonds, due 2029, which were listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. It will use the net proceeds of the bonds for general corporate purposes, including the refinancing of a portion of existing bank debt, including a US$350 million senior bridge-to-bond loan facility entered into earlier in 2024 with Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation, Mashreqbank psc, Absa Bank Limited and Standard Chartered Bank.

The transaction was anchored by Africa Finance Corporate, PROPARCO, and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, with committed orders totalling US$145 million.

The Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners were Absa, Africa Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank, Mashreq, and Standard Chartered Bank. Renaissance Capital Africa acted as Financial Adviser to Ecobank.

The London-based Norton Rose Fulbright team advising Ecobank was led by debt capital markets partner Peter Young, alongside counsel Julian Walley, associates Cole Chase and Dario Panza, and trainee solicitors James Dempsey and Imogen Duke.

This transaction builds on the firm’s work with Ecobank, having advised on its issue of the first Tier 2 sustainability bond to be issued by a financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa in June 2021, as well as on its inaugural US$500 million Rule 144A/Regulation S international bond issue in 2019, listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.