Sidley has advised Bank of Cyprus Holdings Public Limited Company in connection with the issuance of its €220,000,000 Fixed Rate Reset Perpetual Additional Tier 1 Capital Securities, and its concurrent cash tender offer to holders of its outstanding additional tier 1 capital securities.
The new issuance represents a successful return to the international debt capital markets for Bank of Cyprus following a two year hiatus. A broad range of institutional investors showed interest in the deal, with the order book closing 12 times over-subscribed. The transaction is particularly significant as it is the first euro-denominated additional tier 1 capital issuance by a European bank following the write-down of Credit Suisse’s additional tier 1 securities earlier this year, which effectively closed the new issuance market for additional tier 1 securities due to investor scepticism in light of the Swiss regulator’s actions.
David Howe, head of Sidley’s English law Capital Markets team, commented:
“We are delighted to assist our long-standing client Bank of Cyprus on yet another noteworthy capital raising. The success of the new issue and the related liability management exercise show how far the market has stabilised from the turbulence experienced following the write-down of Credit Suisse’s additional tier 1 securities back in March 2023. The strength and quality of the order book on this deal is testament to Bank of Cyprus’s successful transformation into a well-capitalised, diversified and profitable financial services group. We are very pleased to have supported Bank of Cyprus throughout this journey over the past few years.”
The Sidley team was led by David Howe (Capital Markets Partner, London), who was assisted by Omar Shafi (Capital Markets Counsel, London), Chris Savage (Capital Markets Managing Associate, London) and Victor Pianowski (Trainee Solicitor, London).
