Banc of America Securities in Restructuring of Mastellone Hermanos Debt

Cleary Gottlieb represented Banc of America Securities as dealer manager in the restructuring by Mastellone Hermanos of approximately $222.5 million of its outstanding financial debt through an exchange offer and solicitation of consents to execute an out-of-court restructuring agreement (known as an acuerdo preventivo extrajudicial or APE) under Argentine bankruptcy law.

Creditors holding 97.9%, or $218 million, of Mastellone’s outstanding financial debt tendered their debt, which was exchanged for an amount in cash and new notes and loan debt due 2015 and 2018, without the filing of an APE. Participating creditors also received an additional payment in cash equal to the interest accrued and unpaid on the participating debt. The new notes and loan debt are guaranteed by three of Mastellone’s subsidiaries and part of the notes and loan debt share with the non-participating notes and debt the benefit of certain pledge agreements of over 49% of Mastellone’s capital stock. The transaction closed on May 7.

Mastellone is the biggest dairy company and leading processor of fresh dairy products in Argentina as measured by physical volume.