Cleary Gottlieb represented its longtime client Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (“FEMSA”) in the sale of $300 million 2.875% senior notes due 2023 and $700 million 4.375% senior notes due 2043, in an SEC registered offering. Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. acted as joint lead managers and bookrunners in the offering, which priced on May 7 and closed on May 10. The issuance was FEMSA’s first takedown under its recently established shelf registration statement, and both series of notes were listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the GEM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange. The transaction was oversubscribed more than 8 times, and the coupon for the 2023 notes represents the lowest ever achieved by a Latin American corporate issuer in the U.S. debt markets.
FEMSA is a leading Mexican company that participates in the beverage industry through Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world; in the retail industry through FEMSA Comercio, operating OXXO, the largest and fastest-growing chain of small-format stores in Latin America; and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake in Heineken, one of the world’s leading brewers with operations in 178 countries.
