GoldenTree Asset Management in Recapitalization of BAWAG

Cleary Gottlieb represented GoldenTree Asset Management LP and its affiliates in connection with the recapitalization and €200 million equity capital raise of Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse AG (BAWAG), one of Austria’s leading retail banks. BAWAG was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management in 2006 for €3.2 billion. The recapitalization will leave Cerberus with a holding of approximately 52%, with GoldenTree taking approximately 39% through a combination of participation in the capital raise and conversion of existing debt claims into equity alongside other lenders.

The transaction took the form of a €215 million cash common equity offering subscribed by existing BAWAG shareholders and lenders, and the exchange of more than €3.5 billion of loans into common equity of BAWAG’s indirect holding company.