Natixis in Tier 1 Offerings Totaling More Than $1 Billion

Cleary Gottlieb represented Natixis in two offerings of deeply subordinated notes that will constitute Tier 1 capital for Natixis. The first offering, worth $300 million, closed April 16. The joint lead managers were HSBC, Natixis Funding and UBS Investment Bank and the notes have been listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The second offering, worth $750 million, was the first Tier 1 offering by Natixis under Rule 144A. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Natixis Bleichroeder acted as joint lead managers for the second offering, which closed April 30, and the notes are expected to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

Natixis (formerly known as Natexis Banques Populaires) is the corporate and investment banking affiliate of the Groupe Caisse d’Epargne and Groupe Banque Populaire, two leading French mutual banking groups. It was formed in November 2006 through the combination of more than a dozen banking affiliates of the two groups. Cleary Gottlieb represented Natixis in the share offering that accompanied the combination.

Tier 1 transactions involve the issuance of securities with debt-like features, which are counted as core capital under regulations that require banks to maintain minimum capital levels as a percentage of their risk-adjusted assets.