Nedbank gets $2bn Ghana Cocoa deal

Nedbank Capital is part of a winning consortium that has been awarded the mandate to arrange, underwrite and syndicate a $1,75bn pre-export receivables-backed facility to the Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB) in respect of the 2011/12 season.

Following a competitive bidding process, the winning consortium was announced earlier this year, comprising Nedbank Capital, Standard Chartered Bank, Natixis, Citibank, HSBC and Rabobank as the Coordinating Mandated Lead Arrangers (CMLAs) and bookrunners.

The mandate with the GCB was signed during May 2011 and launched a general syndication which closed on 12 July 2011, raising an unprecedented $2bn.

Nedbank Capital’s participation was for an initial underwriting commitment of $350m and the largest hold position of $150m.

Drawdown is expected to take place during October and November 2011.

"Nedbank Capital has a long standing relationship with the GCB and its management, which dates back to our first participation in the annual syndication in 2003 for an amount of $10m. We have participated four times and continue to value this syndication as a prized asset in our portfolio," said Sekete Mokgehle, head of Global Structured Trade & Commodity Finance at Nedbank Capital.

"Taking on the bookrunning role, with success, was a key milestone in the growth of our young team and we sincerely hope that these achievements will place Nedbank’s name as a serious player within sub-Saharan Africa’s commodity financing space," concluded Mokgehle.

 

credits: DES LATHAM / Business Daily

 

This article was originally posted on Sustainable Development Africa Platform

Are you interested in Market Research, Recruitment and Business Leads?

Join the Africa Business Panel, powered by Africa Business Communities.

www.africabusinesspanel.com