CaribPR Wire

Akerman Senterfitt Advises First Citizens Bank Limited on Successful Placement

 MIAMI, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — First Citizens (St. Lucia) Limited, a special purpose subsidiary of First Citizens Bank Limited, recently closed on a $175 million Rule 144A/Resolution S placement of notes.  First Citizens Bank Limited, based in Trinidad & Tobago, guaranteed the notes.  Akerman Senterfitt advised First Citizens Bank Limited throughout this placement.  The notes will not trade on any exchange in the U.S.  The sole book running manager for the financing was J.P. Morgan.

 ”First Citizens is a leading financial institution in the Caribbean and found a strong and receptive market for this placement,” said Carlos Mendez-Penate, Co-Chair of Akerman’s Latin America & Caribbean practice.  “We were very pleased to work with our valued long standing client First Citizens on this important transaction.  We have seen a growing interest in capital financings in the Caribbean and Latin America with the rebound of the world economy.”

 First Citizens’ notes carry investment grade ratings from both Moody’s (A2) and Standard & Poor’s (BBB+), notable among Latin American financial institutions and a testament to First Citizens’ leadership position in the region.  The bank, which has $4.7 billion in total assets, has been named “Bank of the Year” by World Finance magazine, The Banker and Latin Finance and is the highest rated indigenous bank in the English-speaking Caribbean region.

 The Akerman team on this transaction included Carlos Mendez-Penate, Kenneth G. Alberstadt, and John J. Lee.  All are in Akerman’s New York office.

 Akerman is recognized by U.S. News – Best Lawyers as a national tier one law firm for Private Equity, and for Corporate, M&A, and Securities/Capital Markets law in the U.S.  In addition, Akerman’s Corporate practice is recognized by The Legal 500 within the National Firms – Middle Market category and is ranked #1 by Chambers & Partners for Corporate/M&A in Florida.  Akerman represents multinational clients on a wide range of cross-border mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, syndicated and secured lending transactions, project financings, and international disputes throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

 About Akerman Senterfitt

Akerman is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the U.S. by The National Law Journal NLJ 250 (2010) in number of lawyers and is the largest firm in Florida.  With 500 lawyers and government affairs professionals, Akerman serves clients throughout the U.S. and overseas from Florida, New York, Washington, D.C., California, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, and Nevada.  More information can be found at www.akerman.com or www.twitter.com/akerman_llp.