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Chadbourne Represents Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. in Bond Offering That Wins Structured Financing Deal of the Year Award from Latin Finance Magazine

January 23, 2012

Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented Argentine airport concessionaire Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. ("AA2000") in a $300 million secured bond offering that won the Structured Financing Deal of the Year Award from Latin Finance magazine.

The award was given on January 19th at the magazine's annual awards ceremony at the Pierre Hotel in New York.

"This award highlights a milestone in the company’s history since this was the first international offering that the company has done after several offerings in the local market," said Chadbourne partner Marc Rossell, who led the team advising AA2000. "An improved political climate in Argentina and a robust bond market paved the way for us to successfully launch and close this important transaction for the company as well as for the country. Chadbourne is honored to have been a part of this award-winning deal and we are glad we were able to help our client with this landmark offering."

The offering was initially sized at $250 million but was subsequently increased to $300 million reflecting a solid book and successful road shows in the United States and overseas.

As operator of 33 of the airports in the Argentine airport system, the company is responsible for managing some of the largest airports by volume in Latin America. The company priced $300 million of its 10.75% senior notes due 2020. The 10-year, quarterly amortizing notes priced at par and are secured by certain airport revenues derived from the company’s concession contract. The proceeds were used principally for the construction of needed infrastructure at the company’s airports.

The notes were sold in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. The initial purchasers for the offering were Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and the placement agent in Argentina was Macro Securities S.A. Sociedad de Bolsa.

Nilo Barredo, Chadbourne senior corporate and capital markets associate, and Cesar Villamil, an associate in the firm’s Latin American Practice Group, assisted Mr. Rossell in advising AA2000.

Chadbourne’s strong experience in Argentina, together with its expertise in capital markets and working with airport concessionaires, made the deal easier to execute under the time constraints. Chadbourne has also represented Pan American Energy LLC, Argentine Branch in connection with an international note offering.