Baker McKenzie has advised the syndicate of 10 underwriters on the multi-tranche USD 2.5 billion (equivalent) (upsized from USD 2.06 billion) sustainability-linked four tranche high yield bond offering by certain subsidiaries of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. The Notes were SEC registered.
This is Teva’s second offering of Sustainability-Linked Senior Notes. With Sustainability-Linked Bonds adding up to the equivalent of USD 7.5 billion and multi-billion dollar sustainability linked credit facilities now in place, Teva becomes the largest Sustainability-Linked Bond issuer in the pharmaceutical industry and the second largest corporate Sustainability-Linked Bond issuer worldwide, with the largest High-Yield Euro issuance in over a year, demonstrating Teva’s continued commitment to sustainable finance.
The Sustainability-Linked Bonds are linked to 3 environmental and social KPIs - tied to targets such as improving access to Teva’s portfolio of medicines in low- and middle-income countries and reducing Teva’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, Mizuho, MUFG and PNC Capital Markets LLC acted as active joint book-running managers and BNP PARIBAS, BofA Securities, HSBC, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo and J.P. Morgan acted as passive joint book-running managers.
Concurrently with the bond offering, Teva ran a successful 6-tiered priority acceptance tender offer to purchase up to USD 2.5 billion (upsized from USD 2.25 billion) of certain of its other outstanding bonds. Affiliates of the active joint book-running managers acted as dealer managers in the tender offer.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by London-based High Yield Capital Markets & Leveraged Finance partners David Becker, Rob Mathews and Haden Henderson, and senior associate Ben Bierwirth, supported by associate Fani Chlampoutaki. Other team members included partners Creighton Macy (Washington), Jeffrey Martino (New York), Barry Thompson (Los Angeles), Ross Staine (Houston), Kai Kramer (Houston) and Philippe Steffens (Amsterdam), of counsel Sven Bates (London), and associates Johanna Asplund (London), Thomas Tysowsky (Los Angeles), Jot Van Suijlen (Amsterdam), Darley Maw (New York) and Audrey van Duyn (New York).
The Baker McKenzie team has a long history acting for underwriters, initial purchasers, lenders and other financial advisors to Teva, across Teva's capital structure.
High Yield Capital Markets & Leveraged Finance partner David Becker said: "It has been a pleasure working with Teva and its financial advisors on another milestone transaction demonstrating Teva’s strong ESG commitment and dynamic management of their capital structure."
The bond offering closed on March 9, 2023 and the early settlement date of the tender offer was March 15, 2023.