Awards for Excellence 2016
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Chapel Hill Denham may be largely focused on Nigeria, but in that market it has shown the breadth and quality of its advisory offering. For that reason, the bank deserves to win this year’s African advisory award.
Over the last 12 months, Chapel Hill advised on three important debt capital markets situations, six mergers and acquisitions and four other financial transactions.
Perhaps its outstanding deal in 2015 was the listing of N4.8 trillion ($24 billion) of Nigerian federal government debt, in July. As listing sponsor on that massive operation, Chapel Hill advised the government and led the transaction. The listing improved secondary market liquidity and price discovery. According to the firm, the listing ensured that when Nigeria was removed from JPMorgan’s emerging markets government bond index a couple of months later, as a result of currency controls introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, there was minimal turmoil in the domestic bond market. It had been 25 years since the Nigerian government had has its bonds listed on a regulated market.
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In March this year, Chapel Hill also worked, as sole financial adviser, on restructuring N167.5 billion of Lagos State debt. Seeing that the state faced fiscal challenges and declining oil revenues, Chapel Hill approached it with a pitch to consider refinancing its outstanding bonds to generate savings and room for new borrowing. The restructuring required engaging all bondholders and other key stakeholders, and gaining their support for the acceleration of principal payments. It culminated in savings of $210 million for the state.
Chapel Hill was also adviser on the $230 million merger between Heritage Bank and Enterprise Bank and the $209 million increase in Diageo’s equity stake in Guinness Nigeria.
Outside Nigeria, Chapel Hill is sole financial adviser to the government of the Republic of Guinea on its plans to establish a development finance institution. That appointment in January this year was the firm’s first assignment for a client in Francophone West Africa, demonstrating its new ability to work abroad as well as in its home market.
