April 8, 2015
Willkie has been advising the French local government’s funding agency since its inception in 2013.
Agence France Locale, the first funding agency owned entirely by local governments and dedicated to their financing in France, recently received approval for its €3 billion EMTN program and successfully launched its €750 million inaugural bond issue, with a 0.375% coupon, maturing in 2022.
About 70 investors, of which approximately 80 percent were foreign, participated to the offering confirming the confidence and investors’ interest in the French local public sector and in Agence France Locale's business model.
Willkie advised Agence France Locale on all the legal aspects of its creation from the establishment of the agency in 2013 to its operational launch including its structuring, the drafting of the legal corpus governing its operations and of the mechanisms by which new local governments can become members. Willkie also advised Agence France Locale in its relationship with the French banking authority and the European Commission.
The team included partners Thierry Laloum and Gabriel Flandin along with associates Basma Paradin and Alexis Grisoni.
