denotes premium content | Jan 6 2009 
Feature
posted 23 Feb 2005 in Volume 8 Issue 4
Cocobod, Ghana: The sky’s the limit
MLA: Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays Bank, Natexis Banques Populaires, Royal Bank of Scotland, SG CIB
Borrower: Ghana Cocoa Board
Deal size: $850m
Legal adviser: Denton Wilde Sapte
Signing: 22 September 2004
Launched at $700m and having done exceptionally well in syndication, the 2004 Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod) facility reached a record high of $850m, and was officially signed on 22 September 2004, in Accra, Ghana, for the very first time. It is not only the largest soft-commodity deal ever done in Sub-Saharan Africa to date, but also the largest soft-commodity transaction to a producer in the world.
In 2003, the receivables-backed pre-export finance term loan facility, after raising more than $700m in general syndication, was underwritten at $500m, up from $320m in 2002 and $300m in 2001. It seems the annual refinancing just keeps on getting better thanks to a steady improvement in Ghana’s country risk over the past few years, Cocobod’s impeccable track record, and a record crop predicted for 2003/2004.
“This transaction has grown in stature from its original inception 12 years ago when it was groundbreaking at less than $100m,” says Geoffrey Wynne, partner at Denton Wilde Sapte, who has been involved in the deal as legal adviser from its inception. “This has been achieved on the back of a highly disciplined performance from the Ghanaian parties. They have always been prepared to understand the price (in documentation terms) that is being paid for the increases and have been prepared to accommodate that,” he explains.
