Morgan & Morgan advises the issuer in a senior notes issue for an amount up to US$600 million to complete the acquisition of Corredor Norte

As part of the acquisition of the Corredor Norte, Morgan & Morgan also represented the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Empresa Nacional de Autopista, S.A. (ENA), and ENA Norte, S.A. (an affiliate of ENA), in a U.S. $600,000,000 issuing of 4.95% Notes due 2028, registered before the National Securities Commission of the Republic of Panama and successfully placed through the Panama Stock Exchange.

The acquisition of the Corredor Norte was one of the centerpieces of the Panamanian government’s infrastructure improvement plan, and was implemented through ENA Norte, S.A. As collateral on the Notes, ENA Norte, S.A., assigned its rights under the Concession to the ENA Norte Trust, a trust created in order to act as issuer of the Notes.

HSBC Securities (USA), Inc., and Global Bank Corporation acted as Joint Lead Managers, while HSBC BANK (PANAMA), S.A., was selected to act as trustee of the ENA Norte Trust.

Fitch Ratings assigned a BBB rating in the International Scale, and an AAA in the National Scale to the Notes. The issue of these secured notes was structured with a pass-through repayment mechanism, with all excess cash to be used to repay the principal. The proceeds from the Notes, which were issued under Rule 144-A/Reg S, were used to finance part of the US$647MM purchase price for the Corredor Norte concession.

Morgan & Morgan acted as Panamanian counsel for MEF, ENA and ENA Norte. Partner Inocencio Galindo led the Morgan & Morgan team, which was also comprised of partner Ramon Varela and associates Roberto Vidal, Ricardo Arias, Gilbert Mallol and Ana Carolina Castillo. And partners Raul Castro, Eduardo Gonzalez, and associate Nestor Broce, were all assumed the principal responsibility in the trustee operation.