Cleary Gottlieb Wins 2020 Law360 Capital Markets Practice Group of the Year

Cleary Gottlieb has won Law360’s Capital Markets Practice Group of the Year award for its role advising on landmark debt offerings, many of which included funding for environmental and social goals.

Cleary’s Capital Markets team was recognized for advising Alphabet in its $10 billion sustainability bond offering, of $5.75 billion was raised to fund environmentally-friendly projects and fight social inequality. Cleary “ties together a lot of different practices to focus on ESG issues […] That’s one of the things that we’re proud of,” said partner Jeffrey Karpf.

Law360 noted Cleary’s work for longtime client Citigroup Inc. in its inaugural a $1.5 billion green bond offering; Verizon Communications in a $1 billion green bond, underwritten by minority- and women owned firms; and Suzano’s first-ever sustainability-linked offering of $750 million.

The Capital Markets group also guided underwriters in Chevron’s $8 billion bond offering and a $4 billion offering; Chinese fintech company OneConnect Financial Technology in accessing U.S. capital markets with its $312 million U.S. initial public offering and a subsequent $356.4 million follow-on offering also led by the firm; GE in its return to the capital markets in spring for the first time in three years; and Artius Acquisition’s $630 million blank-check IPO. “There’s been a tremendous amount of evolution in relatively short order,” in the black-check IPO space in 2020, according to partner Adam Fleisher.