Thursday 23rd February 2012

Sebalu & Lule maintains IFLR1000’s Tier One rating

Sebalu & Lule is pleased to announce that it maintained its Tier One ranking following the release of annual ratings by the IFLR1000:  The Guide to the World’s leading Financial Firms on October 14th, 2011.  The IFLR1000 is a global publication that researches and rates the leading corporate finance firms worldwide. Tier One is the highest rating level in the individual countries.

Sebalu & Lule’s highlight deals for the year of research were:

  • Legal advisor for the cross-listing of the Nation Media Group, East and Central Africa’s leading multi-media house, on the Uganda Securities Exchange. Sebalu & Lule acted with Kenyan firm Iseme, Kamau & Maema Advocates for this transaction.

  • Legal advisor for the US$ 17 million medium-term bond issue listed by Standard Chartered Bank Uganda on the Uganda Securities Exchange. The listing was fully subscribed and marked one of the biggest bond issues in recent times.

  • Legal advisor for a landmark US$ 3 million facility between the East African Development Bank and a local commercial bank. This transaction was a novelty for it involved the place of a charge on government treasury bills as collateral.

  • Legal and transaction advisor to Electromaxx, a local independent power producer, on a US$ 35 million project and infrastructure finance facility for the borrower’s expansion of its thermal power plant from 20MW to 50MW. This was the first wholly locally financed energy project in Uganda.

  • Local counsel to the Netherlands’ FMO and Germany’s DEG for the US$ 25 million additional financial to Bujagali Energy Limited, the Bujagali II hydro-power dam special purpose vehicle.  The construction of the Bujagali II hydro-power dam is Uganda’s largest ever energy and infrastructure project. Sebalu & Lule acted a co-counsel to Linklaters LLP for this transaction.  The firm also acted as local counsel for the head US$ 700 million project and syndicated financing for the project in 2008.

Partners Barnabas Tumusingize, James Mukasa Sebugenyi, Nicholas Ecimu, Joseph Luswata and Associate Brenda Ntambirweki all receive honourable mentions while Messrs Tumusingize and Ecimu are rated as leading lawyers.

Sebalu & Lule’s association with DLA Piper and Juris East Africa was also recognized as the “headline story” in Uganda’s legal market over the past year.

The IFLR1000’s research is based on interviewing leading private practitioners and their clients. In each case, the leading firms and individuals in the jurisdiction they operate in are discussed, as well as recent legal market trends. The rankings reflect the opinions of clients and competitors of the featured firms gathered during an extensive interview process. The ratings can therefore be considered to represent a cross-section of market opinion.

By retaining its Tier One ranking, Sebalu & Lule continues to demonstrate the breadth and depth of its quality in project & infrastructure finance and capital markets. The firm is delighted to be recognized as a market leader in these practices and conveys its heartfelt gratitude to the IFLR1000’s editorial team for the Uganda chapter led by Mr. James Wilson.

To see the firm’s Summary Page on the IFLR1000 rankings, please follow this link: http://www.iflr1000.com/JurisdictionFirm/7775/129/Sebalu--Lule-Advocates.html#Jurisdiction120