Ashurst wins Loans Deal of the Year at IFLR Sub-Saharan Africa Awards

Partner Matt Wood led the team advising Africa Finance Corporation ('AFC') on its debut Samurai US$233 million and JPY1 billion syndicated financing, which was named Loans Deal of the Year. The loan is AFC’s first Asian-currency denominated loan facility, and is an important step as AFC builds a broad coalition of investors to diversify its capital structure and allow institutions from around the globe to participate in Africa’s development.

The IFLR Awards focus exclusively on legal innovation and ingenuity in cross-border transactions, recognising the transactions that break new legal ground, set market precedents or introduce new innovations to the legal toolkit.

Yann Alix, head of Ashurst's Africa practice, said:

"We are delighted to have received this market recognition, it is a testament to the team's hard work and focus on delivering the highest level of client service. It is also recognition of the quality of our growing Africa practice, which brings together the extensive experience of more than 150 partners and associates across our network, key practice areas and industries."