The FINANCE MAGAZINE Deals of the Year 2007 awards recognise the deal making expertise of Ireland's corporate and capital markets advisers
From private placements, to equity placings, from take-privates to securitisations, this year's FINANCE MAGAZINE Deals of the Year 2007 awards recognise the strength and depth of Ireland's capital and corporate finance markets. |
Best Equity-Linked Deal: Aer Lingus IPO
 Aer Lingus finally came to the market in October 2006, following years of 'will they, won't they' speculation. The deal was the first privatisation of an Irish company since eircom in 1999 and the first listing on the Irish Stock Exchange in over two years. Aer Lingus also listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was the first airline to be brought to market in the UK and Ireland following the flotation of Easyjet six years ago. Dermot Mannion, as CEO of Aer Lingus, was the man who made it finally happen. |
Most Innovative Deal: Start Mortgages Limited
 The winner of this year's most 'innovative' deal is Start Mortgages' E370 million securitisation, Landsdowne Mortgages Securities No.1 plc, the first non-conforming issue in Ireland. Last year's winner was also a securitisation deal, Real Estate Opportunities commercial mortgage backed Opera deal - the first CMBS deal in the Irish market. |
Best Leveraged Finance Deal: Riverdeep reverse takeover
The $4.5 billion reverse takeover by Irish interactive educational software publishers Riverdeep, of US educational textbook publisher, Houghton Mifflin, was the biggest deal of 2006, the largest ever takeover of a US entity by an Irish company, and the second-largest transaction in Irish corporate history. |
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Corporate Finance Deal of the Year: The aquisition of Eircom Group plc
Although nominated three other times in FINANCE's 'Deals of the Year', telecommunications firm Eircom has never won an award. However, this year, Babcock & Brown's E2.4 billion acquisition of the company scooped the 'Corporate Finance Deal of the Year Award', in what is the firm's second leveraged buy-out in the space of just five years. |
Best Bank Funding Deal: Ulster Bank
 This year's 'Best Banking Funding Deal', Ulster Bank's Celtic residential mortgage backed securitisation (RMBS), was the largest securitisation ever from the Irish market and one of the largest funding transactions ever undertaken by an Irish institution. Transacted in December 2006, it was also the first multi-currency Irish securitisation deal, issuing nine tranches of notes spread between euro, dollar and sterling, as well as being the first Irish bank securitisation deal to be rated by three rating agencies i.e. Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch. |
Private Client Deal of the Year: Airtricity Holdings Limited
This year, a new category has been introduced, 'Private Client Deal of the Year'. The award goes to the E95 million investment in Airtricity this year by private clients of NCB to help meet Airtricity's equity requirements as it continues its expansion into new markets. |
Best Project Finance Deal: Limerick Tunnel PPP Project
The project to build a road by-passing Limerick city was awarded 'Project Finance Deal of the Year'. The E241 million deal involved an innovative conduit bond financing structure arranged by HBOS, combined with financing of the European Investment Bank, as well as mezzanine and junior finance tranches. It is the first Irish infrastructure project to have been bond financed. A&L Goodbody, McCann FitzGerald and Linklaters provided legal advice on the deal. |
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