van Heerden, Casper Partner, Johannesburg / Sandton
Casper van Heerden is a partner in Bowman Gilfillan’s Banking and Finance team, specialising in banking and finance-related work, and has significant experience in the debt capital markets area, which includes, but is not limited to corporate bond issues, domestic medium-term note programmes (DMTN programmes), commercial paper programmes, inward listings, global medium-term note programmes, high-yield bond issues and securitisations.
The IFLR1000 (2010) recognised Casper as a leading lawyer and described him as “possibly the best capital markets lawyer in South Africa.” He is consistently rated First Tier of South African Capital Markets lawyers by both IFLR 1000 and Chambers Global and is a member of the JSE Limited’s Advisory Committee (Bond Market).
Casper has advised on, and assisted large corporates and banks with a variety of listed and unlisted debt capital market transactions. These include bond issues for, amongst others, the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited (R2 billion), Transnet Limited (ZAR2 billion), Barloworld Limited (R1.5 billion), Telkom Limited (R2.22 billion) and more recently South Africa’s first convertible bond issue for Aquarius Platinum Limited, which was listed on the Main Board of the JSE Limited.
Casper regularly advises issuers, arrangers and dealers with the establishment of, and note issuances under, DMTN programmes. He has assisted, amongst other, the Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings (Pty) Limited (R10 billion), the Mercedes Benz South Africa (Pty) Limited (R18 billion), the SAPPI Manufacturing (Pty) Limited (R3 billion), the Transnet Limited (R18 billion) and Eskom Limited (R65 billion) with the establishment of their respective DMTN programmes, as well as the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the City of Cape Town and Umgeni Water with their capital markets transactions.
Casper acted for Calyon, through its South African branch, in establishing the first DMTN Programme in South Africa by a foreign bank. He advised African Development Bank and BNP Paribas with the inward listing of their respective programmes and has advised on various securitisation programmes, including OntheCards Investments Limited (including the restructuring thereof), Asset Backed Arbitraged Securities (Pty) Limited (ABACAS) (the latter being South Africa’s first securitisation conduit) and Freestone Finance Company (Pty) Limited securitisation programmes.
Casper assisted FirstRand Bank Limited, Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Nedbank Limited with their respective EMTN programmes to provide for the new bank capital adequacy regulations for the issuance of hybrid instruments. He recently assisted Savcio Holdings (Pty) Limited with the restructuring of its high-yield bond issue, as well as Transnet Limited with the establishment of its EMTN programme. Casper also advised various ratings agencies in relation to debt capital markets transactions and programmes. Casper, born and raised in the Eastern Cape, is an avid art enthusiast with an extensive knowledge of South African art and a keen collector of Dutch pottery (Gouda).
Casper van Heerden is a leading lawyer in the IFLR1000.
