Ian Clark
Biography
Chambers Global 2024
“Ian Clark is recognised for his expertise in advising and representing sovereign issuers, particularly in the emerging markets.”
Chambers UK 2023
“His practical expertise is great and he is very focused on the details that matter in sovereign situations.”
Chambers UK 2022
Overview
Ian Clark is the Global Head of the Sovereigns & Public Sector Practice at White & Case and a partner in the Firm's Capital Markets group in London.
Ian has more than 35 years of experience advising sovereign governments, sub-sovereign entities and other parties in connection with a broad range of sovereign debt matters. In this connection, he has been involved or continues to act in many prominent sovereign debt issues and sovereign and sub-sovereign debt restructuring transactions of the past three decades in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Ian has advised or is currently advising the sovereign or the principal private creditors in the debt restructurings of Argentina, Ecuador, Ukraine, Greece, Lebanon, Mozambique, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sudan, Ethiopia, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Albania, International Bank of Azerbaijan, BTA Bank (Kazakhstan) and various Argentine provinces (including the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Entre Rios).
Experience
Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, ongoing
Advises the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on all external debt matters, including those arising from the country's current crisis. Other matters regarding which he has advised the Ukrainian government include its comprehensive liability management transaction at the end of 2022 (awarded "Debt and Equity-Linked Deal of the Year 2023", IFLR Europe Awards), its US$2.4 billion restructuring in 2000, its US$15.0 billion restructuring in 2015 ("Global Finance Deal of the Year: Public Restructuring", the American Lawyer Awards) and numerous external debt issues.
Sri Lanka's sovereign debt restructuring, ongoing
Advised the Ad Hoc Sri Lanka Bondholder Group, the largest group of Sri Lanka's bondholders, on the restructuring of the country's $12.5 billion of external bonded debt.
Suriname's sovereign debt restructuring, 2023
Advised the Ministry of Finance of Suriname in connection with the restructuring of approximately $2.1 billion of external commercial and official debt.
Lebanon's sovereign debt restructuring, ongoing
Advised the largest bondholder group on the ongoing restructuring of c.US$30 billion of Lebanon's sovereign debt.
Qatar Energy's debut bond offering, 2021
Advised Qatar Energy, the national oil and gas company of the State of Qatar, on its debut offering of US$12.5 billion (in aggregate) notes. The transaction was the biggest emerging-market debt offering in 2021.
Ecuador's sovereign debt restructuring, 2020
Advised the Ad Hoc Ecuador Bondholder Group, the largest group of the Republic of Ecuador bondholders, on the successful restructuring of the country's US$17.4 billion of external debt. The transaction marked the first successful sovereign debt restructuring since the outbreak of COVID-19, and the terms of the new bonds provide Ecuador substantial debt relief while preserving bondholder value. "Debt and equity-linked Deal of the Year 2021", IFLR Americas Awards.
Argentina's sovereign debt restructuring, 2020
Advised the Ad Hoc Argentine Bondholder Group, the largest group of Argentina's bondholders comprised of major institutional investors, on their negotiations with the government of Argentina on the restructuring of the country's $65 billion of external debt in 2020. "Deal of the Year 2021", Latin Lawyer Awards.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's debut euro-denominated issuance, 2019
Advised the managers on the issuance by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of €1 billion 0.750% notes due 2027 and €2 billion 2.000% notes due 2039 under its 144A/Reg S GMTN Programme. The issuance represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's first euro-denominated issuance.
IMF capacity building conference: "Debt Sustainability and Debt Restructuring", February 2024 (speaker)
ISI Global Emerging Markets Annual Summit, October 2023 (keynote speaker)
Wilton Park conference: "Emerging markets in debt distress: exploring options for debt restructuring", September 2023 (speaker)
Co-author of "Understanding Sovereign Debt: Options and Opportunities for Africa", a handbook on sovereign debt issues prepared under the leadership of the African Legal Support Facility
Co-authored an article published in the Capital Markets Law Journal entitled: "Towards a More Robust Sovereign Debt Restructuring Architecture: Innovations from Ecuador and Argentina", 2021.
Leading Lawyer, Chambers UK 2024
Capital Markets: Debt – London (Firms)
Leading Lawyer, Chambers Global 2024
Capital Markets: Debt – UK
Leading Individual, The Legal 500 2024
Debt Capital Markets (London Firms)
Leading Individual, The Legal 500 2024
Industry Focus: Emerging Markets
