The Firm represented Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, as initial purchasers, in connection with an offering of U.S.$600 million aggregate principal amount of 5.25% Senior Notes due 2017 issued by Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A.  The offering was conducted in reliance upon Rule 144A and Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and constituted Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A.’s inaugural securities offering in the U.S. and other international capital markets.

Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. is the largest banking group in Colombia, based on total assets at September 30, 2011, and is also a leading banking group in Central America.  Grupo Aval Acciones y Valores S.A. consists of four commercial banks in Colombia (Banco de Bogotá S.A., Banco de Occidente S.A., Banco Popular S.A. and Banco Comercial AV Villas S.A.), the largest pension and severance fund manager in Colombia (Sociedad Adminstradora de Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantías Porvenir S.A.), the largest merchant bank in Colombia (Corporación Financiera Colombiana S.A.), as well as a leading bank in Central America (BAC Credomatic Inc.).

The Simpson Thacher team for the debt offering included, among others, Glenn M. Reiter, Grenfel S. Calheiros and  Diego Nogueira (Capital Markets), and Jonathan Cantor and Andrew Purcell (Tax).