Melissa Butler is a partner in White & Case's Banking & Capital Markets Practice Group. She has experience representing public and private issuers and underwriters in offerings in the United States pursuant to Rule 144A, outside of the United States pursuant to Regulation S and SEC-registered equity offerings.

Her experience includes representation of:

• Represented the Republic of Namibia on its Debut US$500M 5.5% sovereign bond issue. Standard Bank and Barclays Capital acted as Joint Lead Managers.
• Represented the Federal Republic of Nigeria on its debut international bond issue. The US$500 million 6.75% notes due 2021, which was sold to US investors under Rule 144A and outside the US in reliance on Regulation S, is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
• Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Merrill Lynch International and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, together with ANZ Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Commerz Markets LLC, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, nabSecurities LLC and UBS AG as joint bookrunners, joint lead managers and initial purchasers in the Rule 144A/Regulation S offering of US$600 million 10.25% senior notes due 2018, which are guaranteed on a senior basis by Melco Crown Entertainment Limited and MPEL International Limited, and on a senior subordinated basis by certain of its subsidiaries. The issuer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Melco Crown Entertainment Limited, an owner, developer and, through one of its subsidiaries in Macau, operator of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities, focused exclusively on the Macau market.
• Diamond Bank Plc, one of Nigeria's leading commercial banks, in its US$500 million combined international and domestic offering of GDRs on the Professional Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange. Morgan Stanley acted as global coordinator and sole bookrunner, with Vetiva Capital Management acting as domestic coordinator and joint domestic underwriter.
• Guaranty Trust Bank plc in its Reg S/Rule 144A issue of US$750 million GDRs listed on the London Stock Exchange. This was the first sub-Saharan bank to list GDRs on the London Stock Exchange and the first Nigerian company to access the US markets. The transaction was completed in four months, which was a significant achievement given the financial, regulatory and legal hurdles that needed to be addressed in order to allow the transaction to go ahead and required us to get the Nigerian SEC to provide a specific exemption from the Nigerian regulatory share trading and settlement system to allow simultaneous settlement of the international and domestic offer. The GDRs were also sold domestically, allowing Nigerian investors to receive a dollar income on GTB shares, again a first. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan acted as joint bookrunners.
• ABN AMRO, Dresdner Bank and JPMorgan in connection with the issuance by Kazkommerts Bank of £350 million 7.625% Notes due 2012 and €750 million 6.875% Notes due 2017.
• Citigroup and Dresdner Bank in connection with the issuance by JSC Tsesnabank of US$125 million 9.875% Notes due 2010.
• Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank PLC in its high yield bond issue of US$350 million 8.5% Senior Notes due 2012—the first international corporate bond issue by a Nigerian business since the early 1990s. Standard Bank acted as sole bookrunner and was also Joint Lead Manager, along with Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited.

Bars and Courts
New York State Bar, 2002

Education
JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 2001
BA, University of Colorado, Highest Distinction, 1998

Citizenship
United States