Allen Overy Shearman Sterling has advised Citigroup Global Markets Europe, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, and J.P. Morgan as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers, as well as The Law Debenture Trust Corporation as trustee, on the EUR 700 million issuance of 8% senior guaranteed green notes by Energo-Pro. Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, member of Eversheds Sutherland, advised the issuer. BLC Law Office and White & Case and its Turkish affiliate law firm GKC Partners reportedly advised the issuer and guarantors. Boyanov & Co and, reportedly, BGI Advisory Services advised the joint bookrunners, the joint lead managers, and the trustee as well.
Headquartered in the Czech Republic, Energo-Pro is a hydropower generator and electricity distributor. According to A&O Shearman, the offering marks the company’s first green Eurobond issuance and is the largest single series of EUR-denominated notes ever issued by a Czech company. The offering was oversubscribed, attracting more than EUR 1.8 billion in orders. The proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition of 100% of the Baixo Iguacu hydropower plant in Brazil and to refinance Energo-Pro's existing USD 435 million 2027 notes.
“This issuance brought together a number of features that we have been developing over recent years: successfully refinancing a prior issuance, financing a new strategic asset, offering under Rule 144A/Reg S, deepening cooperation with anchor investors and the use of our new Green Financing Framework," commented Energo-Pro General Counsel Christian Blatchford. "Legal support from our lawyers, White & Case, and local counsel was as strong and helpful as ever. Market headwinds and the tight deadline required them to put in hours that made us wince, all without complaint. It was not easy to get this one over the line, but together we did it.”
The A&O Shearman team included Prague-based Partner Petr Vybiral, Senior Associates Tomas Kirner, Associate Denisa Jonasova, and Junior Lawyer Jan Vlcek, Istanbul-based Associates Melis Yilmaz Diler and Nur Ertekin, as well as further team members in the US, the UK, and Spain.
The Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, member of Eversheds Sutherland, team included Managing Partner Nikolay Bebov, Partner Damyan Leshev, and Of Counsel Yassen Spassov.
The Boyanov & Co team included Partners Damian Simeonov and Alexander Chatalbashev, Principal Associate Ralitsa Nedkova, and Senior Associate Georgi Drenski.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, BGI Legal confirmed its involvement to CEE Legal Matters. The firm's team included Senior Partner Lasha Gogiberidze, Legal Director Sopho Natroshvili, and Head of Litigation Practice Lika Topuria.
