Kocian Solc Balastik has advised Energo-Pro on matters of Czech law related to its December 8, 2017, EUR 370 million debut Eurobond issue in London. Energo-Pro was advised as to English law by lead counsel Herbert Smith Freehills, as to Bulgarian law by Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski, and to Georgian law by the BLC Law Office. The Joint Bookrunners (Citigroup Global Markets Limited and J.P. Morgan Securities plc) and Joint Lead Managers (Citigroup and J.P. Morgan, as well as Banca IMI S.p.A, Komercni banka, a.s., and UniCredit Bank AG), and Trustee (Citibank, N.A London Branch) were advised by Allen & Overy on Czech and English law and by Spasov & Bratanov on matters of Bulgarian law.
The bonds that will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange mature on December 7, 2022 and carry a 4.000% annual coupon, and the issue price was 100%. S&P and Fitch assigned the bonds a rating of BB- and BB, respectively, in line with the corporate rating of Energo-Pro.
The bonds were sold to a broad range of international institutional investors across Europe, with an orderbook in excess of EUR 800 million. The net proceeds will be used for repayment of existing Group indebtedness and general corporate purposes.
“It was our debut issue on the international capital markets and it was a nice surprise for us to see such strong interest of more than 80 investors,” said Energo-Pro spokeswoman Hana Hikelova. "It is an expression of trust in our strategy and a confirmation of our strong position in the energy sector,”
Energo-Pro operates hydroelectric power stations in the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. Originally a Czech company, it gradually expanded to Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey, and it is also active in the electricity distribution and sale market, owning and operating electricity distribution networks in Bulgaria and Georgia which serve more than two million customers.
The Kocian Solc Balastik team included Partners Christian Blatchford and Martin Krejci and Associate Ondrej Mikula. The Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski team consisted of Partner Nikolay Bebov, Senior Associate Damyan Leshev, and Associate Petar Ivanov. The Allen & Overy team in Prague was led by Senior Associate Petr Vybiral, supported by Trainee Milan Sykora, and in London by Partner Philip Smith, supported by Senior Associate Peter Crossan. The Spasov & Bratanov team was led by Managing Partner Georgi Spasov and included Senior Associates Ina Raykova and Petar Dyankov.
