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The transaction was the first corporate finance instruction in Central and Eastern Europe that CMS has received from this key client. The firm's CEE Banking group has a long-standing relationship with UniCredit and regularly advises the bank on leveraged and real estate financings in the region.
The EUR 470 million 3-year senior term loan comprises of a EUR 320 million acquisition financing (to pay for a share buy back of 20% shares owned by the Greek telecom company OTE) and a EUR 150 million refinancing facility of an existing loan.
“This was nothing short of a unique deal in terms of public interest, volume, structure and size of the syndicate. Amid stories of dwindling liquidity in the banking sector, banks were eager to be part of this deal and the syndicate kept growing as the transaction evolved. We could not have wished for a better first corporate finance instruction in CEE from UniCredit and were pleased to have supported such a significant deal for the region,” says CMS Banking partner Mark Segall. “Due to our strong coverage of the region in combination with locally available English law capacity CMS is perfectly positioned to advise clients on transactions like this.”
Despite the challenging market conditions, the transaction received strong support from the market in syndication and raised a healthy oversubscription. The initial group of Mandated Lead Arrangers Crédit Agricole Serbia, Erste Group, Eurobank EFG Group, Komercijalna banka Beograd Group, Raiffeisen Group, Société Générale Bank Srbija and UniCredit Group grew into a 19 bank syndicate. The loan was partially underwritten by Erste Group and UniCredit, who were joined by Raiffeisen Group and Societe Generale Bank Srbija as Bookrunners. UniCredit also acted as the Coordinator, the Documentation Agent, the Facility and local Payment Agent for the transaction.
The team that has advised UniCredit consisted of Prague-based partner Mark Segall and senior associate Mills Kirin as well as partner Stojan Semiz and senior associate Aleksandra Jovic from CMS in Belgrade.
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Mark Segall
CMS Banking Partner - Team leader
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