Allen & Overy announced today that it represented a syndicate of Czech and international banks in relation to EUR640 million senior secured facilities provided to SAZKA Group a.s. (the Company) and its subsidiaries. The proceeds of the financing will refinance several bilateral and syndicated facilities of the Company and its subsidiaries.
The deal is the first of its kind in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in that it brings the local bondholders (in the Czech Republic and Slovakia), international bondholders (under New-York-law-governed notes) and bank lenders under a common intercreditor structure governed by English law.
The Allen & Overy team working on the transaction was led by London-based counsel Jan Skuhravý working with senior associate George Chrysospathis and associate Jonathan Roberts. It also included partners Jeanette Cruz and Matthias Baudisch (both in A&O’s U.S. corporate finance team based in London).
The Czech aspects of the transaction were led by Prague-based partner Petr Vybíral working with associates Pavel Příhoda and Tomáš Kirner. Counsel Peter Jedinák and Matúš Kudlák were responsible for the Slovak law aspects of the refinancing. The Italian law aspects were handled by associate Martina Gullino.
Bernitsas acted as Greek law counsel to the lenders while Georgiades & Pelides LLC advised the lenders in Cyprus, and CMS Reich Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwälte GmbH in Austria.
Jan Skuhravý commented: “It has been a privilege to have the opportunity to showcase what we at A&O thrive on, which is providing seamless advice across a number of products in companies’ capital structure and in a range of jurisdictions”.