Allen & Overy announced that it represented J.P. Morgan, HSBC, Société Générale, UniCredit, Erste Group, and J&T BANKA as initial purchasers on the issuance of EUR300mn 3.875% Senior Notes due 2027 by SAZKA Group. The transaction followed a successful entry by SAZKA Group of international capital markets in November 2019, when the company issued its first high yield bond worth EUR300mn, bearing a fixed coupon of 4.125% due in 2024.
The EUR 300mn 3.875% Senior Notes due 2027 were issued on 4 February 2020. They are guaranteed on senior basis by the issuer’s subsidiary SAZKA Czech. The proceeds from the issuance will be used primarily for repayment and cancellation of certain debts of the issuer and its subsidiaries.
SAZKA Group is the market leader for both numerical lotteries and instant lotteries and is one of the fastest-growing European lottery companies. It operates in Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece and Italy.
The Allen & Overy team working on the transaction was led by London-based partner Jeanette Cruz, working with associates Khalid Alyafi, Luke Sperduto and Katrien Wilmots. The Czech aspects of the transaction were led by Prague-based counsel Petr Vybíral, working with associate Tomáš Kirner.