NewsAllen & Overy advises on a financing provided to BIKE FUN using the €STR for the first time in the Czech Republic

Allen & Overy has advised Česká spořitelna a.s. and Československá obchodní banka, a. s., on a financing provided to BIKE FUN International s.r.o., one of the leading bike producers in Europe based in Kopřivnice, the Czech Republic. The overdraft facility of the financing documentation was prepared and negotiated using the euro short-term rate (the €STR, a replacement of the previous EONIA), a new lending benchmark based on overnight deals published by the European Central Bank as of 2 October 2019.

The timing of the transaction and the fact that €STR is a backward-looking rate have resulted in challenges for the transaction, in particular in relation to the method of calculation and the settlement of daily accrued interest as of the end of the month. €STR will be used for the overdraft facility by one lender and its use by the other lender will be optional.

Matúš Púll, Head of Syndications & Structured Finance at Česká spořitelna commented: “We highly appreciate Allen & Overy providing us with cutting-edge advice on this new product. This enabled us to provide BIKE FUN with an overdraft based on €STR that is more beneficial for the client than previous EONIA.”

The A&O team was led by counsel Silvie Horáčková and senior associate, Petra Myšáková, with support from associate Lukáš Vondřich and junior lawyer David Bujgl.

The transaction is the latest example of the breadth and depth of A&O’s market leading banking and finance practice.