NewsA&O Shearman advises on the new issuance of senior notes by České dráhy

A&O Shearman announced today that it advised Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia, as joint lead managers, in connection with a new issuance of senior unsecured notes by České dráhy. The notes will be issued in the total nominal amount of more than CZK 8 billion and will bear a fixed rate of interest of 5.5% per annum with a maturity of 5 years.

The offering was significantly oversubscribed whilst the total volume of orders from investors amounted to almost CZK 14 billion.  This represents truly exceptional demand for a domestic CZK-denominated corporate bond.

The A&O Shearman team consisted of partner Petr Vybíral, who leads the finance practice in the Czech Republic, senior associate Tomáš Kafka and junior lawyer Jan Tocik.

Mário Zúbrik, Head of Debt Capital Markets and Corporate Finance at Komerční banka commented on behalf of the joint lead managers: “We greatly appreciate the professional cooperation with A&O Shearman team, which was the legal counsel on the banks’ side and provided us with strong support in this important transaction of the České dráhy Group and helped us to successfully issue heavily oversubscribed bond of the investment grade rated issuer on the Czech capital market.“

Lukáš Svoboda, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy CEO of České dráhy for Economics and Purchasing, said: “This issuance is a key step for us in financing of our investment needs. The high demand for České dráhy bonds is a clear signal of confidence in the future direction and stability of our national carrier. I would like to thank the entire A&O Shearman team, as legal advisors to the joint lead managers, for their efficient, prompt and professional cooperation on the issuance.”

Petr Vybíral added: “We are really grateful for the opportunity to participate in this immensely successful issuance by České dráhy.  I am proud of our entire team and extremely glad that we were able to contribute to the company’s further development.”