Paul Hastings Represents Underwriters on IPO of Electrica, the Largest Ever Romanian IPO

July 07, 2014

London – Paul Hastings LLP, a leading global firm, announced today that it advised Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Raiffeisen Bank, and Société Générale Corporate and Investment Banking, as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, on the €444.3 million initial public offering of Romania's leading state-owned electricity distributor and supplier, Electrica S.A. The offering, which closed on Friday 4 July, is the largest ever Romanian IPO, valuing the company at €900 million.
The IPO comprised an offering of shares listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and GDRs listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The offer consists of 177 million new shares, representing 105 percent of the company’s total number of existing shares. The offering was a key requirement under a framework agreement between the Romanian State and the IMF and EU following their rescue loans totalling €22 billion to the country.

As a result of the IPO, the Romanian State has cut its stake in the company to approximately 49 per cent. The offering included a sizeable strategic investment by EBRD.

Paul Hastings advised the underwriters on US and English law, with Musat & Asociatii advising on Romanian law, and took primary responsibility for drafting the prospectus.

The Paul Hastings team was led by London partner James Cole, assisted by partners Karl Balz (US securities) and Ross McNaughton, and associates Matthew Poxon and Sam Holdsworth.

Electrica was advised by Allen & Overy on US and English law matters while the firm’s associated office in Romania, Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu (RTPR), provided Romanian law support. Clifford Chance and its Romanian office, Clifford Chance Badea, provided legal assistance to the depositary, Bank of New York Mellon.

Paul Hastings is targeting a combination of EMEA emergent and technology capital markets transactions in its London office. This transaction is one of a number of ECM mandates the firm has won in the region in 2014 and is the fourth European IPO the firm has worked on in the past year. These include three technology IPOs, two of which were SEC registered offerings. The firm counts Citigroup, Société Générale, Deutsche Bank and Piper Jaffray among its key underwriter side clients in European ECM.

Our Global Capital Markets practice has been involved in some of the most complex and landmark transactions in the past year both on the underwriter and issuer side, including the advising on the first Belgian IPO in the US in ten years; the first Mexican FIBRA to issue debt in the international capital markets; the largest IPO in Latin America last year; the third German company in a decade to execute a US IPO; and is the only international law firm in Asia to be involved in all of the Hong Kong B to H-share projects launched in the market to date.

Paul Hastings is a leading global law firm with a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Through a collaborative approach, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to client service, the professionals of Paul Hastings deliver innovative solutions to many of the world’s top financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies.