České dráhy Successfully Placed Bonds Worth CZK 12.5 billion

The České dráhy Group has successfully issued Eurobonds in a total volume of EUR 500 million, which represents approximately CZK 12.5 billion. The senior unsecured bonds bear an annual fixed coupon of 3.75% with a five-year maturity until 2030.

The issue was arranged by Erste Group Bank AG and BNP PARIBAS as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners and ING Bank N.V., KBC Bank NV and Raiffeisen Bank International AG as joint bookrunners.

The interest of investors exceeded our expectations. The final orderbook, consisting of nearly 200 investors, exceeded EUR 3 billion, representing more than six times the issue size. Thanks to the high level of investors’ interest, it was possible to reduce the annual yield by 0.45 percentage points compared to the initial price thoughts.

“We are coming back to the international capital market after three years in great shape. Such a strong demand and significant oversubscription only confirm that investors perceive České dráhy as a stable and trustworthy issuer with a clear vision. České dráhy’s financial results have been positive already for the third year in a row,” says Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of České dráhy, continuing: “We will use the funds raised to modernise our rolling stock and to refinance previous commitments.”

The bonds are listed at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and were mainly subscribed by institutional investors. Asset managers and insurance companies clearly dominated (81%), followed by banks (16%) and other institutions. Regionally, the largest share was allocated to investors in German-speaking countries, followed by the United Kingdom, Central and Eastern Europe, France and the Benelux countries.

“We prepared for the transaction very carefully, together with cooperating banks, placing emphasis on timing and the high quality of the presentation to investors. We then spent two days in intensive communication with the investors. The resulting order book and high level of interest in the issue confirm the fact that we succeeded in selling well the strengths of České dráhy and in attracting the interest of the investors. We consider the final terms to be extremely favourable in the current market context,” says Lukáš Svoboda, Member of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director General of České dráhy for Finance and Procurement.