Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advised the underwriters in the largest European public offering, the Hidroelectrica IPO

A multijurisdictional team of Clifford Chance lawyers from the Bucharest, London and Frankfurt offices, coordinated by Mădălina Rachieru-Postolache (partner in the global Capital Markets practice), has advised the underwriters in connection with Hidroelectrica's historical listing, the largest IPO launched in Europe this year, with a total value of RON 9.3 billion (including the additional shares that can be over-allotted for stabilisation purposes).

The banks advised by Clifford Chance are Erste Group Bank AG, Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG, Jefferies GMBH and Morgan Stanley Europe SE (as joint global coordinators), Banca Comercială Română SA, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, BofA Securities Europe SA, UBS Europe SE, UniCredit Bank AG and Wood & Company Financial Services (as joint bookrunners), Auerbach Grayson, BRD – Groupe Société Générale, S.S.I.F. BT Capital Partners S.A. and S.S.I.F. Swiss Capital S.A. (as co-lead managers).

The Clifford Chance lawyers provided assistance throughout the entire transaction, starting with the structuring of the offering, the due diligence, drafting of certain sections of the prospectus, drafting and negotiation of the contractual documentation according to international standards, and advising the 14 banks throughout the process.

Mădălina Rachieru-Postolache, head of the Bucharest Capital Markets practice, says: "The extraordinary enthusiasm for the listing of Hidroelectrica that we have witnessed these days confirms the state of anticipation accumulated since the previous attempt to list Hidroelectrica in 2014. We advised the underwriters in 2014 as well, and we are happy that, this time, the economic context and the decision-makers have aligned to complete the largest transaction ever seen by the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which is also the largest European listing of 2023. This was a very complex and intensive deal, with many innovative aspects, challenges and an ambitious timeline, and we are honoured to have been part of this project alongside Fondul Proprietatea, Hidroelectrica, the arranger banks syndicate and the other fellow consultants."

Daniel Badea, Managing Partner of the Clifford Chance Bucharest office, adds: "We take pride in having developed one of the most dynamic and best-performing Capital Markets practices in the global Clifford Chance network. We started two decades ago as pioneers in an emerging market, and we have gradually gathered all of the outstanding transactions in our portfolio, either Debt or Equity, local or international deals, that have contributed to the growth of the Romanian capital market. Today, our team coordinates some of the most complex and innovative projects in the Clifford Chance portfolio, and the Hidroelectrica listing is amongst the historical transactions that Clifford Chance has advised globally".