Clifford Chance’s London office recently advised on the Rule 144A/Reg. S offering of US$568 million 8.375% guaranteed notes due 2017 issued by an Ukrainian state agency for the purpose of financing the construction of infrastructure for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship in Ukraine.
The notes were issued by the Ukrainian State Enterprise ‘Financing of Infrastructural Projects’ and benefited from a guarantee by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The proceeds will be used to fund work on football stadiums in Kyiv and Lviv and the international airports in Donetsk and Lviv in connection with the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship which will be held in Ukraine and Poland. The financing raised by the note offering is important to the timely completion of preparations and is expected to help allay concerns about Ukraine’s readiness to host the championship, which had led to other nations volunteering to step in Ukraine’s place.
Clifford Chance acted as counsel to the lead manager Morgan Stanley. The present note offering follows on the success of the US$2 billion Rule 144A/Reg. S sovereign bond offering by the Ukrainian government completed in September 2010, on which Clifford Chance acted as counsel to the joint lead managers J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and VTB Capital. A separate Clifford Chance team also acted for the trustees on both deals.
These transactions highlight Clifford Chance’s traditional strength in sovereign debt work as well as the Firm’s presence in the growing Ukrainian market.
The Clifford Chance deal teams were led by David Dunnigan, Tim Morris and Robert Trefny and included Terrence Moloney, Patrick Dougherty, George S. Georgiev, Caroline Smart and Priya Sarohia.
The team representing the trustees was led by Esther Cavett and included Bruce Kahl and Katherine Leary.
