RTPR advises Grup Serban Holding on EUR 73 million financing

RTPR has assisted Grup Serban Holding and its subsidiaries in relation to a EUR 73 million syndicated facility for the refinancing of the existing debt and the development of its activity. The financing was coordinated by BRD Groupe Société Générale and Banca Transilvania, who have also acted as Documentation Agents and Original Lenders, while Raiffeisen Bank Romania acted as Sustainability Agent and Original Lender. Banca Transilvania will act as Facility Agent and Security Agent throughout the financing process.

Grup Serban Holding is an entrepreneurial company that operates in the agribusiness market in Romania, covering several areas, such as agriculture (over 15,000 hectares cultivated), grain trading, oil plants and vegetables, Angus cattle and Ile de France sheep breeding, bakery, pastry-confectionery, public catering, distribution and transport.

The RTPR team was coordinated by Alexandru Retevoescu (Partner) and Andreea Nedeloiu (Senior Associate), and further included Livia Tuca (Associate), Georgiana Verives and Ambra Lazar (Junior Associates).

Grup Serban Holding has been analysing for some time the opportunity of a syndication at the level of the group. From the very first stages of this process, we had the RTPR team by our side and we remained loyal to this collaboration until its successful closing at the end of 2024. Obviously, we owe part of this success to the professionalism and experience of the team led by Andreea Nedeloiu, who completely understood the mandate in terms of the objectives of the deal and the interests of the group. The communication between Grup Serban Holding and RTPR was flawless, so we look forward to partner with RTPR for future projects”, declared Nicolae Lucian Serban, CEO of Grup Serban Holding.

Grup Serban Holding is a reference story for the Romanian agricultural market and we are happy that we were able to support them in this important moment in the company’s development. We would like to thank the entire GSH team for their professionalism and trust and to wish them success in implementing their future projects and exceeding all proposed objectives”, declared Andreea Nedeloiu, Senior Associate.

This transaction highlights RTPR’s expertise in managing complex projects and providing tailored legal solutions to the requirements of listed companies. Through its commitment to providing excellent legal services, RTPR supports its partners in achieving their large-scale strategic initiatives.

Furthermore, in 2021 RTPR assisted Grup Serban Holding in relation to the private placement of shares, as well as in connection with the preparation for the admission to trading on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

RTPR has one of the most experienced Banking & Finance teams in Romania, which is recognised for its impressive expertise in landmark transactions in Romania and in the region. The most important international legal guides Legal 500, Chambers and IFLR1000 position RTPR’s Banking & Finance practice on the top tier in the rankings for Romania. At the same time several team members are recommended as Leading Lawyers or Rising Stars in this area.

This year RTPR was named “Romania Law Firm of the Year” at the Chambers Europe Awards, one of the most prestigious accolades in the legal area which confirms the firm’s status as a leader in the field.

Selected financings in which RTPR have been recently involved are set out below:

  • An international financial institution on the loan granted to Calihory Group operating under the DONA brand, one of Romania’s leading retailers and suppliers of pharmaceuticals, to finance the expansion and modernisation of the company’s network, acquisition of IT solutions, equipment, and a fleet of cars
  • Eximbank, as the coordinating mandated lead arranger, as well as the syndicate of banks comprising Banca Comercială Intesa Sanpaolo Romania, Banca Transilvania, CEC Bank, Garanti Bank, ING Bank NV Amsterdam Bucharest Branch, International Bank for Economic Co-operation, OTP Bank Romania, Raiffeisen Bank Romania and UniCredit Bank in relation to the maturity extension of revolving facilities and modification of the syndicate structure under a secured term and multicurrency revolving facilities agreement granted to Alro, as well as in relation to related security
  • Meridiam SAS, a global investor and asset manager, on the financing of the acquisition of Netcity Telecom’s shareholding, the company that operates the underground telecommunications infrastructure in Bucharest
  • LKE Group, one of the leading German suppliers of handling and logistics products and systems, on the financing of the acquisition of the majority shareholding stake in Someg S.A. and a part of Transcarpatica S.A.
  • Oresa on the financing of the acquisition of logistics and industrial park Solo Iasi from Tester Group owned by Romanian businessman Bogdan Pitigoi
  • Rodbun Group on several syndicated financings to cover regular capital needs as well as to support development plans of the group
  • BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Société Générale and UniCredit acting as Underwriters, Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners, Société Générale and Komerční banka acting as facility agent and security agent, respectively on the EUR1.150 billion financing of the CME acquisition, a media group which also includes ProTV, by PPF Group N.V.
  • A syndicate of banks made up of Raiffeisen Bank International and Raiffeisen Bank Romania as coordinators and Raiffeisen Bank International, Banca Transilvania, UniCredit Bank, Garanti Bank and Intesa SanPaolo Romania as lenders on a credit facility in amount of approximately USD 68 million granted to Alro for covering general corporate needs and working capital of the company as well as future investments
  • The syndicate of banks made up of ING Bank N.V. through ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam – Bucharest Branch, Banca Comerciala Romana, Raiffeisen Bank SA and UniCredit Bank SA on a USD 360 million credit facility granted to KMG International group for covering the regular needs in the group activity