The two bond issues by Romania’s RCS&RDS’s in London have attracted huge interest.
According to ZF, bonds issued in lei, at an interest rate of around 5%, were oversubscribed by three times, while those in euros, at about 3%, were oversubscribed twice.
The bonds were issued by Cable Communications Systems (CCS), the parent company of RCS&RDS, and worth RON1.43 billion (€317 million) and €375 million respectively.
ZF adds that the issue in London, which was managed by Citibank and JPMorgan, was one of the largest financial transactions by a Romanian company in international markets in the last 20 years.
It is the start of a comprehensive restructuring by RCS&RDS of bank debts totaling €700-800 million, with the strategy being to expose it more to debt in Romanian lei, which is the currency in which the company receives most of its revenues.
It will be followed by another bond issue in Romanian lei, a syndicated loan and – in spring 2017 – a €100 million bond issue on the Romanian market.
RCS&RDS is the leading provider of cable and DTH services in Romania and also has a strong presence in neighbouring Hungary’s pay-TV market.
