11 March 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Linklaters has acted for Deutsche Bank AG and UBS Ltd as joint lead managers of EUR 6 billion 3.75 per cent Notes due in 2016 issued by the Republic of Lithuania.
This is the first Eurobond offering by the Republic of Lithuania since its accession to the European Union in May 2004. The terms and conditions of the Notes include a form of collective action clause based on IPMA and EU standards. The 3.75 per cent coupon is the lowest Lithuania has achieved for an international debt issue and was placed at a yield of eight basic points above Euribor. Demand for the issue exceeded EUR 4.0 billion. Shortly before the issue of the Eurobonds, Standard and Poor’s upgraded Lithuania’s rating outlook from stable to positive.
Keith Thomson, capital markets partner, commented:
“This was an exciting transaction – one of the largest recent bond issuances and the lowest priced by Lithuania. The price and the depth of investor interest displayed demonstrate increasing investor confidence in Lithuania. Lithuania was particularly keen to adopt a recognisable international standard for its collective action conditions. We were pleased that we are able to work within the recommended guidelines of IPMA and the EU to produce a set of provisions that the Issuer and the market found acceptable”.
The issue closed on 9 February 2005. The Linklaters team was led by partner Keith Thomson and managing associate Peter Allen (London, capital markets). Other advisers on the deal included Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai as Lithuanian counsel to the joint lead managers and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania and Bernotas & Dominas Glimstedt as Lithuanian counsel to the Issuer
