Awards for Excellence 2016
|
|
Investment banking volumes in CEE took another hit in the awards period as Russian sanctions, rising political risk in Poland and Turkey and high levels of local liquidity kept both issuers and investors on the sidelines. International bond sales fell by almost a third year on year to just $42.7 billion, according to Dealogic, while primary equity activity all but disappeared. With the exception of a trio of semi-private Russian deals, just three IPOs worth more than $50 million emerged from the whole region in the 12 months to March, while total ECM issuance came in at just $3 billion. M&A appeared to be a slightly brighter spot, with volumes rising by 16.1% to $98.9 billion. That increase, however, was accounted for by a couple of large Russian take-privates and a transfer of assets between two Kazakh state-owned entities.
Despite the paucity of deal flow, however, few investment banks seemed ready to abandon the region, and competition remained strong. Such transactions as did emerge were fiercely fought over, with bulge-bracket banks pitted against big European houses with regional commercial banking operations, such as UniCredit and Société Générale.
Once again, the winner of our award for best investment bank in CEE is Citi. Unlike its global rivals, most of whom have a severely limited physical presence in CEE, the US group has close to 100 bankers on the ground in 10 countries from Poland to Kazakhstan. This close connection to companies and governments in the region has consistently translated into league table leadership in recent years and the current awards period was no different.
|
|
Linkos Lekkas, Citi |
In debt capital markets, Citi remains the dominant force in CEE. In the 12 months to the end of March, the bank acted on 28 bond transactions across the region, with highlights including Turkish bank Yapi Kredi’s new-style tier-2 deal, an inaugural note from Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor and bumper buybacks for KazMunayGas and Vimpelcom. Citi’s unique reach in the CIS region also earned the bank global co-ordinator status on the largest IPO from CEE in the awards period, the $110 million London listing of Georgia Healthcare Group. Meanwhile, sole lead mandates on accelerated bookbuilds for Polish banks BZ WBK and Alior testified to the continuing strength of Citi in central Europe under the leadership of Linkos Lekkas, head of CIB for CEEMEA.
The bank also maintained a strong presence in M&A, acting on 13 transactions, including the largest-ever Russian tech deal – Naspers’ $1.2 billion acquisition of a 50.5% stake in classified ads firm Avito – and the privatization of Slovak Telekom. Citi’s links to the global private equity community also proved valuable, earning the bank mandates on Advent’s takeover of Hypo Alpe Adria’s Balkan network and Pamplona’s purchase of Hungarian-based Partner in Pet Food.
