Global: Deals of the year 2001: The landmark deals of 2001Regional: Western Europe Central & eastern Europe North America Latin America Asia
Central and eastern Europe
Best Corporate bond
Issuer: PGNiG Finance
Type of deal: Five-year bond
Amount: e800 million
Date: October 2001
Bookrunner: ABN Amro
| Reid Payne | ||||||
Market participants either loved or hated the e800 million ($709 million) deal done in October by Polish government-owned utility PGNiG. Its supporters say that this, the largest-ever euro-denominated corporate bond from the region and the biggest single deal of any kind from Poland, provided desperately needed liquidity for the corporate bond market in central and eastern Europe while making the company's debut issue a blow-out one. Detractors say it was sold so cheaply, with so many punitive covenants, that it was bound to go with a bang.
It was a pretty lean year for corporate issuance from the region. Hopes that Rosneft - the first Russian corporate to issue since the 1998 crisis - would set the market ablaze were dashed when its long-awaited issue had to pay a large premium over the sovereign.