CEE's best bank for advisory 2017: Rothschild

Rothschild once again proved that an independent firm can hold its own in advisory against both bulge-bracket and regional banks in CEE in the awards period, winning mandates on some of the biggest M&A deals in the region as well as advising on a clutch of high-profile financing transactions. 

The latter category included the €2.1 billion recapitalization of Polish mobile operator Play. Rothschild acted as sole financial adviser to the firm and its shareholders on the raising of Zl7 billion ($1.84 billion) of senior bank facilities – one of the largest financings ever completed in the currency – and the issuance of a €500 million payment-in-kind toggle note. The transaction cut Play’s funding costs and extended its maturity profile without affecting the firm’s ratings, thanks to intensive work by Rothschild’s rating advisory team.

Rothschild was also tapped by two of Ukraine’s biggest companies to advise on multibillion-dollar debt restructurings. Steel maker Metinvest and energy firm DTEK were forced by the adverse operating environment in Ukraine to seek revised lending terms from banks and bondholders late last year.