Project Finance

• A regional banking group: Advising its Hungarian branch on providing an India-based manufacturing company with a €70 million credit facility. The legal advice included drafting and execution of the financing and security documentation package related to an ongoing greenfield manufacturing plant development in Jászfényszaru, Hungary. Coordinating the Indian legal advice provided to the bank.
• Leading real estate investor and developer focusing on CEE: Advising its Serbian subsidiary in connection with refinancing a project financing debt in Serbia, including advising the borrower in respect of the refinancing of a shopping center in Belgrade.
• An integrated European energy company:
  • Advising on the EPC and financing contracts and other related commercial aspects of its first – 17.6 MW – solar power plant investment project built in Százhalombatta, Hungary.
  • Advising on the financing of the acquisition of Hungary’s largest natural gas distribution system operator (DSO).
• A major South African real estate investor and developer: Advising on the financing of the acquisition of a majority stake in the largest shopping mall on the Buda side of Budapest, from a leading global private equity firm. 
• Hungarian branch of a global banking and financial services company:
  • Advising on a trade financing matter in which the bank is financing the construction of Vietnam’s most modern poultry slaughterhouse and further processing plant in the north central province of Thanh Hoa.
  • Advising regarding the financing of the acquisition and construction of two built-to-suit office buildings by one of the largest privately owned real estate developers in Hungary. The office buildings are for leading telecommunication service providers.
• Hungary’s export credit agency: Advising in connection with the financing of a Hungarian investment company focusing on environmental projects, to build a modern tire recycling plant in Hungary.
• An airport operator:
  • Advising in connection with a €200 million loan facility provided by a European investment bank to further fund major infrastructural upgrades of the airport.
  • Advising on the material restructuring of all current debt of the airport, the debt is maturing in financial year 2019, respectively 2020. The airport is currently financed through equity, shareholder loans, bank and mezzanine debts, and our tasks comprises the updating and issuing a legal due diligence report, advising on the refinancing or amendment strategy of both the Senior and the Mezzanine tranches, and restructuring the security and swap agreements. We are also advising the client on adjusting the shareholder financing as well as the intercompany financing structure. The deal was awarded The Airport Finance Deal of the Year – Europe 2017 by Global Transport Finance.
  • Advising on the Hungarian law aspects of its €1.347 billion debt refinancing and €1.060 billion swap restructuring. This debt dates back to the airport operator’s US$2.2 billion privatization in 2005 at which time we represented the bidder. The deal was awarded Europe Refinancing Deal of the Year 2014 by Project Finance International, European Airport Deal of the Year 2014 at the IJ Global Europe & Africa Awards, as well as the Best Restructuring in EMEA at the EMEA Finance’s 2014 Achievement Awards.

Banking and Finance

• One of the leading information and communication technology (ICT) services provider in Hungary: Advising the client as borrower on the refinancing of its operations from bank debt. The senior bank loan was provided by the Hungarian branch of a global banking and financial services company as Lender in the form of an LMA (Loan Market Association) standard syndicated loan.
• A Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company: Advising on a production financing loan facility in connection with the television series currently entitled "The North Water" which is being shot in Budapest.
• A leading real estate debt investment business: Advising on the Hungarian aspects of a Scottish financing of the acquisition of the Spectrum Building in Glasgow by a leading real estate developer and investor in CEE, and an investment, asset and development manager. 
• State-owned student loan center in Hungary, responsible for operating Hungary’s higher education student loan scheme: Advising with respect to a €50 million loan to be provided by a European investment bank.
• Club of banks: Advising in connection with a complex syndicated loan transaction involving the refinancing of the entire loan portfolio of, and the granting of new loans to one of the largest pork processing companies in Hungary. 
• Hungarian banks: Advising a group of Hungarian banks as lenders and Hungary's largest financial services group, as agent in relation to a financing to be granted to the Hungarian branch of a Chinese bank.
• A club of banks and one of the biggest commercial banks in Hungary: Advising on their syndicated financing of a dominating pharmaceutical wholesaler in Hungary with a market share of nearly 40 percent.
• Syndicate of banks: Our cross-border team assisted a syndicate of banks led by an Austrian bank (as mandated lead arranger) and a Dutch bank (as facility agent) in connection with the new financing of the Croatian subsidiary of a leading international, integrated Central and Eastern European oil and gas company to renew its existing revolving credit lines.
• A global private equity firm: Advising in connection with the acquisition of a non-performing loan portfolio from a European real estate bank. The related financing was provided by a leading global financial services firm.
• A privately held Norwegian company, which is a leading European financial services provider: Advising regarding the contemplated acquisition of one of the world's leading financial services organizations non-performing retail loan portfolio in Hungary.
• A large group of lenders including a Dutch, a French and an American bank: Advising, on a new US$1.55 billion revolving credit facility provided to a leading integrated Central and Eastern European oil and gas corporation headquartered in Budapest, Hungary.
• Hungary’s export credit agency: Advising in connection with various aspects (including transactional and regulatory issues) of the establishment of an agriculture fund under the laws of the Netherlands, with a primary investment objective to focus on equity, quasi equity and convertible debt investments into agriculture and food chain companies having their primary business activities predominantly in Kazakhstan.

Representative experience from Gergely’s previous firm includes:

Financial Restructuring

• A global banking and financial services company: Advising its Hungarian subsidiary in connection with the restructuring of its municipal water loan portfolio which included some non-performing loans.
• A group of mezzanine lenders: Advising in connection with the restructuring of the debts of a major player in the Hungarian and regional chemical industry, with special regard to the rights of its current senior and bilateral lenders, shareholders and the Hungarian state.
• One of Ukraine's largest steel groups: Advising in connection with the restructuring of the total bank debt of the entire group, including its Hungarian subsidiary.
• A syndicate of senior lenders led by a major German bank: Advising in relation to the restructuring of the financing of a printing group based in Germany, where the financing was originally comprised of senior and mezzanine loans.
• A group of Hungarian commercial banks: Advising in relation to the restructuring of loans provided by the banks to a major Hungarian agricultural conglomerate.
• One of the leading telecommunications service providers in Hungary: Advising the borrower in connection with the refinancing and restructuring of its existing debts and the financing of several acquisitions, including Hungary's then second largest fixed-line telecommunications providers.
• One of the leading Hungarian transportation companies: Advising on the restructuring of its debts.

Banking and Finance

• A consortium of banks led by a global financial institution: Advising on their loans to the state-owned Hungarian national electricity company.
• A consortium of Hungarian banks: Advising in connection with a Russian export financing transaction involving a Hungarian exporter and a Russian municipality. The financing was made in the form of Export Credit Agency (ECA) covered factoring of the payment installments.
• A Hungarian blue-chip pharmaceutical manufacturing company: Advising on its debut on the financial markets after fifteen years: the raising of a loan from a consortium led by a global financial institution. In addition, Gergely assisted the same company as borrower in connection with the raising of another loan from a European nonprofit credit institution.
• The long-term lending bank of the European Union: Advising as a multilateral lender in relation to a risk-sharing facility provided to a Hungarian commercial bank, for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small-scale projects in Hungary. Gergely advised the same lender in relation to the co-financing of the purchase of locomotives by the traction arm of a Hungarian railway company.
• A government body: Advising the client as guarantor and several state-owned companies as borrowers in various financing matters.
• A state-owned borrower: Advising on a groundbreaking 'cash-for-corn' financing governed by English law.

Project Finance

• The largest single investor in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE): Advising in connection with the €200 million financing of a leading CEE integrated oil and gas company's gas storage project in southern Hungary.
• A European financial leading group in banking services: Advising its Hungarian subsidiary on the financing of a steam generating plant project for a leading Hungarian chemical company.
• The second largest commercial bank in Hungary: Advising on several real estate acquisition and development project financings in Hungary, including (i) residential and hotel development projects and (ii) residential plot acquisition and development projects.
• The largest Hungarian electricity company: Advising on the financing by the long-term lending bank of the European Union of a project aimed at reinforcing and extending the Hungarian electricity transmission network over the period between 2010 and 2015.
• Various project companies: Advising various project companies and/or their lenders in connection with the Hungarian M5 and M6 motorways.
• A leading European real estate investment manager: Advising in connection with the refinancing of nine shopping malls and office centers located in Hungary, Poland and in the Czech Republic.