AfE 2024
In investment banking, the biggest event of the year was the €2 billion IPO of Hidroelectrica in Romania, Europe’s biggest IPO in 2023. This was Romania’s largest-ever IPO and played a role in reopening the market across the continent, thanks to a strong performance in the secondary market. It also helped reawaken the international capital market to the opportunities in central and eastern Europe.
Citi, whose regional investment bank is led by Marzena Fick, was global coordinator on the Hidroelectrica IPO, and it was central to an array of other deals in the region. In Romania, for example, it also advised private equity company Mid Europa on the €1.8 billion sale of food retailer Profi to Belgian supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize and advised Greek power company PPC on the €1.9 billion acquisition of Enel’s Romanian operations.
In addition to wide-ranging debt work for the Romanian sovereign, Citi was also bookrunner on private-sector Romania bond deals including Banca Transilvania’s €500 million sustainable debut and Erste-owned BCR’s debut green bond shortly afterwards.
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