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JANUARY 2013
Transactions
103 REPUBLIc oF SLoVEnIa
US$2.25Bn SoVEREIGn Bond ISSUE
Linklaters has advised the Republic of Slovenia on its US$2.25bn sovereign bond issue. the bonds were issued on Friday 26 october 2012.
This was Slovenia's first 144A bond issue since 1996 and Slovenia's first currency hedge transaction.
Linklaters acted as U.S. and English counsel to the Republic of Slovenia (act- ing through the Ministry of Finance), led by Keith Thomson, Mike Bienenfeld and Jonathan Fried.
Slovenia entered into an underlying USD-EUR currency swap transaction in order to service the bonds in USD. The transaction was structured so that the swap counterparties would make the USD payments directly to the fiscal agent on behalf of Slovenia. Linklaters acted on the currency hedge transaction as well.
Linklaters has acted for Slovenia on all of its sovereign issues in recent years, including most recently the €1,500,000,000 5.125% Notes due 2026, issued in March 2011. The firm also advised Slovenia on its negotiations with other eurozone member states on the model collective action clause. LM
HaMILton BRadSHaW BacKS MBo oF SF GRoUP
Hamilton Bradshaw has provided SF Group with funding to back a Management Buy-out, led by Managing director, tony Minnis.
SF Group employs 90 staff, headquartered in Nottingham with regional hubs in Manchester and Birmingham. It started as a specialist recruitment provider of Finance and Accounting professionals, either in a permanent capacity or to fulfil temporary contract assignments. In recent years the business has further diversified into HR, Supply-Chain, Logistics, Procurement, Marketing and Sales.
On behalf of Hamilton Bradshaw the deal was led by Adam Fletcher, Investment Director, supported by Tristan Ramus, Deepak Jalan and former BBC Dragon, James Caan.
Fletcher commented, "SF Group is a quality business with a highly experi- enced and loyal management and sales team, representing an exciting op- portunity for growth. Furthermore, this is a key acquisition for the HB Group, building upon our professional staffing portfolio and providing a sound footing f
o further expansion within the professional services recruitment sector."
Darren Hobson, Director at Hobson Tax Consulting Limited, acted as tax adviser to the Sellers both in relation to the sale of SF Recruitment Limited and the pre-sale restructuring necessary to facilitate the transaction. Darren worked extensively with the Sellers, Management, the Sellers Legal team, the existing Bank and Landlord’s legal advisers. Darren’s role, in addition to tax, included managing the interaction of advisers for the Sellers, which is one he has performed numerous times over the last 20 years for clients. Darren is an independent consultant with over 15 years transaction experience in a Big 4 accounting firm. He is a Chartered Tax Adviser and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. LM
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Republic of Slovenia
SF Group