Tue, April 19, 2022

Bird & Bird advises Flex on landmark bond offering in Hungary

International law firm Bird & Bird advised the Hungarian subsidiary of multinational electronics manufacturer Flex on the landmark primary offering of HUF 100 billion (approx. EUR 300 million) bonds secured by a Hungarian law parent company’s guarantee of equivalent value in December 2021.

Bird & Bird advised Flex in connection with the placement of bonds with the National Bank of Hungary (NBH) and other institutional investors, the preparation and issuance of the parent company guarantee, and the subsequent registration of the bonds on the Xbond multilateral trading facility operated by the Budapest Stock Exchange.

This transaction marks the entry of Flex into the growing Hungarian bond market with the support of the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme (BFGS) launched by the NBH on 1 July 2019. By increasing the liquidity of the bond market, the NBH intends to improve the efficiency of monetary policy transmission and to also encourage economic actors to rely on this type of financing, in addition to bank loans, to a sufficient proportion. The transaction is one of the largest bond offerings by value, both within the framework of the BFGS and beyond, in Hungary.

The Bird & Bird team was led by Konrád Siegler who was assisted by associates Gábor Szabó, György Boros and Anna Hetyésy.

Konrád Siegler, head of Bird & Bird’s Capital Markets practice in Budapest, says: “Flex is an important client for Bird & Bird in Hungary. Our lawyers have worked with Flex for many years due to our strong relationship and the quality of our advice and client service. This is a major transaction for Flex, and a prime example of our Capital Markets capabilities in Hungary. Our involvement in this transaction is a strong endorsement of our status as trusted advisers, and a clear demonstration of our stellar reputation amongst competitors in the Hungarian market.”