Oil and gas specialist HFW has advised Serbian state-owned gas company JP Srbijagas on loans to be provided by Deutsche Bank and Amsterdam Trade Bank, part of the Alfa Group. The loans are being provided following a formal tender run by the company to secure a total of €190m in loans from domestic and international banks.
The loans are backed by Serbian state guarantees, which were subject to Serbian parliament approval, and are intended to alleviate Srbijagas’s debt burden, which stems in part from the disparity between the government-regulated retail prices and the rates at which the company pays for gas imports from Russia, Srbijagas’s primary gas supplier.
Partner Alexis Kyriakoulis, who led the HFW team, said: “HFW is delighted to have advised on these transactions. It is testament to our reputation as leading legal advisers in the oil and gas sector, and recognises our growing focus on the South East Europe region.”
Leading Serbian law firm Jankovic, Popovic & Mitic advised Srbijagas on Serbian law aspects of the deals.
