Dechert has landed a trophy corporate role advising Czech coal mining company New World Resources (NWR) on a flotation on the main stock exchanges in London, Prague and Warsaw that could be worth up to £1.1bn.
The deal, which was scheduled for an early May listing as Legal Week went to press, is set to be the largest ever in Czech history and the largest European initial public offering (IPO) this year. It will also be the first to have a triple listing on the three bourses.
Dechert advised on English and US law, fielding a team including corporate and securities partner Adam Levin and corporate and securities partners Sean Geraghty and Wayne Rapozo. Partner David Gubbay advised the team on tax matters.
NWR is being advised on Dutch law by local leader De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, while Czech and Polish law were handled respectively by Prochazka Randl Kubr and Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka.
The underwriting banks instructed Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom capital markets partners Rick Ely and James Healy. Glatzova & Co advised on Czech law and Weil Gotshal & Manges handled Polish issues.
Levin told Legal Week: “This was a complicated, high-value transaction. NWR could be eligible for FTSE index status. No other company is listed on all three stock exchanges. It has an interesting capital structure and is a favourite with the investors."
Dechert has become the regular adviser to NWR in recent years, acting in 2007 on its E300m (£233m) high-yield bond issue and on the merger of the company’s subsidiary DPB with Green Gas International.
The latest deal underlines the current investor demand for mining and commodity stocks on the back of high-energy demand. Last month Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters both acted on the £4bn IPO on the FTSE 100 of Mexican mining giant Fresnillo.
