Sberbank CZ administrator launched a tender procedure for the purchase of bonds

The insolvency administrator of Sberbank CZ, Jiřina Lužová, has launched a tender procedure for the purchase of corporate bonds from the bank's portfolio, which is in liquidation. The subject of the tender offer is the sale of three corporate bonds with a nominal value of CZK 730m. Lužová announced today that she expects the sale to be settled by mid-April 2023 at the latest.

"The sale of corporate bonds in the portfolio of Sberbank CZ is another step towards raising funds to settle the bank's creditors later this year," Lužová said.

The administrator proceeded to the sale of corporate bonds in the bank's portfolio as part of the process of monetisation of Sberbank CZ's assets. The subject of the sale are bonds of Colt CZ Group SE with a nominal value of CZK 380 million, Czechoslovak Group with a nominal value of CZK 100 million and EPH Financing CZ with a nominal value of CZK 250,000.

Potential bidders for the purchase of the bonds or any of them must express their preliminary interest in participating in the tender procedure no later than 10 March 2023 by 17:00. On the basis of their preliminary interest, they will then be invited to submit binding offers for the purchase of the Bonds they have requested.

On 16 December last year, Lužová signed a purchase agreement with Česká spořitelna for the sale of the bank's loans for CZK 47.1 billion. In the event of a successful settlement of the sale, it expects the creditors to be settled in the second half of 2023. Once Savings Bank pays the agreed purchase price, the transfer of Sberbank CZ's clients to Česká spořitelna will begin.

According to Lužová, the proceeds from the sale of the loan portfolio, together with the bank's available cash (including accrued interest) and the expected proceeds from the monetisation of Sberbank CZ's other assets, will probably be sufficient to fully satisfy the creditors in the first (Guarantee System) and second groups (individuals and small and medium-sized companies) and, in all likelihood, more than 95 per cent of the creditors in the third group (regions, cities, municipalities and large companies). It is possible, according to her, that even creditors in the third group will be satisfied by almost 100 per cent.

The Prague City Court declared bankruptcy on Sberbank CZ at the end of last August. The Czech National Bank (CNB) finally revoked the bank's banking licence in early May and the Prague City Court then sent the bank into liquidation. The CNB initiated the steps to revoke the licence on 28 February 2022. The reason for this was the deterioration of Sberbank CZ's situation due to the outflow of deposits following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: CTK