Restructuring of Debt of Work Service SA
January, 2019 - Warsaw, Poland
The Banking & Project Finance practice at Wardyński & Partners has advised a consortium of banks (Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas SA, Bank Millennium SA, Santander Bank Polska SA and PKO Bank Polski SA) in connection with restructuring of the debt of the Work Service SA group.
The debt restructuring project of over two years included several complex annexes to the credit agreement, joining of the credit agreement by an additional lender and several guarantors, and systematic establishment of a number of security instruments in favour of the banks, including the group’s foreign assets as collateral.
The debt restructuring process picked up speed in the last few months. The last two phases included the sale by Work Service SA of shares in Exact Systems SA, with part of the proceeds applied to paying down indebtedness to the banks, followed by extension of due dates for the remaining bank debt and bond debt, as well as obtaining new factoring limits for the group.
In the debt restructuring process, Wardyński & Partners coordinated the work of foreign advisers in Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.
The restructuring of the debt of the Work Service group is regarded as one of the most complex debt restructuring transactions on the Polish market in recent years.
Completion of the debt restructuring process will enable the Work Service group to continue the process of operational restructuring, including sales of assets, allowing it to pay down its remaining bank debt and bond debt at newly established maturity dates.
PwC served as financial adviser to the Work Service group, and Clifford Chance as legal adviser. The bondholders were advised by Allen & Overy.
