A&O Shearman advises on largest-ever defense IPO

The company offered 15.2% of its shares at a price of EUR25 per share. The transaction prices the company at roughly EUR25bn and is expected to generate about EUR3.8bn in gross proceeds. 

CSG is one of Europe's fastest growing defense companies and a critical long-term supplier to NATO states and partners. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, CSG operates across Europe, the United States and in other regions including Asia-Pacific. The Group continues to expand its global customer base, and it is currently serving more than 70 countries.

The underwriting syndicate was led by BNP Paribas, Jefferies, J.P. Morgan and UniCredit as joint global coordinators, with Česká spořitelna, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley acting as joint bookrunners.

The IPO attracted strong demand from leading global institutional investors, including cornerstone commitments of EUR900 million from Artisan Partners, certain funds and accounts under the management of BlackRock, and Al-Rayyan Holding LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority.

The A&O Shearman multijurisdictional team was co-led by partners Jeff Hendrickson (U.S. capital markets, London), Petr Vybíral (finance and capital markets, Prague), and Michael Bloch (UK equity capital markets, London). They were supported by associate Denisa Jonášová (equity capital markets, Prague), senior associate Yolanda Borquaye (U.S. capital markets, London), associate Ezomime Onimiya (U.S. capital markets, London), senior associate Jack Mason-Jebb (UK equity capital markets, London), and senior associate Jort de Groodt (Amsterdam). Tax advice was provided by Amsterdam-based partner Rens Bondrager and Prague-based senior tax advisor Michal Dušek.