Innovation: Georgian Railway’s Landmark Green Bond Issuance

JSC Georgian Railway became the first transport company in the Caucasus to issue a green bond after Dechert acted as English and U.S. counsel to the country’s national railway company on its US$500 million 4.00 percent green bonds due 2028.

Advising on this project entailed navigating multiple complexities, including a simultaneous tender offer for a maturing Eurobond issued in 2012, a transaction on which Dechert also advised. Furthermore, the team successfully focused on maximizing GR’s operational and financial flexibility under the green bonds and negotiated side terms with two international finance institutions acting as anchor investors.

The transaction demonstrates the strength of Dechert’s ESG bonds practice, following the firm’s successful involvement in the first sustainability bond issued in Africa, the first green bond by a Middle Eastern sovereign and the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sustainability bond by a Philippine corporate, as well as the first-ever green bond issued under both the International Capital Markets Association’s and ASEAN’s principles.