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Kinstellar supports Banca Intesa in its mini-bonds transaction with Diopta
Kinstellar is pleased to have supported Banca Intesa with the first issuance of collateral-free mini bonds in Serbia - a significant milestone in the development of the local capital market. This innovative transaction, worth RSD 470 million, was arranged for Diopta, a leading optical retailer in the Western Balkans. It marks a significant advancement in the expansion of financing opportunities for SMEs. Throughout this pioneering issuance, we advised Banca Intesa, ensuring a secure and efficient legal framework aligned with the highest market standards. The deal forms part of the Minibond initiative by the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, which aims to promote sustainable economic growth and develop capital markets across
Kinstellar supports Banca Intesa with the launch of mini bonds in Serbia
We are delighted to report that Kinstellar’s Belgrade office provided legal support in preparing the complete set of documentation for Banca Intesa AD Beograd, as part of the bank’s introduction of mini bonds, a new financing tool designed to support Serbian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) via capital markets. This innovative initiative enables SMEs to access alternative financing, diversify their capital sources and secure funding for expansion, innovation and growth, without depending solely on traditional bank loans. Following its success in Italy and Croatia, Banca Intesa is now extending the mini bond initiative to Serbia, offering new financing opportunities for local businesses. The Kinstellar
Kinstellar advises banking consortium on Telekom Srbija’s tower deal
Kinstellar’s team in Serbia, together with global law firm Paul Hastings, has successfully advised Deutsche Bank, Alpha Bank, UniCredit, and UniCredit Bank Serbia on a EUR 205 million financing for global investment firm Actis in relation to their acquisition of a carved-out tower portfolio from Telekom Srbija, a leading telecommunications operator in the Central and Eastern European (“CEE”) region. The carved-out portfolio is comprised of approximately 1,800 macro towers across Serbia, Bosnia & Hercegovina, and Montenegro. Kinstellar’s team, led by Petar Kojdić (Partner) and Mina Srećković (Managing Associate), played a pivotal role advising on the financing aspects of this transaction. Our
Non-Bank Lending in Serbia
According to Article 5 of the Serbian Banking Act (Zakon o bankama), no person other than a bank licensed in Serbia may engage in the granting of loans unless authorised by law. One Serbian law that does allow foreign banks (i.e., banks not established and licensed in Serbia) to provide cross-border loans to Serbian entities is the Serbian Foreign Exchange Act (Zakon o deviznom poslovanju). In particular, Article 18(7) of the Foreign Exchange Act expressly allows Serbian entities to borrow cross-border from foreign banks, which are not required to obtain a banking licence in Serbia for this purpose. Corporate finance Bearing in mind that raising capital on the capital markets through the issuance of bonds and