The ČD Eurobond issue has raised EUR 500 million for České dráhy (ČD). The company is the Czech Republic’s national rail operator. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

ČD Eurobond issue raises EUR 500 million
ČD Eurobond issue raises EUR 500 million

It said the proceeds will be used mainly for rolling stock modernization. The bonds mature in September 2031. They carry a fixed annual coupon of 3.750%.

According to Railway PRO, the EUR 500 million bond issue drew strong interest from European institutional investors. Demand was several times higher than the volume offered.

At its peak, demand exceeded EUR 1.8 billion. Almost 150 institutional investors took part.

Still, České dráhy said the result reflected favorable Eurobond market conditions for the company. This was despite uncertainty and high volatility in capital markets.

Funds from ČD Eurobond issue to support fleet modernization

“The strong investor interest confirms the financial market’s confidence in the stability of České dráhy and in our long-term strategy for modernizing and developing the company. We will use the funds raised primarily to finance the renewal of our rolling stock and for other investments that will improve the quality of services for passengers,” said Michal Krapinec, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of České dráhy.

The bonds are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. They were subscribed by institutional investors. In addition, asset managers represented the largest investor group. Banks, insurance companies, and pension funds followed.

From a regional perspective, the largest allocation went to investors from German-speaking countries. Investors from Central and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and other European countries followed.

Investor demand and lowest-ever Eurobond spread

Lukáš Svoboda is a member of the Board of Directors. He is also Deputy CEO for Economics and Assets. He said the investor response and the price achieved for the bonds were very good.

“We are very pleased with the positive investor response and the price achieved for the bonds. Although the market situation is not straightforward, demand exceeded the offered volume several times over, which significantly contributed to achieving our lowest-ever spread for a Eurobond issue. We believe that the high level of investor interest reflects their confidence in the České dráhy Group,” stated Lukáš Svoboda.

Also, Moody’s assigned the bonds a Baa1 rating. The rating is classified as investment grade. The issue was carried out with support from an international banking syndicate. Société Générale and UniCredit led the syndicate. BNP Paribas, Erste Group, Intesa Sanpaolo, ING, and KBC acted as bookrunners.

Baa1 Moody’s rating and 2025 financial results

The Eurobond issue followed a significant improvement in České dráhy’s rating. Moody’s raised the company’s rating from Baa2 to Baa1. It also assigned a stable outlook. The operator said this is the best rating ever obtained by the Czech national rail carrier.

Separately, on April 30, 2026, the České dráhy Group published its financial results for 2025. Consolidated pre-tax profit reached 1.8 billion Czech koruna, or EUR 74 million. The figure was calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It was 46% higher than in the previous year.

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