Category: Ukraine

Sayenko Kharenko Partner Serhiy Verlanov resigned from the firm’s partnership following his appointment as Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine.

According to Sayenko Kharenko, “Verlanov has experience in the fields of taxation and tax litigation and expertise advising on public sector projects.  He has experience handling taxation matters relating to cross-border transaction structuring, tax due diligence, public and private offerings, inter-company charges, dividend distribution, and other complex international projects.” The firm reports that “Verlanov has over a decade of representation of clients, including expat managers, in criminal cases of tax evasion as well as in tax litigation proceedings at all levels of the judiciary.”

“Since joining the firm in 2015,” Partner Vladimir Sayenko said, “Serhiy has managed to build one of the strongest tax practices in the market. He has invested in the team’s professional growth and personal development, which gives us confidence that our tax practice will continue to develop under the supervision of Counsel Vitaliy Odzhykovskyy. We are grateful to Serhiy for all his work and dedication, and we have no doubt that his appointment is good news for Ukraine.”

Before joining Sayenko Kharenko in July 2015, Verlanov spent almost six years at PwC in Ukraine. He received his Doctorate and Masters in Law degree from the National University Ivan Franko in Lviv, Ukraine.

Aequo has advised Dragon Capital Investment Limited, a private equity investor in Ukraine and member of the Dragon Capital group of companies, on its acquisition of a 30,000 square meter shopping mall Sky Park in Vinnytsia, a city in west-central Ukraine.

The seller was an unnamed private individual. 

The Aequo team included Partner Yulia Kyrpa, Senior Associate Bohdan Dmukhovskyy, and Associate Mykhailo Soroka.

DLA Piper Ukraine has advised US-based aircraft lessor, Pegasus Aviation VI, on the lease of a Boeing 767-300 aircraft to Ukrainian airline Azur Air Ukraine.

According to DLA Piper, ”on completion of the deal, the aircraft leased by Azur Air Ukraine will become the fifth long-range aircraft in Ukraine. This will enable the operator to increase its number of international flights and expand its geographical reach.”

The DLA Piper team was led by Partner Oleksandr Kurdydyk, supported by Senior Associate Dmytro Pshenychniuk and Associate Iurii Krasnoliudskyi.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has successfully represented Piraeus Bank ICB in a dispute before the Ukrainian Supreme Court regarding the recovery of UAH 175 million from a developer’s financial surety.

According to VKP, “Piraeus Bank sued the developer’s financial surety to recover the amount owed under the loan agreement. The first instance court sustained the claim and the appellate court agreed with the conclusions provided by the first instance court. The financial surety lodged a cassation appeal referring to formal violations of the procedural law made by the first instance court during the trial in absentia.”

VKP was able to persuade the Supreme Court that formal violations of procedural law alone are insufficient grounds to overturn a lawful judgment. The Supreme Court agreed and dismissed the surety’s cassation appeal, upheld the lower courts’ decisions, and resumed their enforcement.

The VKP team was led by Partner Oleg Kachmar and included Senior Associate Yuiy Kolos and Associate Oleksandra Bortman.

Aequo has advised RIA.com on the tax structuring of the group’s international business.

Aequo’s work included analysis of contractual relations within the operating structure of RIA.com, matters of direct and indirect taxation, and the application of double taxation avoidance rules.

The firm’s team included Head of IT Mykyta Polatayko and Senior Associate Vasyl Mishchenko.

Jeantet has advised Airbus Helicopters on an agreement to sell the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior 55 civil helicopters. The Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior was advised by Ukraine’s Tarasov & Partners law firm.

According to Jeantet the 55 civil helicopters are designed for search and rescue, public services, and emergency medical service missions in the country. The 55 aircraft include 21 repurposed H225s, and 10 new H145s and 24 H125. The contract, which also foresees setting-up a local training and maintenance center, was signed in Kyiv on July 14, 2018 in the presence of Arsen Avakov, Minister for the Interior of Ukraine, and Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO.

The main procurement contract is expected to be signed in a month, after the Intergovernmental Agreement enters into force and following public procurement formalities.

The purchase is outlined in the international agreement signed between France and Ukraine signed on July 8, 2018.  

The Jeantet team was led by Partner Bertrand Barrier and included Senior Lawyers Oleksiy Soloviov and Victoria de Robien.

Tarasov & Partners did not reply to our inquiries about the deal.

CMS has advised Scatec Solar ASA on the acquisition of a stake in a solar projects portfolio from Rengy Development.

The aim of the acquisition is to build solar power plants with the total capacity of 47 MW in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine.

As part of the transaction, Scatec Solar will own 51% of the business and Rengy Development will own the balance. The total capex for the projects is estimated at EUR 52 million. The start of construction is expected later in 2018 and commercial operation should start in 2019.

Scatec Solar ASA is a Norway-based solar power developer. Rengy Development is a developer and an independent solar power producer in Ukraine.

The CMS team was led by Partner Vitaliy Radchenko and Senior Associate Natalia Kushniruk and included Senior Associates Tetyana Dovgan, Maryna Ilchuk, and Kateryna Chechulina, Associates Vitalii Mainarovych and Viktoriia Stavchuk, Attorneys Khrystyna Korpan and Volodymyr Kolvakh, and Trainees Ihor Pavliukov and Diana Pysarenko. Managing Partner Graham Conlon and Senior Associate Valentina Santambrogio advised on English law aspects of the transaction.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has advised Spectr-Agro LLC and Spectr-Agrotekhnika on the acquisition by Sumitomo of 51% shares in the company. Dentons reportedly advised the buyers on the deal.

According to Vasil Kisil & Partners, “Sumitomo’s agri-scientific business has been exporting plant protection products (PPP) from Japan as No. 1 Japanese exporter and operating agri-chemical distribution companies in 30 countries branded as Sumi-Agro or Summit Agro. Also, Sumitomo invested into the companies whose business model is very similar to Spectr-Agro in Romania and Brazil.”

Spectr-Agro, which was incorporated in 2009, supplies CPAs, fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural equipment to more than 3,500 agricultural producers in Ukraine.

The Vasil Kisil & Partners transaction team was led by Partners Anna Sisetska and Alexander Borodkin and included Associates Mykola Boichuk and Dmytro Saranchuk and Junior Associate Yevhenii Senchenko. 

CMS in Kyiv has advised the EBRD on a EUR 13 million loan to the communal enterprise Mariupolske Tramvaino-Troleybusne Upravlinnya.

The investment will be used for the acquisition of up to 72 low-floor trolleybuses for the city of Mariupol, spare parts and maintenance equipment, and upgrading the trolleybus depot and reconstructing the network of overhead electric lines. According to CMS, “as an integral part of the project, which is implemented under the Ukraine Public Transport Framework approved by the EBRD in 2015, the improvement of the quality and efficiency of municipal transport will be achieved by reducing the trolleybus fleet’s energy consumption and connecting currently isolated districts to the existing trolleybus network.”

CMS acted as English and Ukrainian law counsel to the EBRD. The CMS team was led by Partner Simon Dayes and Senior Associate Vyacheslav Ovechkin.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised Glenalta S.p.A on its merger with CFT S.p.A, the parent company of CFT Group, a manufacturer of food processing and packaging machines.

Following the transaction, which as performed through reverse takeover, CFT’s shares became listed on the Italian Alternative Investment Market (“AIM Italia”) with a free float equal to approximately 51.51% of CFT’s share capital, which allows CFT to raise substantial finance to support its business. Additionally, it is anticipated that Glenalta will spend approximately EUR 88 million on the development of CFT Group.

Glenalta is an Italian special purpose acquisition company, listed on AIM Italia, which is organized and managed by Borsa Italiana, the Italian central stock exchange.

The CFT Group, founded in 1945, is a global designer and manufacturer of machinery and turnkey systems, mainly for the food & beverage industry.

The Sayenko Kharenko team was led by Counsel Sergiy Kazmirchuk, working under the general supervision of Partner Vladimir Sayenko. The team also included Senior Associate Konstantin Penskoy and Associates Yurii Dmytrenko, Oksana Daskaliuk, Ilhar Hakhramanov, Olga Kyriusha, and Dasha Dashkevych.