Category: Ukraine

Ukraine’s Sayenko Kharenko acted as legal counsel to the Russian JSC VTB Bank on a USD 40 million export loan facility to the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine (dba “Energoatom”), the Ukrainian state enterprise that operates all four nuclear power plants in Ukraine.  

Ukraine is ranked seventh in the world and fifth in Europe in terms of number of nuclear reactors operated, total capacity, and electricity produced. The loan was provided for a year and the funds raised will be used for the purchase of nuclear fuel. Sayenko Kharenko’s team working on the transaction included Partner Nazar Chernyavsky, Senior Associate Olexander Olshansky, and Associate Orest Matviychuk.

Members of IFA Ukraine — the Ukrainian branch of the International Fiscal Association — have reelected Iryna Marushko as a Board Member for 2014-2015.  

Marushko, a Partner at Ukraine’s Lavrynovych & Partners Law Firm, was elected for the fourth time in a row.  

The International Fiscal Association brings together over 12,500 tax managers, governmental officials, and researchers to study and advance international and comparative fiscal law in the 111 countries in which the IFA is established.

DLA Piper has advised Ukrainian Public Joint Stock Company Bank Finance and Credit in a refinancing transaction of USD 95 million Eurobonds, due in 2014, on matters of English, US, Ukrainian, and Dutch law.

Bank Finance and Credit has refinanced its Loan Participation Notes (LPNs) due in 2014 with the issuance of new USD 100 million 9.25% LPNs due in 2019 issued by Finance & Credit Ukraine BV through a successful exchange offer and consent solicitation process.

The transaction featured lawyers from DLA Piper’s UK, Austrian, Ukrainian, and Netherlands offices. The team was led by Partners George Barboutis, Attila Csongrady, and Oleksandr Kurdydyk, and Senior Associate Alexander Kolmakov. VTB Capital was the Dealer Manager for the transaction and was represented by Freshfields and Avellum.

The Astapov Lawyers law firm has promoted two lawyers to Counsel in the firm’s International Litigation practice in Kiev.  

New Counsel Oleh Gromovoi leads the firm’s Ukrainian Litigation, Mediation, and Economic and White-Collar Crime team, and specializes in commercial litigation, intellectual property disputes, and alternative dispute resolution in Ukraine and CIS.  

Fellow new Counsel Ivan Lischyna’s practice includes international litigation, and he has appeared before the London Court of Arbitration, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, among others. He also advises on international commercial, corporate, and investment transactions.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised the Dutch Nutreco International on an M&A deal in the animal feed market and establishment of a joint venture in Ukraine.

As a result of the completed transaction, Nutreco International has indirectly acquired a stake in Dutch Feed, a Ukrainian company with a large sales and distribution network throughout Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko provided full transactional support on the deal, including legal due diligence, general advice on multiple Ukrainian law matters, deal structuring, obtaining merger clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, assistance with preparation and negotiation of transaction documents, and assistance in the closing of the transaction.

Sayenko Kharenko’s Corporate team for the transaction included Counsel Vitaly Kravchenko and Associates Oleksandr Nikolaichyk, Daria Gulinska, and Hanna Dobrynska. Also assisting were Sayenko Kharenko Antitrust Counsel Dmitry Taranyk and Associate Maksym Nazarenko. Both teams worked under the supervision of Partner Vladimir Sayenko.

DLA Piper has advised Leroy Merlin, one of the largest European DIY retail networks, on the construction and opening of its second hypermarket in Kiev.

The transaction consisted of an acquisition of a Ukrainian company which held the land titles for the plot and subsequent construction of the hypermarket. DLA Piper advised on various Corporate, Tax, Finance & Projects and Real Estate matters throughout the transaction.

Partner and Head of Real Estate in Ukraine Natalia Kochergina, who led the DLA Piper team on the transaction, said that “this is the second Leroy Merlin hypermarket in Ukraine, and we have provided full legal support on both. It is expected that in 2014 a further hypermarket will open, and we are also advising the client on that project.” 

Kochergina’s team included DLA Piper Senior Associate Dmytro Pikalov, Associate Sergiy Portnoy, and Legal Directors Illya Sverdlov and Illya Muchnyk.

Lawyers from Lavryonovych & Partners law firm have successfully represented an unnamed client’s interests in a mortgage foreclosure case involving three loan agreements amounting to over USD 1 million.

According to Lavryonovych & Partners, the dispute involved a bank’s ability to foreclose on a mortgagee’s real property after the sale of debtor’s property during bankruptcy procedures. The Court agreed with Lavrynovych’s lawyers that Ukraine’s Bankruptcy laws have priority over the country’s Mortgage laws in bankruptcy litigation. As a result of the trial the Russian Court of First Instance prohibited the bank from foreclosing on the mortgaged property.

Lavryonovych & Partners Associates Eugene Kolomiyets and Inna Rudnyck led the unnamed client’s representation, working under the guidance of Partner Stanislav Skrypnyck.

The Ukrainian Asters law firm has advised the International Finance Corporation on USD 65 Million Financing to Mriya, a leading Ukrainian agroindustrial company.

The IFC project includes a 2-year revolving working capital facility in the amount of USD 60 million to provide financing for inputs needed to produce agricultural commodities for sale to local clients and international traders. The project aims to replace the IFC’s existing USD 35 million 3-year working capital facility due for final repayment in March 2014. 

In addition to the working capital facility, the project includes a three year USD 5 million loan to help Mriya improve its waste management capabilities and become more energy efficient.

Tasters has been advising the IFC on its partnership with Mriya since 2010.

The Asters Banking & Finance team working on the project included Partner Iryna Pokanay and Associates Gabriel Aslanian and Inna Bondarenko.

Dentons has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank in connection with a committed trade finance facility to the Bank Vostok public joint-stock company. 

The BSTDB is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. With an authorized capital of EUR 3.45 billion, the BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing trade and project financing, guarantees and equity for development projects supporting both public and private enterprises in its member countries. 

The Dentons Kiev team was led by Partner Natalya Selyakova, with support by Associate Nikolay Zhovner.

Lavrynovych & Partners has hired senior lawyer Olena Sapko as Counsel and Head of the firm’s newly expanded Labor Law practice.

Sapko comes to Lavrynovych & Partners from KPMG, where she was the Manager of the Tax and Legal Departments in the Personal Services Group, and has previously been with PWC in Ukraine as well. She has significant experience consulting on personal income tax matters, compensation systems, and labor law compliance. She has also supervised HR audits and reviews of HR issues in due diligence projects for both Ukrainian and international companies.