Banking, finance and capital markets

AVELLUM acted as the legal counsel to Investment Capital Ukraine (“ICU”) on the sale of the remaining stake in alternative energy projects with total capacity over 200 MW to VR Capital Group (“VR”). The transaction covered the following solar power plants jointly developed by ICU and VR: “Kamianets-Podilskа” in Khmelnytskyi region – 64 MW “Solar Capital” in Kherson region – 35 MW a number of power plants in Mykolaiv region – 127 MW total capacity AVELLUM provided full legal support to ICU in negotiating and signing the transaction documents, as well as in completion of the transaction. ICU is an independent asset management, private equity, and investment advisory firm specialising in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe. VR Capital Group is an alternative asset manager with assets under management in excess of USD4.5 billion. Since commencing operations in 1999, the firm’s investments have been concentrated in global emerging markets. VR Capital Group’s principal offices are in London and New York, and its advisory affiliates are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. The AVELLUM team was led by partner Yuriy Nechayev with support from associates Dmytro Symbiryov and Maryna Buinytska.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on another milestone Eurobond deal. The issue by Ukraine of EUR1 billion notes with a 7-year tenor marks the first euro-denominated offering Ukraine has made in almost 15 years. The notes are part of the Government's strategic policy to diversify Ukraine's mostly US-dollar denominated debt stock as announced in June this year. Priced at an attractive 6.75%, the notes also helped to balance out the state budget aggregate debt servicing costs. "This Euro-denominated issue is a valuable addition to our public finance portfolio", senior partner Glib Bondar commented, "Since Ukraine's return to Eurobond market in late 2017, AVELLUM has advised the Ministry of Finance on a number of its well-received capital market deals. We are honoured to continue that record and be part of the work behind the success of this deal." The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar with support from associates Oleg Krainskyi and Mariana Veremchuk.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) in connection with a long term senior secured loan to Limited Liability Company “Zunami” (“Zunami”) in the total amount of up to EUR3 million.            The EBRD is contributing to sustainable forest management in Ukraine by supporting a major domestic wood processing company Zunami with the introduction of new waste management techniques aimed at reducing wood waste by 23 per cent or 3,000 tonnes per year. This loan will be complemented by grant funding of up to EUR70,000 from the European Union under its EU4Business programme, and USD170,280 incentive grant, funded by the Global Environment Facility under FINTECC programme, designed to transfer technology in the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation. The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the EBRD has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR13.3 billion across some 423 projects in Ukraine. Zunami is a Ukraine’s leading producer of finished wooden floors and is engaged in a full cycle of wood processing. The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar with support from counsel Maria Tsabal and associates Oleg Krainskyi and Anna Kalabska.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”>) and Nederlandse Financierings – Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (“FMO”) in connection with a senior secured loan to LLC “Chysta Enerhiia-2011” in the total amount of up to EUR 24.5 million (and each 50%). The loan proceeds will be used to finance the construction and operation of a solar photovoltaic plant in the Cherkasy region, Ukraine, with the aggregate installed capacity of 30MW (“Project”). The Project directly contributes towards achieving the 15% government’s target in renewable electricity generation by 2030 (up from the current ~2%). It complies with the FMO’s strategy on energy security and energy transition. EBRD's portion will be funded under their Ukraine Sustainable Energy Lending Facility (“USELF III”). Consequently, the Project will not only reduce the existing Ukraine’s dependancy upon nuclear and thermal generation, but will also clean-up the site. Glib Bondar, AVELLUM’s senior partner, commented on the transaction: “We are proud to work with the leading international financial institutions which entrust us with support of the renewables projects of nationwide importance.” The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the EBRD has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR13.3 billion across some 423 projects in Ukraine. The EBRD supports the development of renewable energy in Ukraine under the USELF program since 2009 and has so far funded renewable energy projects in Ukraine with a total capacity of over 540MW for a global investment of more than EUR275 million. FMO is the Netherlands Development Finance Company financing long-term, sustainable projects which power economies, promote the transition to a low-carbon system, and safeguard energy security. Since early 2000, FMO is active in the Ukraine, also with investments in private equity funds, agribusiness and the financial sector. The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar with support from counsel Maria Tsabal, senior associate Tetiana Mykhailenko and associates Dmytro Symbiryov, Daryna Mykhailenko, Anna Mykhalova and Anna Kalabska.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine in connection with two syndicated EUR-denominated facilities arranged by Deutsche Bank in December 2018 and March 2019 for the total amount equivalent to approximately USD1 billion. Both facilities benefited from a policy-based guarantee from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The IBRD guarantee allowed for attractive commercial terms, including the 4.5-year grace period for a substantial portion of the financing. The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar, with support from associates Oleg Krainskyi, Anastasiya Voronova, and Oleksandra Kupriichuk.

AVELLUM is happy to announce the promotion of Vadim Medvedev to partner effective from 1 January 2019. Vadim leads the firm’s tax practice and has an outstanding track record in the areas of international tax planning, transaction structuring, and succession planning matters. Vadim is also highly praised for successfully representing clients in tax litigation cases. Vadim is well regarded for handling tax aspects of the most sophisticated and challenging deals, including advice to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on several deals worth over USD2.5 billion, advice to Metinvest Group on the successful refinancing of its USD2,271 million debt, as well as advice to MHP SE on its USD550 million Eurobond issue. Besides clients’ work, he also took an active part in reshaping the Ukrainian tax framework, namely contributed to the draft law on counteracting Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) in Ukraine, changes to the VAT administration system, as well as the development of special tax rules for Eurobond-funded loans. All leading legal directories (including Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500, World Tax, World Transfer Pricing, Indirect Tax Leaders, Tax Controversy Leaders Guide) highly praise Vadim for his legal expertise. Vadim is the leader of the Working Group on International Taxation and EU Harmonisation at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine. Vadim has obtained his degree from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and now acts as a senior lecturer of International Taxation in his Alma Mater. Mykola Stetsenko, AVELLUM’s co-managing partner, reflected the following: “With great pleasure we welcome Vadim Medvedev to his new role as a partner at AVELLUM. This promotion is very well deserved, since Vadim has played a key role in growing our tax practice during his time at the firm. Under his watch and due to continuous efforts, professionalism, dedication, and extreme hard work of Vadim and his team, the tax practice achieved a brilliant record of international and local tax projects and recognitions. This appointment also highlights an increasing demand for tax services of AVELLUM.” Vadim Medvedev commented on his promotion, “Having been part of AVELLUM for over 6 years, I am excited about the new milestone in my career. I am proud to become a member of AVELLUM’s partnership and highly appreciate the firm’s seamless support and continuous contribution to my development. In my new role, I am committed to further strengthening AVELLUM’s tax practice and offering solutions to any tax related questions our clients may encounter. Obviously, this significant achievement would not be possible without support from our clients, who entrusted their sophisticated tax matters to our tax team."

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on the USD2 billion sovereign Eurobond issue consisting of two tranches with 5.5 and 10-year tenor. J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, and Citigroup acted as joint lead managers on the transaction. Part of the Eurobond proceeds was applied to redeem Ukraine’s USD725 million zero-coupon notes due in 2019, an issue that AVELLUM had also advised on earlier in 2018. The remainder was allocated to the general budgetary purposes. This new notes issue, together with other official creditor funds, will help the country to ensure fiscal liquidity and macroeconomic stability. For AVELLUM, the transaction was yet another addition to our broad public sector finance potfolio. The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar with support from counsel Taras Dmukhovskyy, tax counsel Vadim Medvedev, and associates Oleg Krainskyi, Anastasiya Voronova, Orest Franchuk, Anna Mykhalova, Anna Kalabska, Yelyzaveta Kravtsova, and Oles Bidnoshyia.

AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) in connection with a senior secured loan of up to EUR1.3 million to Private Higher Educational Establishment "Kyiv Medical University" (“KMU”). The loan will be used by KMU to expand its dentistry and pharmacy education programs through the acquisition of a new campus building, which will accommodate additional 1,000 students per year (“Project”). The Project will be the first occasion when EBRD is financing an academic institution in Ukraine. AVELLUM’s senior partner, Glib Bondar noted the following: “Ukraine is becoming a more popular destination for medical education among international students and we are delighted to support our long-standing client, EBRD, on its first financing of a Ukrainian academic institution, bringing the positive impact, and facilitating the growth of the private educational sector”. KMU is one of the largest Ukrainian private universities and the only private medical university of such scale (circa 2,700 students, with 30% being foreign students from 56 countries). The primary fields of specialisation for KMU are dentistry and pharmacy, taught in Ukrainian, Russian, and English. KMU is recognised as a medical academic institution by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and it is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, IMED, and Avicenna Database. EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR12.1 billion across some 400 projects in Ukraine. The AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar, with support from counsel Maria Tsabal and junior attorney Anna Kalabska.

Sayenko Kharenko advised on USD 2 billion dual-tranche Eurobond issue by Ukraine Sayenko Kharenko acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Securities, joint lead managers of USD 2 billion Eurobond issue by Ukraine. The issue comprises USD 750 million notes due 2024 and USD 1.25 billion notes due 2028. A share of proceeds of the new issue has been used by Ukraine to redeem its USD 725 million zero coupon notes issued for the purposes of bridge financing earlier in 2018, while the remaining funds will be applied for general budgetary purposes of the sovereign. The issue took place on the back of prolonged negotiations between Ukraine and IMF and gives a positive signal that international capital markets are still open for the Ukrainian debt. Igor Lozenko and Nazar Chernyavsky led Sayenko Kharenko’s team working on the transaction, which included Denis Nakonechnyi, Yurii Dmytrenko, Oles Trachuk and Vira Pankiv.  sk_press-release_eurobonds_eng