Sayenko Kharenko has advised VR Capital on the acquisition of 50% of shares in Nicken Holdings LTD from Investment Capital Ukraine. Avellum reportedly provided transactional support to Investment Capital Ukraine on the sale.

Avellum acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to the EBRD in connection with a senior secured loan of up to EUR 2.6 million to Negabarit-Service LLC, a Ukrainian company specializing in oversized and complex auto cargo transportation.

Avellum acted as Ukrainian legal counsel and White & Case provided English-law advice 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 a total amount equivalent to approximately USD 1 billion. Sayenko Kharenko and Clifford Chance reportedly advised Deutsche Bank. Reed Smith reportedly was English law counsel to the facility agent, TMF Global Services Limited.

Avellum has advised SM Invest Construction B.V. on the sale of shares in the holding company that is developing a 120MW solar power plant in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. The buyer, solar energy producer Scatec Solar, was reportedly advised by CMS.

Avellum has advised Kernel Holding S.A. on the acquisition of 100% of shares in Rail Transit Kargo Ukraine. Based on the enterprise value, the deal is worth USD 64 million.

Avellum has acted as legal counsel on the merger of PJSC MTB Bank and PJSC Commercial Bank Center.

Sayenko Kharenko and Clifford Chance have advised Deutsche Bank on a EUR 349.3 million facility extended to Ukraine under a World Bank guarantee. Avellum and White & Case advised the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance on the deal.

Avellum has advised PrJSC Jacobs Douwe Egberts Ukraina on a minority squeeze-out procedure.

Ukraine has taken several important steps in recent months towards improving the country’s domestic dispute resolution mechanisms. One of those steps was the complete overhaul of the judicial system and the adoption of completely new procedural rules governing domestic litigation.

If one is an example, two is a coincidence, and three is a trend, the three major law firm mergers in Ukraine this past summer demand closer scrutiny.

On July 9, 2018, the CEE Legal Matters website reported the merger of the Avellum and A.G.A. Partners law firms in Ukraine. A month later, the website reported on a second merger, this time between Asters and EPAP, the Ukrainian office of Russia’s Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners. And in September the website reported on yet another merger, between Integrites and Pravochyn. To explore these significant changes in the market, on October 26, 2018, CEE Legal Matters sat down with a collection of prominent Ukrainian lawyers — including several from firms directly involved in the summer’s mergers — at the Kyiv office of DLA Piper.

Vadim Medvedev has been promoted to Partner at Avellum in Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko and Avellum have advised on the sale by the Naspers Group of a controlling interest in online marketplace operator EVO Group to Rozetka.

Avellum acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to Slobozhanska Budivelna Keramika in connection with the restructuring and refinancing of SBK’s debt, valued at approximately EUR 20 million. Wolf Theiss advised the EBRD, one of the lenders, on the matter.

Avellum acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the EBRD in connection with a senior secured loan of up to EUR 1.3 million to the Kyiv Medical University.

Sayenko Kharenko has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Securities on Ukraine's USD 2 billion Eurobond issue. Avellum advised the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on the issue.

"Elections will definitely effect society," says Avellum Co-Managing Partner Aminat Suleymanova, referring to the upcoming Ukraine Presidential elections scheduled for March 31, 2019, and Parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27, 2019.

Currency regulations in Ukraine have always been among the most significant impediments to foreign investments and access of Ukrainian businesses to foreign markets. In 2014, substantial external imbalances, capital flight risks, and panic in the foreign exchange market prompted the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to adopt tight capital controls, a number of which remain in effect. Notwithstanding the alleged soundness of such temporary measures, both foreign investors and Ukrainian businesses have long called for clearer and more predictable currency regulations, as well as safeguards to protect their interests. In July 2018, Ukraine finally adopted the long-awaited “On Currency and Currency Transactions” law (the “Currency Law”) which is intended to replace the archaic currency control legislation. The effectiveness of the new legal framework, however, can only be assessed once the NBU lays out detailed rules in its regulations.

In The Corner Office we ask Managing Partners across Central and Eastern Europe about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: Who was your mentor, and what was the most important lesson you learned from him or her?