Asters Advises on Further Extension of a Leading International Luxury Group
August 22, 2008
Asters acted as legal adviser to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s leading luxury group, on the issues of Ukrainian merger control law, including obtaining clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMC) for the acquisition of the Hublot group, a luxury Swiss watchmaker.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton possesses a unique portfolio of over 60 prestigious brands and is active in such sectors as wines and spirits, fashion and leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics, watches and jewelry, as well as selective retailing. The group was formed after mergers brought together champagne producer Moet et Chandon and Hennessy, a leading manufacturer of cognac. In 1987, they merged with fashion house Louis Vuitton to form the current group. Hublot is a brand that is highly complementary to LVMH’s existing watch portfolio.
The filing with the AMC was handled by associates Tetyana Buchko and Olga Andruschakevych under the supervision of partner Igor Svechkar. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as international legal counsel to LVMH.
Asters Advises L Capital Management on the Acquisition of Оne of the World’s Leading Yacht Company
August 21, 2008
Asters acted as legal counsel to L Capital Management, a French investment company controlled by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s largest luxury groups, and Groupe Arnault, the investment vehicle of French billionaire Bernard Arnault, on the issues of Ukrainian merger control law, including obtaining clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for the acquisition of control over The Renwick Group p.l.c., one of the leading yacht companies in the world. The deal is reportedly valued at about GBP 200 million.
The Renwick Group p.l.c. is a holding company for the group of companies which are active in the production and distribution of luxury motor boats under the "Princess" brand. Founded in 1965, the group now distributes boats all over the world.
Asters’ team working on the Ukrainian aspects of the deal included associates Tetyana Buchko and Olga Voronkova under the supervision of partner Igor Svechkar. Linklaters acted as international legal counsel to L Capital Management.
Asters Advises NEFCO on the Financing of Unique Environmental Projects in Ukraine
August 20, 2008
Asters has acted as legal adviser to the Nordic Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO), an international finance institution specializing in the support and development of environmental projects, on a loan facility provided to Closed Joint-Stock Company Joint Stock Bank “Lviv” (Bank Lviv).
NEFCO was established through a treaty between the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Finland, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway and the Kingdom of Sweden, with its headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. NEFCO’s activities are focused on projects that achieve cost-effective environmental benefits in Central and Eastern European countries, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The loan will be utilized to co-finance the Energy Savings Loan Program of Bank Lviv which will provide loans to individuals and entities for investments in environment-friendly technologies and energy-saving projects.
Asters’ banking, finance law and securities team advising on the transaction included partner Iryna Pokanay and associate Gabriel Aslanian.
Asters Advises Swedbank on Registration of the First Banking Holding Group in Ukraine
August 12, 2008
Asters has acted as a Ukrainian counsel to Swedbank AB in connection with establishing by its Ukrainian subsidiaries OJSC Swedbank (formerly TAS-Kommerzbank) and CJSC Swedbank Invest (formerly TAS-Investbank) of the first Ukrainian banking holding group Swedbank Finance.
Asters’ team assisting Swedbank in drafting and negotiating all necessary documents, obtaining regulatory approvals and registration of Swedbank Finance with the National Bank of Ukraine, was led by partners Svitlana Poroschuk and Armen Khachaturyan and included associates Yevgen Porada, Yuriy Pavlyshynets and senior associate Leonid Antonenko. The merger clearance was handled by associate Tetyana Buchko supervised by partner Igor Svechkar.
IFC COULD GIVE ANOTHER USD 45M CREDIT TO DELTA-WILMAR CIS TO EXPAND PRODUCTION FACILITIES
August 5, 2008
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, plans to give a USD 45 million credit to Delta-Wilmar CIS to expand its production facilities and develop infrastructure at a palm oil refinery at the Yuzhny port in Odesa, as it reported on July 18.
The value of the project is estimated at USD235 million. It is expected that the board of directors would consider the issuing of the funds on August 25, 2008.
Delta-Wilmar CIS is a joint venture of the Singapore company Delmar Pte Limited (100%).
VIDI GROUP TO INVEST USD270M IN CONSTRUCTION OF THREE CAR CENTERS
August 5, 2008
ViDi Group plans to invest USD 270 million in construction of three car centers in Kyiv, Boryspil and Odesa, as it announced on July 22.
ViDi AutoCity Orbital Road car center would be located on seven hectares. It would consist of four car dealer centers, one of which the Toyota Center Kyiv Highway has operated since March 2007. The car center will also have Ford and Nissan dealer centers. A test-drive road for SUVs would be located in the center.
The construction of three centers started in 2008. They would be commissioned in late 2008 or early 2009. Investment in the project is USD 100 million.
The ViDi AutoCity Boryspil car center will be located on 4.5 hectares on the Kyiv-Boryspil international airport highway. It would unite five dealer centers, including those of Honda and Mazda. The ViDi AutoCity Odesa car center will be located on 10 hectares and would unite seven dealer centers, among which would be those of Honda and Ford.
ViDi Group was founded in 1994 by Vitaliy Dzhurynsky.
RAIFFEISEN BANK AVAL RAISES USD200 M IN SYNDICATED LOAN
August 5, 2008
Kyiv-based Raiffeisen Bank Aval plans to raise a syndicated loan worth USD200 million, as it said on July 24.
The syndicated loan is organized by Bayerische Landesbank (Germany), the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan), HSBC Bank (the United Kingdom), and Standard Bank PLC (the United Kingdom). Eighteen banks participated in the loan syndication.
MONOLIT CONSTRUCTION ALLIANCE TO INVEST AROUND USD20M IN BUILDING OF HOTEL COMPLEX IN CRIMEA
August 5, 2008
Ukrmestpromproject, part of the Monolit Construction Alliance Group (both based in Kharkiv), plans in October 2008 to start building a hotel complex in Koktebel in Crimea, as it announced on July 29.
Ukrmestpromproject has started drawing up the design of the hotel, on a 1.5 hectare site on the coast of Koktebel (the former territory of the Khimik recreation camp). The company said that the project is estimated to be worth USD 17-20 million.
The four-level hotel would have 100 sea-side rooms. The hotel would have a conference hall, a SPA-center, a parking area, a restaurant and five swimming pools: one large and four small ones.
AXA GROUP TO INVEST AROUND EUR 20M IN UKRAINIAN INSURANCE ALLIANCE, VESKO
August 5, 2008
France's AXA Group plans to invest around EUR 20 million in CJSC Vesko Insurance Company and CJSC Ukrainian Insurance Alliance (both based in Kyiv), as it announced on August 1. AXA Group plans to set up a life insurance company in Ukraine.
The share of Kharkiv-based UkrSibbank, which owns around 49% of shares in both insurance companies, is around 50% in the bank insurance portfolio of the AXA Insurance, and the figure is continually growing.
The Ukrainian Insurance Alliance has been working on the Ukrainian market since 2001. Its regional network has 39 representative offices covering all of the country's regions.
SBERBANK'S UKRAINIAN SUBSIDIARY TO RAISE AT LEAST USD 30 M IN SYNDICATED LOAN
August 5, 2008
Kyiv-based CJSC Sberbank of Russia (formerly CJSC NRB Bank), which is a subsidiary of Sberbank of Russia in Ukraine, is considering the possibility of raising a debut syndicated loan worth at least USD 30 million, as it reported on August 4. The syndicated loan might be raised for 12 months with a 12-month prolongation.