2 February 2012, Kyiv:      Salans advised a syndicate of banks (the “Lenders”) on a USD 150 million syndicated loan facility to PJSC Creative.  Lenders under the Facility are PJSC Ukrsotsbank, a member of UniCredit, Erste Group Bank AG and VTB Bank (Austria) AG.  UniCredit Bank AG and PJSC Ukrsotsbank acted as Arrangers and Agents in this transaction.

The loan facility is structured as a dual tranche short-term committed, annually extendable financing.  The proceeds will be used to finance the purchase, storage and processing of the Borrower’s sunflower seed prior to its transformation into commodities destined for sale on the domestic market or export under export contracts.

Salans’ team was lead by Natalia Selyakova (Partner, Kyiv) with key support from Mateusz Toczyski (Partner, Warsaw), Roger Vallance (Of Counsel, London), Olesya Zhmak (Associate, Kyiv) and Denis Kulgavyi (Paralegal, Kyiv) assisting the Lenders in drafting the Facility Agreement and the Security Documentation related to this transaction.

NOTES TO EDITORS:
About PJSC Creative, Ukraine:
Creative Group is the no. 2 producer of vegetable fats and margarines in Ukraine with a 35% market share. It also produces bottled refined sunflower with a 11% share in the domestic market and ranks among the top 6 producers of bulk sunflower oil in Ukraine. The Borrower was the 8th largest exporter of sunflower oil and the 4th largest exporter of sunflower meal in the first 6 months of the marketing year 2010/2011.

About UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking:
UniCredit is a major international financial institution with strong roots in 22 European countries as well as representative offices in 27 other markets, with about 9,600 branches and approximately 162,000 employees. In the CEE region, UniCredit operates the largest international banking network with around 4,000 branches and outlets. UniCredit's Corporate & Investment Banking gives companies, from mid-size Corporates to multinationals and institutional clients, access to the largest network of banks in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to branches in major financial centres worldwide.

About Salans
Salans (www.salans.com) is a leading full service international law firm with 22 offices worldwide built on a pioneering spirit.  Salans LLP has offices, or is associated with Salans offices in: Almaty, Baku, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kyiv, London, Madrid, Moscow, New York, Paris, Prague, Shanghai, St. Petersburg, Warsaw.  Salans’ Kyiv office was established in 1992.  For three years in a row (in 2009, 2010 and 2011) Salans was nominated to win the Chambers Award for Excellence for Ukraine.  In 2010, The Lawyer magazine awarded Salans the ‘European Law Firm of the Year’ award in its annual European Awards.
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