Ukraine local elections, held on October 25, 2020, resulted in a setback for the country’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose party did not secure a single mayoral position in any of the major cities. This did not surprise Dmytro Fedoruk, Partner at Redcliffe Partners in Kyiv, who notes that Zelensky “was not elected for his experience, but rather for his good intentions.” 

Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance have advised ED & F Man Treasury Management plc, the treasury management arm of ED & F Man, a UK-based international commodities trader, on Ukrainian law aspects on the refinancing and restructuring of nearly USD 1.5 billion of debt and raising an extra USD 320 million in working capital. Allen & Overy and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld advised the scheme creditors and note-holders, respectively, and Asters advised the unidentified lenders on Ukrainian law aspects of the deal.

Redcliffe Partners has advised Ukrainian HR tech product manufacturer Hurma System on seed financing from the European venture capital firm Pragmatech Ventures.

On July 23, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Redcliffe Partners had advised the EBRD on an up to EUR 25 million term loan to Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise. We reached out to Konstantin Olefirenko, Principal Legal Counsel at the EBRD, to learn more about the deal.

Svitlana Teush has been promoted to partner at Redcliffe Partners in Kyiv.

Redcliffe Partners has advised the YayPay financial technology company on the EUR 17 million sale of a majority stake in the company to Quadient. The buyer was advised by CMS RRH Kyiv.

Redcliffe Partners has advised the EBRD on a USD 27 million short-term secured loan to Nibulon LLC, a Ukrainian agricultural company.

Investigations Into Price Hikes and Other Responses by the Ukrainian Competition Authority to the COVID-19 Crisis

Ukrainian renewable energy lawyer Svitlana Teush takes a look at the law which will define the cuts to be applied in Ukraine after extensive negotiation between government and the clean energy industry.

Redcliffe Partners has helped Saudi Basic Industries Corporation obtain merger clearance from the Ukrainian competition authority for the USD 69.1 billion sale of 70% of its shares by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia – the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company. 

Redcliffe Partners has advised the EBRD on an up to EUR 25 million term loan to be provided to Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise for working capital needs.

Investigations Into Price Hikes and Other Responses by the Ukrainian Competition Authority to the COVID-19 Crisis

The Ukrainian government’s conference rooms have been stuffier than usual lately, as policymakers and renewable energy industry representatives attempted to thrash out a compromise to reduce the financial burden left on the administration by a feed-in tariff incentive regime which drove almost 2 GW of generation capacity. The resulting retroactive cuts to payments, outlined below by Ukraine-based lawyer Svitlana Teush, have at least had input from both sides.

Before being elected President of Ukraine last May, Volodymyr Zelensky had virtually no experience in public office. Despite his inexperience – or perhaps because of it – over 73% of the electorate concluded that the comedian and entertainer was the right man to replace Petro Poroshenko, the previous President, and now Zelensky finds himself, at 41, leading an entire nation.

Investigations Into Price Hikes and Other Responses by the Ukrainian Competition Authority to the COVID-19 Crisis

The Ukrainian Competition Authority investigates price hikes for face masks, health protection products and long-life foodstuffs amidst COVID-19 outbreak. Airline tickets, telecoms and misleading claims about fake coronavirus treatments are also in focus.

Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance Contribute to Global Pro Bono Project on Human Right to Healthy Environment

Redcliffe Partners, Clifford Chance, and over 100 law firms around the world have participated in a global mapping survey for the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights and the Environment related to the existence (or non-existence) of a fundamental human right to a healthy environment.

Draft Law 1210 – Significant Changes to Taxation of Cross-Border Operations

On 16 January 2020, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted law No 1210 "On amendments to the Tax Code related to the improvement of tax administration and elimination of technical and logical inconsistencies in the tax legislation" (the "Law").

Redcliffe Partners has advised the EBRD on a risk participation agreement with Piraeus Bank Ukraine with a total value of EUR 10 million.

Redcliffe Partners has helped GE Capital, the financial services division of General Electric, obtain merger clearance from Ukraine's competition authority in connection with the sale of the PK AirFinance aviation lending business to Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding Ltd.

Redcliffe Partners has advised the EBRD on Ukrainian aspects of its loan of an additional two million euros to Aquanova Development LLC for the construction, equipment, and placing in operation of a 3.5 MWp solar PV plant in the Zakarpattya Region of Ukraine. Clifford Chance Warsaw and Linklaters Milan advised the EBRD on English and Italian law, respectively.