Asters advises International Finance Corporation on EUR 30 million loan to Ukrgasbank convertible into its shares
January, 2021 - Kyiv, Ukraine
Asters acted as a Ukrainian law counsel to International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in connection with EUR 30 million loan to Ukrgasbank, as it seeks to boost financing of sustainable energy and energy-efficient projects, including those developed by small and medium enterprises.
IFC is supporting Ukrgasbank, the fourth largest bank in Ukraine by assets, on its way to privatization, which will be the first for a large state-owned bank in Ukraine. IFC’s new loan will incentivize the bank’s transformation enhanced by IFC’s option to convert the loan into equity shares.
Since 2016, IFC’s advisory work, in partnership with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands, has helped Ukrgasbank become Ukraine’s first climate-finance bank. IFC will continue working with the bank on developing new markets for green finance in Ukraine. The new IFC’s loan will support financing Ukrainian businesses to modernize to save energy costs and reduce environmental footprints.
IFC’s partnership with Ukrgasbank is also part of its efforts to attract private investment into Ukraine’s financial sector and boost the country’s economic growth.
Asters’ banking and finance team advising on the project consisted of partner Iryna Pokanay, counsel Gabriel Aslanian and associates Inna Bondarenko and Viktoria Zagreba. Asters' antimonopoly team advising on the project consisted of partner Igor Svechkar, counsel Sergiy Glushchenko and associate Olena Gadomska.
