International Financial Law Review 1000 (IFLR1000) 2018 edition highly ranks Asters' Banking & Finance, M&A and Energy practices reflecting the Firm's strong performance over recent years. The ranking names Asters' Co-Managing Partner Oleksiy Didkovskiy, Senior Partner Armen Khachaturyan, partners Oleksiy Demyanenko, Roman Kostenko, Tamara Lukanina, Yaroslav Petrov, Iryna Pokanay, Roman Stepanenko and counsel Gabriel Aslanian among the leading lawyers in Ukraine.
According to the survey, Asters has "strong practices in all ranking categories in Ukraine ". The publication indicates that recent banking highlights for the firm tended to be refinancings, acquisition financings or loan restructurings, with a mix of borrower and lender work. The matters included several mandates for international development banks including the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
In the capital markets space, the firm’s notable work has been mostly concentrated on the debt side. A standout mandate saw the firm advise on a euro bond issue by Ukraine, acting for the Ministry of Finance.
According to the ranking, the firm’s M&A team advised on a number of large cross-border deals in the research period. Most notably, it represented IndustrialBank on its merger with Express Bank, and acted as local counsel for Anadolu Efes in connection with the establishment of its joint venture with Anheuser-Busch.
In projects, the firm largely worked within the electricity, renewable energy and transport sectors, often representing international clients investing in Ukraine. Deal highlights include acting for GE Transportation in connection with the modernisation and supply of freight locomotives.
