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Based on the overall performance in 2011, Asters is Law Firm No.1 in Ukraine according to the results of annual research "50 Leading Law Firms of Ukraine" published by Yuridicheskaya Praktika (Legal Practice) Ukrainian weekly jointly with Kommersant-Ukraine Publishing House on 6 December 2011. This year ranking once again proved Asters' leading role in the legal market. The research highlights significant pace of the firm's progress and its involvement in the most essential transactions of 2011 that brought Asters on the top of the ranking.
Asters got high positions in the list of 50 largest public transactions, in particular for representing VimpelCom in USD 2.2 billion Eurobond issue by its subsidiary VimpelCom Holdings B.V.; Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS Investment Bank and Dragon Capital – lead-managers in USD 250 million Eurobond issue by Mriya Agro Holding, one of the leading Ukrainian agricultural groups; and First Ukrainian International Bank, one of the Ukraine's leading banking institutions, on its merger with Dongorbank.
Asters also advised on competition matters, including antitrust clearance, in connection with 12 out of 25 largest public transactions and became an absolute leader in the number of successfully completed transactions in this practice. The firm's numerous clients in this field include Caterpillar Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., LVMH Moеt Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, General Electric Company, and Tyco Electronics Ltd.
"It is a big honour for us to be on the top of Yuridicheskaya Praktika's rating, held for the first time this year together with Kommersant-Ukraine Publishing House. This year victory is a result of hard work of Asters' experienced team, currently including 60 lawyers, recognition of our efforts by the clients and colleagues," says Asters' managing partner Oleksiy Didkovskiy.
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The annual ranking "50 Leading Law Firms of Ukraine" is a result of the comprehensive independent survey of the Ukrainian legal market, which is carried out since 1997 by Yuridicheskaya Praktika weekly. The ranking is based on a number of criteria, including the revenue for the last 12 months, number of lawyers, financial efficiency, completed transactions, reputation, and expert opinions regarding law firm's overall performance within the reviewed period. This year the research "50 Leading Law Firms of Ukraine" was conducted jointly with Kommersant-Ukraine Publishing House upon the developed methodology.
