Agribusiness

We regularly advise major companies on various matters related to the agriculture industry:

• ED&F Man Ukraine with respect to acquisition of sugar production facilities in Ukraine, including due diligence, structuring and documenting the deal; dealing with corporate, litigation, antitrust, employment, and tax issues; lobbying for legislative changes; assisting in anti-raiders’ actions
• Enza Zaden on day-to-day corporate and contractual matters related to operation of its Ukrainian subsidiary; contractual issues ensuring proper transfer of copyright for key assets, as well as on counterpart's searches
• Farmers Edge on establishment of business presence in Ukraine including corporate, regulatory, IP, and IT advice with respect to the usage and sale of its software in Ukraine
• Monsanto on various issues of Ukrainian corporate law with respect to all aspects of its business activity
• AMP Terminals on development of the container terminal
• Alfred C. Toepfer GmbH on acquisition of several grain silos, including tax and legal structuring advice, negotiations, antitrust clearance
• ADM tax structuring advice with respect to a joint venture project involving construction of sunflower seeds oil processing plant
• Pfeifer & Langen on acquisition of local sugar trading company and assets of the Chortkiv sugar plant from Kernel Group
• a fast-growing agro-industrial company on the acquisition of grain silo facility in Ukraine; on return of foreign currency received from export transactions
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS Investment Bank and Dragon Capital on the debut USD 250 million issue of Eurobonds by Mriya group
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in connection with loans provided for various purposes, including the financing of working capital needs, to Maisadour Semences Ukraine, NCH New Europe Property Fund L.P, Mriya group, Louis Dreyfus
• International Finance Corporation with respect to complex restructuring deal with the Mriya group
• International Finance Corporation in connection with financings, secured and unsecured loan facilities provided to major Ukrainian agriculture companies, including Mriya group, Astarta, Nyva Pereyaslavshchyny, Nibulon, Agrofusion
• Morgan Stanley and ABN AMRO Bank N.V. as lead managers in connection with USD 250 million Eurobond offering by Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP)
• ING Bank on pre-export finance facilities (i) USD 20 million to Grain Trading Company (Allseeds Group); (ii) USD 50 million to MHP
• Nidera in a debt collection dispute, including recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitration award in Ukraine, representing in negotiations with the debtor
• Syngenta regarding debtor's assets foreclosure due to default upon agrarian (crop) receipt; on labour law issues regarding employment, restructuring, change of essential working conditions and redundancy of employees

• setting up business presence and investments; corporate structuring
• corporate and project financing
• agricultural land, real estate and construction matters
• regulatory and compliance advice: food safety, labelling, environmental, sanitation and other requirements
• drafting and negotiating contractual documentation relating to production, storage and trading in agricultural goods
• due diligence and transactional support
• competition and compliance investigations
• representing before regulatory, government and enforcement authorities
• import and export operations, customs issues
• trade investigations and disputes
• sector-related disputes: litigation, arbitration and mediation
• insurance
• tax structuring