Asters acted as a Ukrainian counsel for JSC Ukrainian Railways in the successful restructurings of loan participation notes issued by Rail Capital Markets plc in the total amount of USD 895 million (one in relation to its USD 300 million 7.875%. loan participation notes due 2026 and another in relation to its USD 594.9 million 8.250% loan participation notes due 2024).
Holders of both loan participations Notes agreed to extend the maturity dates of the relevant loan agreements, provide for the deferral of interest during a two-year period, make certain amendments to the covenants contained in the loan agreements and replace the trustee.
Asters advised Ukrainian Railways on the wide range of Ukrainian law matters, including negotiating and drafting transaction documents, as well as providing advice on tax, corporate, procurement, currency control, and regulatory issues. The Asters' project team led by Senior Partner Armen Khachaturyan and Counsel Maksym Tereshchuk worked closely with a team of Ukrainian Railways' English counsel Dechert LLP (UK) led by London-based partners Patrick Lyons and Jennifer Rees.
Asters' Senior Partner Armen Khachaturyan comments: "It is hard to overestimate the importance of Ukrainian Railways for Ukraine's economy. The successful financial restructuring will allow the company to free up financial resources to eliminate the consequences of the Russian aggression, to maintain the company's stable operation and uninterrupted rail transportation during the wartime. We are honoured to assist Ukrainian Railways in such a significant project at such a critical time for the nation".
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JSC Ukrainian Railways is a railway network operator in Ukraine that controls the vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 24.000 km, which makes the Ukrainian railroad network the 13th largest in the world. Ukrainian Railways is also the world's 6th largest rail passenger transporter and world's 7th largest freight transporter.
Asters is the largest law firm in Ukraine with offices in Kyiv, Washington D.C., Brussels and London. Chambers Europe 2022 recognizes 21 lawyers of Asters – the largest number of the renowned practitioners in a single Ukrainian law firm.
