AVELLUM acted as the Ukrainian legal counsel to a private equity vehicle managed by responsAbility Investments AG (“responsAbility”) in connection with the acquisition of a shareholding in Bank Lviv. Bank Lviv is the first investment project of responsAbility in Ukraine. Further on, responsAbility intends to increase its stake in the bank to 51%.

Yuriy Nechayev, Corporate/M&A partner at AVELLUM, commented on this transaction: “Ukraine is continuing to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors and this deal is a promising example. The deal indicates a gradual recovery of the Ukrainian banking sector after the severe turmoil in the recent past. Needless to say, we were honoured and delighted to represent responsAbility in this important transaction and to include yet another banking deal into our portfolio.”

AVELLUM advised the client on a number of transaction related issues, in particular, on the legal due diligence of Bank Lviv, the procedure for the acquisition of shares in Bank Lviv, the placement of a subordinated deposit with the bank, and the acquisition of claims under the existing subordinated deposit. We also contributed our Ukrainian law expertise into the preparation of the transaction documents.

Furthermore, we advised responsAbility on obtaining the approval of the National Bank of Ukraine and on requirements to obtain the approval of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in connection with the transaction.

Norton Rose Fulbright LLP advised the client on English law matters.

responsAbility Investments AG is a leading asset manager in the field of development investments that offers professionally managed investment solutions to private, institutional, and public investors. The company supplies debt and equity financing to firms in emerging economies. responsAbility currently has USD3 billion of assets under management invested in over 550 companies in 90 countries. The company is headquartered in Zurich and has local offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Lima, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo, and Paris. Its shareholders include a number of reputable institutions in the Swiss financial market and its own employees. responsAbility is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA.

Bank Lviv is a public joint stock company supervised by the National Bank of Ukraine. Active across Western Ukraine, the bank serves a broad client base. The bank’s financing offer is mainly targeted at SMEs and agricultural companies. As of the end of 2017, Bank Lviv held total assets of USD64 million, deposits of USD32 million and a gross loan portfolio of USD40 million. The bank operates 22 offices and employs 270 staff.

The AVELLUM team was co-led by a partner Yuriy Nechayev and an associate Andriy Romanchuk with support from associates Andrii Gumenchuk, Dmytro Tkachuk, Vladyslav Alexandrov, and Anna Mykhalova. Counsel Vadym Medvedev advised on tax aspects of the deal.