Redcliffe Partners acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on a USD 480 million financing to MHP, one of the largest food and aggrotech groups in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, to sustain its operations and enhance its capacity for sustainable power generation, reducing its carbon footprint.
DFC is set to provide a loan of up to USD 250 million to support MHP’s Ukrainian poultry and grain initiatives, aiming to alleviate the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The allocated funds will be utilised for refinancing maturing debt and bolstering MHP’s poultry and grain production. This financial support will contribute to the company’s efforts to expand food production and storage, enhance export capacity, and mitigate the severe consequences of food insecurity exacerbated by the ongoing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
IFC’s financial package comprises up to USD 130 million in financing aimed at upgrading and expanding MHP’s agricultural waste-to-energy facility. Additionally, the funds will be used to improve the company’s financial stability by refinancing its Eurobonds due in May 2024. The financing from IFC is backed by first-loss guarantees from the United Kingdom, facilitated through its Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) and the IFC Canada Facility for Resilient Food Systems, and other sources of blended concessional finance. This support further strengthens agribusiness and energy security in the region.
The EBRD is extending a loan of up to USD 100 million to reinforce MHP’s financial resilience by refinancing its Eurobonds during a period of limited access to capital markets. The loan will receive backing from Spain, along with credit support from the EBRD Crisis Response Special Fund, supported by various countries with due diligence support for the project from Japan. This initiative aligns with the EBRD’s resilience package in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As part of its collaboration with EBRD, MHP has committed to enhancing its climate corporate governance through a technical assistance assignment funded by the Clean Technology Fund under the High Impact Programme.
Redcliffe Partners provided the lenders with Ukrainian law advice concerning the complex structure of the transaction and the English law finance documents, addressing, inter alia, various implications arising from the cross-border payment moratorium introduced as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We have also provided all-round legal support for the initial disbursements.
Our team comprised Olexiy Soshenko, managing partner, Sevastian Viktoruk, associate, and Artem Mykhailyk, paralegal.