AVELLUM WINS CEE DEAL OF THE YEAR AWARD IN UKRAINE FOR WORK ON NEQSOL’S ACQUISITION OF VODAFONE UKRAINE

AVELLUM won the 2019 CEE Deal of the Year Award for our work on Vodafone Ukraine acquisition and Eurobond financings. AVELLUM contributed to successful closing of both financing phases of this truly landmark transaction:

1. USD464 million bridge loan financing for Bakcell’s acquisition of Vodafone Ukraine, acting for the arrangers
2. Vodafone Ukraine’s Eurobond offering of USD500 million 5-year 6.2% loan participation notes, acting for joint lead managers

Senior partner Glib Bondar noted:  “We are honoured to receive the CEE Deal of the Year Award in Ukraine. The award is well-deserved indeed due to significance of this transaction and highly professional work of all legal teams working on it.”

AVELLUM team was led by senior partner Glib Bondar with support from senior associates Tetiana Mykhailenko and Anastasiya Voronova, and associates Oleg Krainskyi, Anna Mykhalova, and Mariana Veremchuk. Partner Vadim Medvedev, senior associate Anton Zaderyholova, and associate Yelyzaveta Kravtsova provided support on tax matters of the transaction.

AVELLUM has also received  the second nomination in 2019 for work on DTEK Renewables’ Green Bond issuance along with Latham & Watkins and Linklaters.

Winners were chosen based on deal complexity, market and regional significance, and innovation. Finalists had been nominated based on all deals signed in the 2019 calendar year, and nominees were identified by a panel of highly-regarded private practitioners in Ukraine.

A Final Selection Committee of prominent legal experts from across CEE picked the winners for each market and for CEE as a whole. Our co-managing partner, Mykola Stetsenko is honoured to be a member of the Final Selection Committee. To avoid bias, members of the Committee are not allowed to vote in countries where they are based, or where the firms they work for were among the finalists.

International law firms Latham & Watkins and Linklaters, as well as Ukrainian law firms Aequo, DLA Piper, and PwC Legal have also advised on Vodafone Ukraine acquisition and Eurobond financings.

More information about the awards and a complete list of winners can be found on the CEE Legal Matters website. The actual awards will be presented in London on 13 October, 2020, where the overall CEE 2019 Deal of the Year will be announced.