Russia’s Sberbank became the underwriter of a recent $750m syndicated loan for Ukraine’s government. “This is the first time that Sberbank has provided a loan to Ukraine and therefore is an important step towards future cooperation,” the biggest Russian lender’s investment arm Sberbank CIB said in a statement. Sberbank CIB was the loan’s technical organiser. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Deals
Sberbank’s Turkish arm plugged into MoneyGram network
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank’s Turkish operation Denizbank is expected to become the biggest Turkish agent for global money transfer company MoneyGram under a recent agreement. {{{?}}} The deal plugged one of Turkey’s top lenders into the network of a remittance firm that runs successful business in 198 countries but last year admitted to fraud charges… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Russian IT outsourcing provider MAYKOR
The EBRD has joined forces with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the CapMan Russia II Fund, a private equity fund in which the Bank is an investor, to support MAYKOR, the leading Russian IT outsourcing and service provider. The three partners will invest up to USD 100 million in a series of stages… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in leading Turkish textile company
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continues to boost Turkey’s Anatolian regions, making a €3.7 million loan to Kivanc Tekstil, a leading producer of clothing fabrics and yarn based in Adana. Kivanc Tekstil, 100 per cent owned and controlled by the founding family of the same name, has successfully operated in the textile sector for… Continue Reading
Chinese Investors Target London Real Estate
Asian markets with similar cultural backgrounds such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are among countries being targeted by Chinese insurance funds that have more than US$14 billion available for overseas real estate investment, according to the latest research report from global property adviser CBRE. {{{?}}} The prime targets are high transparency markets including… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Turkey's first infrastructure bond
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting Turkey’s first ever infrastructure bond with a US$79.5 million participation in a US$ 450 million Eurobond, launched by Mersin International Port (MIP), the private operator of the port of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast in southern Turkey. The debut bond will be used for refinancing an… Continue Reading
EBRD provides €190 ml loan for wood processor Krasnospan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed two separate long-term loans, which will provide up to €190 million for the construction by Kronospan – a privately held global leader in the wood-based panels market – of new production facilities in Russia and Belarus. Both plants are designed to use low quality wood… Continue Reading
Carlyle asset manager buys out packaging producer Chesapeake
By Andrei Skvarsky. Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group has announced it has bought Chesapeake, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of paper-based packaging, from two US-based companies, private equity firm Irving Place Capital and asset manager Oaktree Capital Management. {{{?}}} Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays financed the transaction, Nicholas Mockett, head… Continue Reading
Sberbank pulls off cooperation deal with Gulf’s top-notch NBAD
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and a top bank in the Gulf, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), have reached an agreement to cooperate in trade financing, loan syndication, client support and investment banking. “Access to new financial markets is an integral part of our international strategy,” a Sberbank statement quoted the Russian… Continue Reading
Macquarie in full control of infrastructure fund as RenCap, Renaissance Group pull out
By Andrei Skvarsky. Macquarie, a global financial services provider, has become the sole manager of a major infrastructure investment fund, an entity it used to co-manage with Renaissance Capital and Renaissance Group. RenCap and Renaissance Group ceded their co-managerial roles to Macquarie under an agreement which, via the takeover of RenCap’s stake, doubled the Australia-based firm’s… Continue Reading
Russia’s Unicorn Capital buys key maker of glass facades
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow-based buyout fund Unicorn Capital Partners with target capitalisation of $500m has announced its first acquisition, the purchase of controlling interest in Constanta Group, one of Russia’s largest designers and manufacturers of translucent façade systems and other glass products. Unicorn, whose main objective is to buy out undervalued small and medium enterprises… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange-Deutsche Börse deal allows selling Deutsche Bank shares in Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange and Deutsche Börse have signed an agreement allowing Deutsche Bank, Siemens, BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler shares to be traded at the Moscow bourse as from September this year. The two exchanges picked some of Germany’s most liquid shares for their deal, Moscow Exchange chief executive Alexander Afanasiev said after he… Continue Reading
Sberbank lending $2.2bn to Potanin’s Interros conglomerate
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has pledged to open several five-year credit lines to a total of $2.2bn for oligarch Vladimir Potanin’s Interros multi-industrial investment conglomerate. The money will be used to refinance part of Interros’s current loan portfolio and fund some of the projects of the… Continue Reading
CBRE acquired Sogesmaint-CBRE
CBRE Group, the global commercial real estate services and investment firm, today announced that it has acquired full ownership of SOGESMAINT-CBRE, a property and asset management specialist operating in Belgium. CBRE has held a minority interest in the company since 2006. SOGESMAINT-CBRE was established in 1973 and today it is one of the leading property… Continue Reading
EBRD provides €30m for district heating infrastructure in Western Ukraine
The EBRD is continuing its drive to modernise Ukraine’s district heating sector with investments aimed at increased energy and cost efficiency, improved financial sustainability and regulatory reform of municipal utilities. {{{*}}} Its latest project in this sector, in the largest western Ukrainian municipality of Lviv, will consist of an EBRD loan of up to €20… Continue Reading
EBRD channels €52.1 to major Ukrainian developer
The EBRD is organising a financing package of up to €52.1 million to a major domestic retailer, Multi Veste Ukraine, for the construction and development of an international quality, inner-city retail centre. Up to €30 million of the total amount will be syndicated to Unicredit Bank. {{{*}}} The project represents a substantial investment into the… Continue Reading
Myanmar Unveils $500 Million Tourism Plan
The Government of Myanmar, alongside the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Norway, today unveiled a Tourism Master Plan which outlines 38 development projects valued at nearly a half billion dollars that will help increase Myanmar’s tourism competitiveness, protect environmentally important areas, and safeguard ethnic communities. “This master plan outlines a path to… Continue Reading
RVC co-creates Russian war industry’s first civilian high tech-focused fund
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s state-owned RVC fund of funds for high-tech promotion and defence firm Ramenskoye Instrument Design Bureau (RPKB) have set up what is the Russian military industry’s first-ever venture fund to invest in civilian high-tech projects. The Defence Industry Civilian Technologies fund will have 1bn rubles ($31m) under management and will be managed… Continue Reading
Mail.Ru Group Invests $1.5 Million in Visual Search Company, Cortica Ltd.
Mail.Ru Group invested in Israeli-based Cortica Ltd. Cortica is the pioneer of a new approach to computer-driven understanding of images and videos through its unique and proprietary Image2Text™ technology. Mail.Ru Group is investing $1.5 million in Cortica in order to support and access its Image2Text™ technology. This investment is a part of the larger round… Continue Reading
Sberbank lends $250m to leading producer of titanium
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has lent $250m to Russian company VSMPO-AVISMA, a leading producer of titanium with Airbus, Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Boeing among its customers. The deal was arranged by Sberbank CIB, the bank’s investment arm. “The structure of the deal enabled the borrower to optimise its debt burden and allowed… Continue Reading
East Capital Real Estate signs new deal in Riga
East Capital Baltic Property Fund II has acquired a retail property in Riga, which is long term leased to Prisma Hypermarket (‘Prisma’). The property is located on Deglava street in Riga, one of the main traffic arteries eastbound from the city, and in the middle of a densely populated residential area. The retail property has… Continue Reading
iTech Capital invested in Garpun
Russian iTech Capital has invested US$ 3.5 mln in a solution for professional online ad management. Russian ad tech startup Garpun which developed a box solution to provide digital agencies and corporate advertisers with a full set of tools for professional online ad management, has raised $3,5 million in its first round of funding. The… Continue Reading
AB InBev, CVC Capital in legal battle over StarBev sale earn-out
CVC Capital Partners has found itself in legal hot water with its only new investment in the CEE region – the deal with Anheuser-Busch InBev and StarBev. CVC’s sale of StarBev to Molson Coors in April 2012 has triggered AB InBev to claim earn-out money. However, CVC claims that during the holding period, it invested “heavily” in brand development, marketing and… Continue Reading
EBRD boosts renewable energy sector portfolio in Ukraine
The EBRD continues promoting and supporting renewable energy projects in Ukraine aimed at reducing the environmental impact of traditional power generation. Renewable energy is yet to establish itself as a major contributor to Ukraine’s energy security but it is starting to play a greater role in its sustainable energy supply. The latest renewable energy project… Continue Reading
Sberbank lending $239.5m for de luxe real estate project
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has signed a deal with a developer to open a 7.5bn-ruble ($239.5m) five-year credit line for building a de luxe residential compound in Moscow. The loan was arranged for Moscow-based development company Restavracia N by Sberbank CIB, the lender’s investment arm. A total of more than 14bn rubles… Continue Reading
4D Global Energy Advisors invest $17M in Aladdin Middle East
As part of a funding round of USD20 mln initiated by Turkey-focused oil and natural gas company Aladdin Middle East (AME), 4D Global Energy Advisors have invested USD17 mln through its Fund III. The remainder of the funding was provided by the founders of AME, who continue to be majority stakeholders in the company. The funding will primarily be used… Continue Reading
VTB Capital acquires stake in largest satellite TV operator in Russia
VTB Capital has acquired a minority stake – pegged at 25 per-cent plus one share – in Tricolor TV, Russia’s biggest satellite television operator. The investment amount is deduced to be in the range of between USD125 and USD175 mln, valuing the operator as as much as USD700 mln. The valuation is considerably lower than last… Continue Reading
Rusnano to invest in next gen microprocessors
Rusnano, Russia’s largest nanotech company 100% owned by the state, announced last week that its board of directors has approved the funding of a project aimed at developing and commercializing next gen high-capacity energy-efficient microprocessors based on advanced nanotechnology (max. 28 nanometer design rule). Rusnano didn’t disclose the name of the company to further the project; nor… Continue Reading
Financing Sustainable Energy Investment for Bulgarian Business
Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a second line of credit under the Bulgarian Programme for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (BEERECL). This will allow Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) to expand financing for sustainable energy investment by private companies in Bulgaria. The EBRD loan of €7.5 million will be… Continue Reading