Illya Muchnyk is a Partner in the Kyiv office and the Head of the firm-wide Fintech subsector.

He has over 20 years of experience in structuring complex debt and equity financings, cross-border M&A, financial regulatory transactions and landmark financial restructurings. His clients include leading private equity funds, domestic and international financial institutions, and major industrial groups.

In addition, Illya has significant experience advising on various legal, tax and other business issues. He holds a Certificate of Securities Trader obtained from the State Commission on Securities and Stock Market of Ukraine. He is also an elected arbitrator of the Arbitration Court of a major Ukrainian stock exchange, First Securities Trading System.

Illya Muchnyk is commercial, pragmatic, responsive and is able to grasp and advise on complex transactions very quickly including on a cross border basis. Illya is a pleasure to deal with and a partner we can always rely on to get the job done.

Mr Illya Muchnyk has always been our point of contact. He is highly professional and has in depth knowledge of the Ukrainian legal framework as well as its peculiarities. He is always ready and willing to provide assistance and guide us through difficult issues and complicated cases, effectively and efficiently.

Legal 500, 2024 / Legal 500, 2022

RECENT ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE ADVISING*

Private Equity

• 4I CAPITAL PARTNERS (formerly Europe Virgin Fund) on its acquisition of the controlling stake in Portmone.com, the leading Ukrainian system of online payments; on the acquisition of Sperko, a Ukrainian pharmaceuticals producer; on the acquisition of Prime Group, one of the largest Ukrainian outdoor advertising operators; and on the acquisition of a distressed debt collection company holding an NPL portfolio with total par value of USD 261 million
• ELBRUS CAPITAL PARTNERS on disposal of Heahunter.ua, a top Ukrainian job search platform
• HORIZON CAPITAL on the acquisition of a substantial stake in UkrFinance Group, a leading distressed debt purchaser and servicer in Ukraine
• SHAREHOLDERS OF EVROTEK on the buy-out of shares from IFC, EBRD and Horizon Capital
• THE PRIVATE EQUITY DIVISION OF AN INTERNATIONAL BANK with significant presence in CIS on the sale of a construction company (exit) to a strategic investor; on the acquisition of the main Ukrainian lottery operator; and on a joint venture with the leading Ukrainian aerated concrete producer

Banking, Finance & Capital Markets

• DONETSKSTEEL, one of the largest Ukrainian industrial groups, on restructuring its USD 850 million debt portfolio with a pool of local and international creditors
• INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS on the attraction of more than USD 700 million acquisition financing from a major Asian bank
• PAYONEER, an American financial services company that provides online money transfer and digital payment services, on various regulatory aspects and structuring of its activity in Ukraine, including representation before the National Bank of Ukraine
• KYIVSTAR on the incorporation of Starmoney, a non-banking financial institution, including obtaining a license for money transfer; advice regarding the regulatory regime for e-money payments; financial monitoring and consumer protection; and drafting various documents including a code of conduct for an issuer, top-up settlements, and agreements with distribution agents and payment system operators;
• IFC on the provision of a USD 84 million loan to Ukrainian banks Swedbank and Swedbank Invest, including a USD 70 million facility granted by the IFC and a USD 14 million syndicated loan facility
• BLACK SEA TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BANK on a USD multimillion secured loan made available to a Ukrainian borrower for the purposes of the construction and operation of a Radisson-branded hotel in the city of Odessa

Energy & Natural Resources

• DTEK on the acquisition of and structuring investment in the Tiligul wind power plant project with 560 MWt capacity
• A LARGE CHINESE STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISE on its investment in a 100Mwt solar power plant in the South of Ukraine
• TOSHIBA CORPORATION on sale of a wind power plant located in Crimea
• A SHAREHOLDER OF A BUSINESS IN UKRAINE'S GAS SECTOR on the sale of part of its shares to a major private Ukrainian energy company, including on-going legal support
• TETRA TECH ES, INC. on the implementation of the Energy Security Project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine, and by extension, the Inter-Agency Commission on Organization and Conclusion of PSAs (IAC), on the negotiation of a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for the exploration and production of natural gas in Ukraine; the project involved representation of the interests of the state of Ukraine in nine PSAs with foreign and national investors

M&A 

• A POOL OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS on the acquisition of a group of companies controlling one of the largest Ukrainian industrial equipment producers
• EUROCEMENT GROUP on the acquisition of Balcem, one of the largest cement plants in Europe, from a Ukrainian industrial and financial conglomerate
• UPEC GROUP on its sale of 97% of shares in Factorial Bank to the Swedish financial group SEB (value: USD 120 million)
• A NUMBER OF MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES on acquisitions and disposals of Ukrainian banks and insurance companies, including a well-known Swedish insurance company on the acquisition of stakes in two Ukrainian banks; advising the shareholders of Vesko insurance company on its sale to AXA; an international investment company on its sale of a bank to a Lithuanian private equity fund; and shareholders of one of the largest Ukrainian banks to a foreign banking group
• BANK OF CYPRUS on the disposal of Marfin Bank Ukraine to a group of Ukrainian investors

* Experience prior to joining Kinstellar.

EDUCATION

• 2003: National University 'Odessa Academy of Law', Ukraine, Master's degree

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

• American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine - Legal Committee
• European Business Association in Ukraine - Legal Committee

LANGUAGES

Ukrainian, Russian, English