NEWS & INSIGHTS
Up-to-date.

  • Home
  • News & Insights

SEARCH BY

LATEST

News May 2023

Kinstellar announces new promotions to Partner and Counsel

Kinstellar is delighted and proud to announce the promotions to Partner of Tomáš Melišek (Bratislava), Levente Hegedűs (Budapest), Bulut Girgin (Istanbul), Anastasiya Bolkhovitinova, Natalia Kirichenko, Oleg Matiusha, Illya Muchnyk (all in our Kyiv office), and to Counsel of Dominika Bajzáthová (Bratislava). PARTNERS Tomá š Melišek, Bratislava Tomáš is the Head of the local Banking & Finance service line. He has 15 years of experience in banking and finance, focusing on project and acquisition financing as well as on financial regulations. Tomáš has substantial experience advising clients on significant financing transactions in the areas of real estate, energy, infrastructure, automotive, media

Insights September 2022

Ukraine: The post-victory reconstruction

Historically, Ukraine has been known as a country with a good investment climate, particularly in the energy sector. The country’s high feed-in tariff rates, general digitalization, well-established and simplified regulatory procedures, and the availability of alternative suppliers for works and services, among other factors, have contributed to a large influx of investors in new green energy projects in Ukraine. The large-scale and aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which first began in 2014 and further escalated in 2022, has led to an increasing number of human losses and widespread material destruction. Power plants and power lines, airports, ports, schools, hospitals, roads, residential

Insights November 2021

Ukraine and EU sign Common Civil Aviation Area Agreement

A recent article in Ukrainian legal affairs newspaper "Yurydychna Praktyka" ("Юридична Практика) features the comments of three Kinstellar experts—Vincent Morand (Senior Legal Advisor based in Prague), Oleksandr Kurdydyk (Partner and Head of Banking and Energy & Natural Resources in Kyiv, firm-wide Head of Projects & Infrastructure, and firm-wide Co-head of Energy & Natural Resources) and Yuliia Eismont (Senior Associate in Kyiv)—focusing on the key expectations of signing the Common Aviation Area Agreement, which creates the basis for Ukraine's integration with the European Aviation Area. The article shares the viewpoints of leading lawyers on the long-term consequences of signing the

News October 2021

Kinstellar strengthens its team in Uzbekistan with the appointment of Sherzod Yunusov as Partner

Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Sherzod Yunusov has joined the firm’s Tashkent office as Partner. His joining the firm bolsters our team’s capabilities in Uzbekistan and particularly our expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors and project finance. Sherzod Yunusov has expertise and an established track record handling a wide array of matters related to oil and gas transactions (including exploration and gas production; production sharing agreements; development of fields; design and construction of infrastructure projects; gas transportation and processing; plant operation; sales of gas; and project finance), renewables (solar and wind), and infrastructure projects. He also advises on restructurings

Insights August 2021

Ukraine seeks private-sector engagement for modernisation of its port infrastructure

Despite having the largest port potential in the region, with 13 state-owned seaports located on the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, Ukraine’s port industry struggles with various problems, including outdated and worn-out equipment, a lack of deep-water anchorages, the inadequate condition of public transport infrastructure, fragmentation of port lands and assets, lack of proper regulation for outer harbour (roadstead) construction works, high port tariffs compared to neighbouring countries etc. Among other things, there is an urgent need to modernise state-owned port assets and to improve their management, both of which require significant financial investments and new approaches using the best international practices.

Deals July 2021

Kinstellar advises EBRD on a EUR 10 million credit facility for ERU Trading, a leading Ukrainian privately owned gas trader

 Kinstellar’s Kyiv office has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in connection with a EUR 10 million revolving credit facility for ERU Trading LLC, a leading privately owned gas trader in Ukraine, for the financing of its working capital needs. Among other matters, Kinstellar's team has extensively advised the Bank on regulatory matters related to the storage of natural gas in Ukraine and on the creation of security over the natural gas in storage. Matteo Patrone, Managing Director, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus (EEC) at the EBRD, comments on the signing of the loan agreement between the EBRD and ERU Trading: “By supporting a privately owned gas trader, we are

Deals May 2021

Kinstellar advises on a first-of-its-kind PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic

Kinstellar, in conjunction with the UK law firm Linklaters, has successfully advised a group of international banks in relation to the concession agreement and the drafting and negotiating of financing documentation for the first-ever PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic. The banks involved in financing the transaction are: Československá obchodní banka, KfW IPEX, DZ Bank, NordLB, MEAG, SMBC, Siemens Bank, UniCredit and Société Générale. The roughly CZK 18 billion (approximately EUR 700 million) deal required considerable expertise on the part of the team, as well as the need to devise a large number of new projects and financing-related solutions. A French consortium comprising VINCI Concessions and

Deals May 2021

Kinstellar advises SK innovation on its second land acquisition in Hungary, as part of the largest greenfield investment ever made in the country

Kinstellar Budapest has successfully advised SK innovation on the acquisition of land for its new automotive battery factory to be built in Iváncsa, Hungary. SK innovation is the third largest company in South Korea, operator of the largest oil refinery in the country, leader in the domestic petrochemical industry and a global trader of crude oils and petrochemicals. This will be the company's largest European factory unit, comprising a new e-battery plant with a capacity of 30GWh and entailing a total investment value of USD 2.29 billion, being the largest greenfield investment in Hungary’s history. The Kinstellar team was led by Anthony O’Connor (Partner) and Barnabás Sági (Associate). For more

News May 2021

Kinstellar advises on a first-of-its-kind PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic

Kinstellar, in conjunction with the UK law firm Linklaters, has successfully advised a group of international banks in relation to the concession agreement and the drafting and negotiating of financing documentation for the first-ever PPP motorway project in the Czech Republic. The banks involved in financing the transaction are: Československá obchodní banka, KfW IPEX, DZ Bank, NordLB, MEAG, SMBC, Siemens Bank, UniCredit and Société Générale. The roughly CZK 18 billion (approximately EUR 700 million) deal required considerable expertise on the part of the team, as well as the need to devise a large number of new projects and financing-related solutions. A French consortium comprising VINCI Concessions and

News April 2021

Kinstellar and Herbert Smith Freehills will host a joint webinar on upcoming PPP projects in Ukraine

Kinstellar and Herbert Smith Freehills will jointly host a webinar, Upcoming PPP projects in Ukraine: international perspective and local considerations, on Wednesday, 12 May 2021, at 2 pm London time / 4 pm Kyiv time. In 2020, the Ukrainian government launched an ambitious 'Big Construction' program aimed at modernisation of the country’s infrastructure including motorways, sea ports and airports. At the moment, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine is working on feasibility studies for these projects, in particular the pilot road PPP projects that have been identified as priority. These include projects on reconstruction of a 308 km section of M-06 motorway with approx. CapEx of USD370 mln and connected sections

Deals March 2021

Kinstellar advises Automagistral-Pivden on the preparation of the first unsolicited proposal in Ukraine for the Krakovets-Lviv-Brody-Rivne PPP road project

Kinstellar is advising one of Ukraine’s leading road construction companies, Automagistral-Pivden (AMP), on the preparation of the first unsolicited proposal for the construction of the 300-km Krakovets-Lviv-Brody-Rivne motorway, to be undertaken on a public-private partnership (PPP) or concession basis in accordance with Ukraine’s new PPP and concession law. A memorandum of cooperation, prepared by Kinstellar’s team in Kyiv, was signed on 11 March 2021 in Kyiv by AMP and the State Road Agency of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) and was witnessed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal. According to the terms of the memorandum, AMP will prepare the project proposal with its own resources, including a feasibility study

Deals February 2021

Kinstellar assists the local subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation on the award of EUR 3.156 million contract to support refurbishment at Cernavodă nuclear power plant

Kinstellar is pleased to announce that it has successfully assisted Ontario Power Generation (one of Canada’s and North America’s energy giant companies), through its local subsidiary, Canadian Nuclear Partners, on the award of a €3.156 million contract for the refurbishment of Reactor 1 in Cernavodă nuclear power plant. Assistance included all aspects regarding the participation of the client in the investment, including nuclear liability aspects, contractual liability matters, regulatory, public procurement law, corporate aspects, and others. The team has been assisting the client on all aspects since its entry on the Romanian market. Canadian Nuclear Partners is a subsidiary of Ontario Power Generation