Asters acts as a legal counsel to International Finance Corporation (IFC) in connection with committed and anticipated facilities of up to USD 35 million in total to one of the largest agricultural producers in Ukraine – Astarta.

IFC will provide corporate financing to Astarta in the form a working capital loan, which will allow Astarta to procure soybeans at the time of harvest for further processing at its soy crushing facility. Astarta will then process this soybean inventory into soy meal, soy oil and husk, thus creating higher value-added products.

"IFC's financing will support one of the leading agriculture producers in Ukraine, assisting a viable economic activity and securing jobs in rural regions of our country. We are happy to be a part of the project aimed at the further strengthening of the economic development of Ukraine", - Iryna Pokanay, partner at Asters law firm, says.

Asters' banking and finance team advising on the project consisted of partner Iryna Pokanay, counsel Gabriel Aslanian and associate Inna Bondarenko.

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International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Astarta is a leading primary agriculture producer in Ukraine with 245,000 ha of land under cultivation. Astarta’s principal activities include production of sugar beet and white sugar, production of other crops including wheat, barley, corn, sunflower, and soya, soybean processing, and cattle farming. The company owns and operates 9 sugar plants, soybean processing plant, bioenergy complex, and chain of grain silos and supporting infrastructure facilities in 4 regions in Ukraine.

Banking and finance are the areas of Asters' core expertise. The Firm and its partners are noted as the best practitioners in Ukraine in this field by international peer review-based ratings such as IFLR1000, Legal 500, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, etc. Asters' clients in the banking industry include international and local banks and financial institutions, trading and finance companies, as well as lenders, issuers, and borrowers in diverse banking and finance transactions. 

USUBC NOTE: Astarta is a long-time member of USUBC.