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EBRD to acquire 35 per cent of Ukraine’s Uksnab
Expansion of refrigeration equipment manufacturer to boost HoReCa growth
The EBRD is making its largest equity investment in Ukraine to date by
acquiring shares in CJSC Uksnab for €12.4 million in two phases. Uksnab, a
part of the Ukrainian Beer Company (UBC) Group, is the largest producer of
commercial refrigeration equipment in the CIS. During Phase One the Bank will
acquire 25 per cent of shares plus one share of the company. In Phase Two its
total shareholding in Uksnab will rise to 35 per cent.
The project will help finance the expansion of Uksnab’s manufacturing
facilities to a wider range of commercial refrigeration equipment to take an
advantage of the rapid growth of the hotels, restaurant and catering (HoReCa)
sector in Ukraine and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
countries. The investment plan envisages, in particular, the creation of
manufacturing facilities for upright display coolers and further expansion of
Uksnab’s production capacity.
According to Olivier Descamps, the EBRD’s Business Group Director for Southern
and Eastern Europe, the Bank’s involvement in the project will help launch new
production of international quality commercial refrigeration equipment, which
is not currently manufactured on such a scale in Ukraine. EBRD participation
in Uksnab’s equity will also strengthen the company’s corporate governance, he
added.
The EBRD is traditionally active in providing innovative financing packages
and instruments for its clients and this project represents the Bank’s new
drive for more equity deals in Ukraine, as envisaged by the country strategy
for Ukraine which was approved in May 2005.
The Bank is the largest financial investor in Ukraine, having committed more
than €2.2 billion to 77 projects in sectors ranging from banking to
infrastructure and general industry to small and medium-sized enterprises.
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