EBRD joins syndicated facility for Ukraine’s Kernel Group
A working capital facility to support operations of major agribusiness holding
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The
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is pledging additional resources to Ukraine’s agribusiness by participating in a US$ 65 million working capital syndicated facility to Kernel Group (Kernel), one of the largest vertically integrated agribusiness holdings in the country.
The EBRD’s financing amounts to US$ 20 million. The facility will enable Kernel Group to secure working capital for its farming operations, and to obtain necessary pre-export financing for its own crop at a time when external funding to businesses in Ukraine is severely limited.
By signing this deal, the EBRD is implementing its Ukrainian Corporate Support Facility, approved by the Bank in April 2014 and designed to provide assistance for existing Ukrainian clients. It follows a syndicated facility of US$ 230 million to Kernel Group, in which the Bank participated in October 2014 by committing US$ 50 million.
The Bank is continuing to provide more resources to support agribusiness, a key growth driver of the Ukrainian economy. It has remained an important sector for the Bank and attracted funding worth over ˆ250 million in 2014 alone.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of 1 May 2015 the Bank had a total cumulative commitment of ˆ10.94 billion in 343 projects in the country.
