Redcliffe Partners has acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to Deutsche Bank, ING, Natixis and UniCredit in their capacity as the coordinating committee for the pre-export finance banks in connection with the successful implementation of a US$2.3 billion debt restructuring for Metinvest B.V.. Metinvest B.V. is a vertically integrated group of Ukrainian steel and mining companies and one of the largest producers of iron ore raw materials and steel in the CIS.

The restructuring involved a rescheduling of the group's pre-export finance bank debt as well as its note debt and was undertaken against a backdrop of volatile commodity prices and exceptionally difficult circumstances in the east of Ukraine. Its successful implementation is a remarkable achievement for Metinvest B.V, its stakeholders and its creditors.

The restructuring was implemented through three English law schemes of arrangement sanctioned by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. The remarkably high level of creditor consent to the restructuring (in excess of 90% by value across the bank debt and notes) is testament to the result achieved by the coordinating committee representing the pre-export finance banks and the ad hoc committee representing the noteholders.

Redcliffe Partners was pleased to be able to work with the coordinating committee and its other advisors, including Clifford Chance as the lead legal advisor and Alvarez & Marsal as financial advisor, and to bring this landmark restructuring to a successful conclusion.

Redcliffe’s team was led by managing partner Olexiy Soshenko. He was supported by associates Olesia Mykhailenko and Evgeniy Vazhynskiy, and junior associate Oleg Krainsky.