Jennifer Handz

Partner

Practice Description

Representative Matters

Financing Transactions – Lenders

• Currently acting for approximately 28 lenders on the restructuring and reorganisation of a large Ukrainian bank. 
• Representation of a group of lenders in the debt restructuring of a Russian industrial conglomerate. 
• Represented EBRD, together with IFC, on a US$129 million debt and equity co-financing to modernize the Patos Marinza oilfield in the southern region of Albania, one of the largest onshore oil deposits in continental Europe. 
• Representation of EBRD in the Phase II restructuring in Russia of OJSC Autocrane, a leading Russian machine building plant. 
• Representation of EBRD and a syndicate of commercial banks in raising $250 million of long term funding for Russian oilfield services provider Integra Group in order to restructure its balance sheet. 
• Advised EBRD on its proposed EUR330 million financing of the construction and operation of a sea container port in Russia. 
• Recently advised EBRD with respect to its long-term syndicated loan facility of up to EUR600 million to be made available to SeverStal, one of Russia’s largest vertically integrated producers of flat steel products, for energy efficiency purposes. 
• Represented Marfin Popular Bank in connection with an approximately EUR60 million loan to a Ukrainian borrower to construct and develop a shopping centre in Ukraine. 
• Represented IFC in a USD 20 million loan to a Russian strategic company and equity investment in its holding company Asteros for capital expenditures, provision of working capital and refinancing outstanding loans. 
• Represented Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) in a USD 30 million subordinated loan to JSC Commercial Bank "Center Invest" to develop SME lending and retail banking services in the Southern Federal District of Russia. 
• Represented (DEG) acting together with Dutch Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij Voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V in a USD 50 million syndicated loan to Bank Vozrozhdenie. 
• Represented EBRD on a limited recourse financing of the construction of a greenfield glass packaging plant in Krasnodar, Russia with a secured loan to the Russian borrower and an investment of up to EUR15 million in the equity of an offshore SPV as the holding company for the Russian borrower. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with a EUR255 million loan to the Kazakhstan Electric Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) for the purpose of financing the second phase of the modernization of KEGOC’s substations and high-voltage equipment. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with its $32 million loan to (and $10 million equity investment in) Balykshy for the purpose of financing a marine support and supply base in the Bay of Bautino in Kazakhstan's portion of the Caspian Sea. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with its up to $30 million loan to PavlodarEnergo in Kazakhstan to upgrade its CHP-3 coal fired combined heat and power plant to improve efficiency and help address the growing demand in the Pavlodar region in North East Kazakhstan. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with a $42 million secured loan to Karcement in Kazakhstan, to finance the introduction of dry-line cement production at the Karaganda cement plant, where we are responsible for drafting the security documentation.  
• Represented EBRD in connection with a $300 million syndicated loan to Kazkommertsbank for the development of mortgage lending in Kazakhstan and the diversification of the Kazakh economy funding enterprises that are not engaged in the construction or oil and gas sectors. 
• Represented ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria in its $55 million loan to Tverskaya Finance BV to finance the Romanov Dvor complex in downtown Moscow.

Financing Transactions – Borrowers

• Recently advised Turkcell in two financings of $360 million. The transaction is composed of a $285 million buyer credit for financing 2G and 3G equipment for Turkcell in Turkey and a $75 million buyer credit for financing 2G equipment for Turkcell’s Ukrainian subsidiary, Astelit. Both buyer credits are 95% covered by the Swedish Export Credit Agency, EKN, and are 100% funded by the Swedish Government entity SEK. The buyer credits are 50/50 shared between Calyon and Nordea Bank AB. 
• Advised Turkcell on the successful conclusion of a $3 billion unsecured syndicated term loan facility with a group of banks. The deal was the largest unsecured syndicated loan facility closed by a single corporation in Turkey. 
• Represented Astelit, a Ukrainian telecommunications company majority directly controlled by Turkish GSM operator Turkcell, in the restructuring of its $390 million credit facilities. The restructuring involved a Dutch entity. 
• Assisted with the representation of Kinross Gold Corporation in connection with consent waivers and amendments to a $450 project finance facility with a syndicate of lenders, subordinated lenders and hedging counterparties for the Kupol project, part of the $3.1 billion acquisition of Bema Gold Corporation. 
• Represented Turgai Petroleum, a Kazakh oil and gas company, in connection with a $250 million, pre-export financing facility made available by a syndicate of banks led by BNP Paribas and Citibank.

Equity Investments

• Represented EBRD in connection with both its equity investment in and exit from Sky Express, Russia's first low-cost airline. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with its acquisition of a minority equity stake in TGK-9, a regional generating company powering some of Russia’s key industrial areas. 
• Represented EBRD and IFC in connection with their acquisition of 25% plus one vote in the Vladivostok-registered Primsotsbank, the third largest regional bank in the Russian Far East. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with equity investments in other Russian entities, including Center-Invest Bank, HansaBank and KMB Bank. 
• Represented EBRD in connection with its equity investment in a group of approximately 20 companies via a Cyprus entity for the purposes of developing office and shopping complexes in several jurisdictions including Hungary and Slovakia. The sponsors included a Hungarian entrepreneur, TrizecHahn (a Canadian property company), and AIG, a U.S. fund.

Other

• Advised Eurasian Development Bank in connection with pro-forma loan and security documents under English, Russian and Kazakh law. 
• Advised Telstra, an Australian telecommunications company, on its additional $40 million investment in a joint venture/business co-operation contract with the state-owned Vietnam Post and Telecommunications (total investment $37 million) to further expand the domestic and international telephone network. 
• Advised Telstra on its proposed new joint venture/business co-operation contract with Vietnam Post and Telecommunications to invest approximately $350 million to install, together with Siemens, a fixed telephone network in West Ho Chi Minh City.

Publications