A group of banks will issue $230 million in a syndicated loan in support of Ukraine's major agricultural holding Kernel, a member of the syndicate, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has said.
“We will issue $50 million to the company, the EBRD signals its confidence to other investors and the market participants during the period of limited external financing for Ukraine,” reads a press release from the bank.
The EBRD specified the syndicated loan is arranged by Natixis Bank, the international division for corporate investment management and financial services of Groupe BPCE, the second largest player on the market of banking services in France, and would be used to support Kernel’s need for working capital related to grain procurement in Ukraine and its subsequent storage, transportation and transshipment.
Kernel is a vertically integrated company that has been operating in Ukraine’s agribusiness sector since 1994. The group produces sugar and sunflower oil, distributes bottled oil under the brand names Schedry Dar, Stozhar and Chumak Zolota, exports oil and grain, and provides elevator storage services for grain and oilseeds.
