Sayenko Kharenko advised on acquisition of retail assets to Abris Capital in Western Ukraine

Sayenko Kharenko acted as a Ukrainian legal counsel for Abris Capital Partners in the acquisition of key retail assets of Torgovyi Svit from Roveks, a Ternopil-based wholesale distributor.

Roveks made a strategic decision to focus on its wholesale business and sold the Torgovyi Svit retail chain. The assets were acquired in return for the settlement of bank debts with a number of Ukrainian banks.

The 17 Torgovyi Svit stores will be rebranded as “Barvinok”, Abris’ existing Western Ukrainian food retailer. “Barvinok” chain, which totals 43 stores after the acquisition, is likely to become the leading retail chain in Western Ukraine.

The Roveks transaction represents the first successful post-crisis restructuring in the food retail sector in Ukraine.

Abris Capital Partners is a leading independent private equity fund manager, focused on mid-market opportunities in the major countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).Established in 2007, Abris typically invests in mid-market companies which can benefit from an input of capital and/or management expertise at both strategic and operational levels.

Sayenko Kharenko's team involved in the transaction was led by partner Vladimir Sayenko and included counsel Dmytro Korbut and lawyers Julia Gubareva and Maksym Nazarenko. The firm's scope of work also included advising the client on IP rights transfer.