Major Ukrainian agribusiness to take out $480m loan for debt refinancing and modernization
Ukrainian agricultural holding MHP, owned by Yuriy Kosyuk, has been granted loans in the total amount of $480 million for debt refinancing and maintenance of current activities. The money will be provided by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) from the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), IFC reports.
An EBRD loan of $100 million is also provided to ensure the financial stability of the MHP. Thanks to this money, the company will be able to refinance its Eurobonds during the period of limited access to capital markets. The loan is secured by a guarantee from Spain, as well as credit support from the EBRD Crisis Response Special Fund. The legal examination of the project is being carried out with the financial support of Japan.
Under the terms of cooperation with the EBRD, MHP has committed to strengthen its corporate climate governance with technical assistance financed by the Clean Technology Fund under the High Impact Programme.
The DFC announced that they will give MHP a $250 million loan to support the work of the Ukrainian chicken and grain producer and mitigate the consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. These funds will be used both for debt refinancing and to support meat and grain production. The loan will also help the company modernize its facilities, including increasing storage capacity and installing backup power, and support the development of its export potential by increasing its ability to transport goods by trucks, DFC said.
The IFC financing is provided as part of the $2 billion Economic Resilience Action program launched last year to preserve economic activity and create new jobs amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
MHP is represented by the trademarks "Nasha Ryaba", "Lehko", "Bashchynskyi". Yuriy Kosyuk owns 59.7% of MHP shares through WTI Trading Limited. The main facilities of the group are located in Ukraine, it also has factories in Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (via Perutnina Ptuj).
The Fitch rating agency warned at the beginning of the year that MHP will have to agree on the refinancing of the 2024 bonds.