Banks take more Ukraine risk

Ukrainian agribusiness Kernel Holding has closed an oversubscribed US$260mn syndicated facility.

ING and UniCredit acted as mandated lead arrangers for the facility, which was originally launched at US$230mn.

Commitments were so strong for the deal that Kernel decided to scale back to settle on the final amount.

The one-year dual-tranche facility will be used to finance Kernel’s oilseed crushing campaign, which includes the purchase, storage and processing of sunflower seeds into oil and meal.

Anastasia Usachova, chief financial officer at Kernel, says: “We are delighted to see the continued strong commitment of our banks to the development and success of our company.”