International Law Firm Salans acted as legal advisor to the lenders (Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, UniCredit Bank Ltd.) on a US$ 31,8m loan to Atlantic-Pacific Ventures LLC.

The syndicated loan facility was extended by the lenders to Atlantic-Pacific Ventures LLC (the Borrower) for the corporate rights acquisition. This loan facility is among the most significant transactions on the real estate market of Ukraine, since it is intended to refinance the first international real estate acquisition project in Ukraine – acquisition of Piramida shopping center by international investors in 2006.

UniCredit Bank Ukraine is a part of the UniCredit Group which is one of the largest European banking groups operating in 23 countries with over 40 million clients. In the CEE region, UniCredit operates the largest international banking network with over 3,900 branches and outlets serving appr. 27 million customers. UniCredit Bank Ukraine offers a wide range of banking products and services to its around 115,000 corporate and retail clients. The total assets of UniCredit Ukraine were 814 million Euro (31 March 2008).

Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG, is a member of UniCredit Group, and the leader in the Austrian banking sector. With total assets of EUR 228.6 billion and market shares ranging from 20 to 81 per cent, the bank operates a network comprising of some 400 offices with more than 11,000 employees within Austria.

UniCredit Group was named Bank of the Year for Ukraine at the 2007 Europaproperty.com Russia-CIS Premier Real Estate Awards.

Salans lawyers Natalia Selyakova, Nikolay Zhovner and Vladislav Kysil in Kyiv advised the lenders on this transaction in Ukraine.

---

Salans is a full services international law firm with 19 offices worldwide advising its clients across a wide range of industries www.salans.com. Salans was established in Paris in 1978 and has been active in Ukraine since 1988 and officially opened an office in Kyiv in 1992.

Salans is ranked among the top 50 law firms in the world by PLC Which Lawyer?. In 2007 Salans was shortlisted to win “The International Law Firm of the Year” from The Lawyer. Salans is ranked as a top tier law firm in Ukraine and globally by the leading international legal directory The Chambers.