Kernel Holding S.A. (Luxembourg), the holding company of Ukraine’s Kernel agricultural and industrial group, plans to place $300-350 million eurobonds (loan participation notes, LPN), a source in banking circles has told Interfax-Ukraine.
The company intends to hold a conference call with investors on October 1, and meetings in London and New York on October 2. The organizers of the transaction are JP Morgan and ING.
Kernel plans to place either eurobonds with a maturity of five years and a call option after three years, or seven-year eurobonds with a call option after four years.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural goods from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
Kernel, a large Ukrainian agricultural group, has entered into an amendment and restatement agreement with a syndicate of European banks and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on extending for one year its $100 million pre-export credit facility until June 30, 2022, the group has reported on the website of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE).
According to the report, on September 23, 2019, Kernel signed the amendment and restatement agreement to its pre-export credit facility dated February 2, 2018. Total available limit under amended facility was increased up to $300 million by adding additional tranche of $200 million maturing on June 30, 2021.
Pre-export credit facility will be used by the company to fund the working capital needs of its grain trading and transshipment business in Ukraine.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural goods from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
The board of directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the issuance of up to $120 million to one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, Kernel, on two projects within a syndicated loan to finance working capital.
According to information on the EBRD’s website, the decision was made on September 4.
Within the framework of one project, in particular, Kernel may receive up to $80 million to finance working capital, which is associated with the procurement, storage, transportation and sale of grains for export.
The total project cost is $300 million.
In addition, under another project, the EBRD intends to issue up to $40 million in the form of participation in a syndicated loan to finance Kernel’s working capital, which is related to the purchase, storage, processing, transportation of oilseeds and vegetable oil, as well as sale for export.
The cost of the entire project is estimated at $390 million.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, the leading producer and supplier of agricultural goods from the Black Sea region to the world markets.
State-owned enterprise (SOE) Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority and one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups Kernel have signed an agreement of cooperation, foreseeing investment of the group in the development of infrastructure of the Chornomorsk seaport in the amount of over UAH 3 billion.
According to the press service of the authority, under the agreement, by the end of 2020, the port plans to dredge near four berths and build a new grain terminal, which will increase transshipment to 6 million tonnes.
“The agreement between the Sea Ports Authority and Kernel is a good example of public private partnership and the next step in the systemic development of the port of Chornomorsk, which the authority is engaged in. This year we completed a large-scale main dredging project on the port’s approach canal and the water area of the first boot basin of the Sukhy estuary and we immediately proceed to the creation of the depths necessary for business at the berths No. 14-17. The Kernel company, for its part, has committed to guarantee the volume of cargo traffic of at least 6 million tonnes per year. This will contribute to a quick payback on capital investment of the authority,” the press service of the authority said, citing its head Raivis Veckagans.
He also added that the implementation of the project will help improve the conditions for the export of products of Ukrainian enterprises, increase ship calls and create about 250 new jobs in the port of Chornomorsk.
In turn, Kernel CEO Yevhen Osipov said that agribusiness is now the locomotive of the Ukrainian economy, so the company’s strategic goal by 2020 is to increase grain exports to 8.8 million tonnes via launching a new terminal in Chornomorsk.
According to the report, the volume of investments in the public private partnership project by the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority will amount to almost UAH 230 million.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could issue up to $80 million to Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, within the framework of a syndicated loan to finance working capital, which is associated with the procurement, storage, transportation and sale of grains for export.
According to the information on the bank’s website, the total cost of the project is $300 million (consists of the existing and increased working capital financing).
The decision on the project can be made on September 4, 2019. Now the project is at the concept review stage.
“The provision of up to $40 million in the form of participation in a syndicated senior secured revolving credit facility to finance working capital needs of Kernel Group. Working capital financing is associated with the procurement, storage, processing, transportation of oilseeds and vegetable oil products, and export sale,” the report on the website says.
The cost of the entire project is estimated at $390 million.
The project will be considered on September 4 of the current year. It is now at the study stage.
Kernel is the world’s largest producer and exporter of sunflower oil, a leading manufacturer and supplier of agricultural products from the Black Sea region.
Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agricultural groups, in the 2019 fiscal year (FY, July-June) increased sales of grain by 2.2 times compared with the previous FY, to 10.445 million tonnes. According to the company’s website, sales of sunflower oil increased by 15% compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year, to 1.6 million tonnes.
Sales of bottled oil during this period grew by 10% compared with the previous year and amounted to 131 million liters.
In the 2019 FY, the plants of the holding processed 3.2 million tonnes of oilseeds (sunflower and soybeans), which is almost the same as last year.
Grain exports from Ukraine over the year amounted to 6.1 million tonnes (58% more). Transshipment of grain at the export terminals of the agricultural holding in Ukraine in the 2019 FY rose by 12%, to 4.6 million tonnes, in the Russian Federation decreased by 28%, to 1.4 million tonnes.
