Asters acts as a legal counsel to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in connection with EBRD's participation in the additional placement of shares by Public Joint Stock Company UkrSibbank for the total amount of UAH 1.36 billion. UkrSibbank is a Ukrainian subsidiary bank of BNP Paribas Group. It is ranked ninth among existing Ukrainian banks in terms of overall assets as of 1 January 2012 according to the National Bank of Ukraine.

During the share placement EBRD subscribed for 15% of the newly issued shares investing in UkrSibbank UAH 204 million. This transaction is a continuation of the EBRD's support for the Ukrainian banking sector.

Asters' team working on this project consists of partner Iryna Pokanay and associates Yevgen Porada and Iryna Scherbyna.

* * *

Asters is a full-service independent national law firm. With more than 15 years of experience the firm has one of the longest track records on the country's legal market. Asters is among the most recommended law firms for Ukraine according to reputable international legal directories The Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer?, Chambers Global, IFLR 1000, and Ukraine's legal market research publications. A list of the firm's clients includes major international corporations, such as Boeing, Coca-Cola, Marathon Oil, Miele, News Corp., New Line Cinema, Nissan Motor, Nokia Corporation, Philip Morris, Renault, Telenor ASA, Toshiba Corporation, and the world's leading financial institutions ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, EBRD, IFC, ING Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Standard Bank, Swedbank and the World Bank.