Kyiv, 2 December 2008 – Baker & McKenzie announced today that it has recently acted as Ukrainian law counsel to closed joint stock company Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant (ZAZ) with respect to a US$62.5 million secured syndicated loan facility, arranged by Calyon and ING banks.  Certain companies of the ZAZ Group acted as the sureties for ZAZ.

ZAZ is a major automobile manufacturer in Ukraine, possessing one of the best-developed passenger car production lines in the country, which allows for the full cycle of the production process, including press forming, welding, painting, body trimming, and vehicle assembly. Currently, ZAZ manufactures vehicles under the brand names of Chevrolet, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Chery, and others.

The Kyiv office’s Baker & McKenzie team was led by Partner Glib Bondar, with key input from associate Andriy Nikiforov.

Commenting on the news, Mr. Bondar said: “We enjoyed working with our client, ZAZ, on this deal. We are glad that the efficient professionalism of our team has contributed to the successful attraction of the loan facility by ZAZ. We hope that this loan facility will help our client to pursue its corporate goals, despite the current turbulent market conditions.”