M&A transactions continue to be one of the favorite practice areas for all major law firms in Ukraine. Political changes at the start of 2005 forced many local business groups to restructure their operations and dispose of certain assets, which were sold to local and foreign investors. The most prominent M&A transaction of the year was certainly the privatization of Krivorozhstal, the largest carbon steel long products producer in Ukraine and surrounding region. Krivorozhstal was sold at the privatization auction in October 2005 for USD 4.8 billion. The number of large M&A transactions in 2005 also took place in banking sector. Raiffeisenbank acquired the Aval Bank for USD 1.02 billion. Majority stakes in Ukrsibbank and Ukrsotsbank were offered for sale at a tender and attracted the interest of leading western banks. A number of foreign banks and major corporations continue to seek similar targets, which means that in 2006 M&A lawyers will have other exciting projects to handle.

Lexwell & Partners has broad experience in handling M&A in Ukraine. The team's most experienced experts in mergers and acquisitions are Andrei Kolupaev, Igor Nagai and Natalia Kushniruk. They represented and advised one of the leading multinational companies in its share acquisition and join-venture formation.