EBRD, OKKO reach credit agreement for $35 mln

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has opened a credit line for the OKKO chain of fuel stations in the amount of $35 million for a period of seven years, the press service of the company said.

"The funds will be used to finance the company's capital expenditures and meet its working capital requirements, which will allow OKKO to develop both already started and new projects," the statement says.

Thanks to the funds raised, the company plans to expand its forward program to provide Ukrainian agricultural producers with material and technical resources: fuel, mineral fertilizers, natural gas, finance and others. In addition, part of the loan proceeds will be used to improve the logistics infrastructure, as well as to improve gas stations.

"The history of cooperation of our company with the EBRD goes back almost 20 years. Thanks to the financial support of leading international institutions, OKKO has grown from a small regional enterprise into a holding on a national scale. The EBRD's willingness to continue this partnership and invest in projects in Ukraine is an important positive signal not only for us, but also for the entire national business," OKKO Group founder Vitaliy Antonov said.

The company said that the first loans from the EBRD the OKKO network received back in 2002-2003 within the framework of the bank's program to support small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. The loans received made it possible to build a number of modern petrol stations in Kyiv and Western Ukraine and to gain a foothold in these markets. Today, the total volume of loan financing of OKKO by the EBRD has already exceeded $270 million. In the crisis year of 2009, the EBRD entered the share capital of OKKO, becoming a minority co-owner of the company.

Earlier, in July 2020, a $35 million credit line for the company was also opened by the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank Group.

The OKKO filling station network (Galnaftogaz Concern) is part of the OKKO Group and is one of the largest filling networks in Ukraine, which numbers about 400 filling complexes. The structure of the company also includes the largest network of on-road catering establishments operating under the brands Hot café, A la minute, Pasta Mia and Meiwei.

The company's divisions are engaged in the sale of goods through stores at filling stations, the sale of petroleum products in large and small wholesale, provide services for the examination of the quality of fuel, storage and transportation of petroleum products. The OKKO network has 10 own oil depots, 1 gas pumping station, 19 stationary and mobile laboratories for quality control of petroleum products.

Antonov is the majority shareholder of Galnaftogaz, and the EBRD is among the minority shareholders.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua