- AxFina attracts equity investment by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
LONDON – Avonhurst advised financial services group AxFina in relation to an equity investment by EBRD (The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development). AxFina is a CEE/SEE focused financial services group, whose clients include European banks and global investment funds. The equity investment by ERBD into AxFina’s holding company, which will complete next year, means that EBRD will hold 24% of the share capital of the company. With this stake in AxFina, which is headquartered in Vienna, EBRD aims to promote the financial markets in CEE/SEE and to act as a catalyst for economic development in the region.
The matter was led for Avonhurst by finance and structuring expert, partner James Wyatt, working with associate Katja Loncaric and trainee Jennifer Falconer Hall. CMS acted as legal advisor to EBRD.
Bernhard Engel, CEO of AxFina Holding SA, comments:
“We were very pleased to work with Avonhurst on this transaction. James and Katja delivered one of the most professional legal performances I have seen to date – lean, swift and on spot.
“AxFina brings the latest in servicing, rationalization and digitization to its core markets, providing its financial sector clients with efficiency, cost savings and expert support. The ERBD investment will make a significant contribution to accelerating our development and expansion in the CEE/SEE region.”
James Wyatt, Avonhurst partner, comments:
“We are delighted to have advised AxFina and to have assisted them and the EBRD in reaching exchange, on schedule. We were able to draw on our cross-practice corporate and finance expertise, our deep sectoral knowledge covering fintech and special situations, as well as on our experience acting for, and across the table from, multilateral finance institutions like the EBRD in developing markets. This adds to the growing roster of transactions on which Avonhurst has advised relating to cutting edge financial services platforms.”
Jonathan Bloom, Chief Executive of Avonhurst, comments:
“As this challenging year draws to a close, we continue to support our sophisticated capital client base as they navigate these uncertain times. We founded Avonhurst last year because we believed there was an increasing demand from such clients for joined up, bespoke advice that spans legal, legislative / political risk advisory and capital services, but we could not have known then just how prescient that decision would turn out to be.
“Throughout 2020, our specialist expertise has been increasingly in demand not just in corporate business, but also in restructuring, real estate, banking and political risk. The attractiveness of our offering is illustrated by the fact that while many firms have contracted or stagnated, we have grown with a number of key hires. We look forward to entering 2021 in a stronger position than ever to assist our clients as we emerge into a dramatically changed economic and political landscape.
