We have acted on four separate occasions as legal advisers to the National Bank of Greece and were instructed to provide legal assistance and advice with respect to Cyprus and Greek law pledge agreements and deeds of guarantee entered into by Cypriot companies on each of these transactions. These agreements were provided in relation to loan facilities ranging in each case from 2,500,000 euro to 19,500,000 euro.
Expertise
Banking and Finance - Cyprus
Michael Kyprianou Law Firm has developed a strong practice in banking and finance and has a dedicated team of advocates dealing with international and local financing transactions. The team advises lenders, borrowers and sponsors on a wide variety of domestic and cross border acquisitions, leveraged and project financing, including both senior and subordinated debt as well as bridge financing.
The banking and finance lawyers of Michael Kyprianou Law Firm offer legal support and advice on the structuring and documenting aspects of each project and provide solutions to complex financing deals. The expertise of the team also includes complicated asset finance and multijurisdictional restructuring and refinancing. The department’s core focus is to provide the most beneficial solutions to its clients as well as to bring about real commercial results.
Michael Kyprianou Law Firm clients come from several industries, such as real estate, private equity, energy, insurance, pharmaceuticals & healthcare, sovereigns, mining, manufacturing & industrial, maritime & shipping, technology, financial services and financial institutions.
Services
Advice on corporate restructuring, tax, stamp duty and admissibility of documents
Asset finance
Aviation and shipping finance
Corporate lending
Creation, perfection and registration of security documents
Finance agreements
Leveraged finance
Out of court enforcements of security documents
Project finance
Real estate finance
Restructurings and refinancings
Securitization
Experience
Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC was involved in the 75 million euro financing for the Mark Hotels Group, an investment group with a portfolio of hotels throughout Europe, by acting as the local counsel of the London branch of Bank Hapoalim, a leading Israeli bank. The purpose of the loan facilities was to provide working capital and to re-finance existing debt of the group secured against six hotels in Germany.
We have been instructed by a New York law firm to represent the Borrower in a US$500,000,000 transaction for the takeover and the business combination and refinancing of a group of pharmaceutical companies in the US.
The firm acted as the Cypriot counsel for Silk Road Fund, a state owned investment fund of the Chinese government, among others, on the 15-year loan financing for the amount of 1.09 billion euro of Russia’s key new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project owned by Novatek, Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer.
The Banking and Finance Department of Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC has advised Sberbank of Russia on the financing of a joint venture of Sberbank Invest with O1 Properties, one of the largest groups of property owners and managers in Russia, relating to the White Square complex in Moscow, for the total value of USD 800 million.
Relevant Publications
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Athens, Cyprus
- Athens, Birkirkara(Malta), Cyprus, Dubai, Frankfurt, Kiev, London, Tel Aviv
- Athens, Birkirkara(Malta), Cyprus, Dubai, Frankfurt, Kiev, London, Tel Aviv
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Publications
EU citizens and businesses have the freedom of cross border trade but since direct taxation
- Cyprus
- Publications
Technological disruption to the legal profession profoundly reforms the manner in which law firms operate
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Publications
The well-known policy of selling Swiss Franc-linked loans in the past decade, and in particular
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
- Cyprus
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Key Contacts
Accolades
The Banking and Finance department of the firm also ranked as a first tier firm in the 2015 Legal 500 guide, indicating that the firm’s clients stated that Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC provides advice that is practical and of a high standard.
Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC’s team gives ‘well-balanced advice’ and has extensive experience in domestic and cross-border loan and security transactions, where it is regularly instructed by international law firms. Lambros Soteriou and Tonia Antoniou are ‘very thorough and commercial’, and ‘knowledgeable’. Lorena Charalambous is also a well-respected associate.
Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC ranked as a first tier firm in the 2016 Chambers Europe Guide, which cited the Banking and Finance department as being “effective, professional and accurate” also confirming the very high level of performance of the firm’s lawyers. Ms. Tonia Antoniou, the head of the Banking and Finance team, was recognized as a “Leader in the Field” in the Chambers and Partners guide.
“The main strength of the firm is its client-oriented approach and support both in everyday and special situations. The lawyers always try to find a solution and give priority to important and urgent matters. The firm can also help in pressing situations even when this is not really covered by their scope of work.”
Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC fields a large team that has wide-ranging experience in complex domestic and cross-border transactions. Tonia Antoniou and Lambros Soteriou are key contacts and senior associate Lorena Charalambous is also noted.
Michael Kyprianou & Co LLC regularly acts for foreign banks and financial institutions and borrowers on cross-border financing and restructuring transactions, credit facilities and syndicated loans alongside international firms. The team is always ready to be innovative, the lawyers look to solve the issues and find the solutions that benefit clients. Partner Tonia Antoniou is a very good technical lawyer who is ready to listen and propose innovative solutions. Her outside-the-box thinking skills are impressive. Partner Lorena Charalambous as being very good at negotiating with the other side and very reliable.
