Shareholders of Eurotek CJSC and Kernel Group have reached agreement on a deal in which Kernel Group will acquire production assets of Eurotek CJSC. The deal has been approved by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine. Management of the production assets has been handed over to Kernel Group, and the project is currently in the paperwork phase. Among the assets acquired by Kernel Group are two oil extraction plants (Volchansk Oil Extraction Plant CJSC and Prikolotnoye Oil Extraction Plant CJSC with a combined daily processing capacity of 1,500 tons of sunflower seeds), 13 grain storage and processing enterprises (with a combined storage volume of 650,000 tons), as well as over 22,000 hectares of rented agricultural lands. The details of the deal and the price of acquired assets are not disclosed. Negotiations on consortium financing of the deal are underway with UkrSibbank JSIB and HVB Ukraine joint-stock commercial bank. Both parties to the deal are participants of the securities market. Eurotek CJSC has issued UAH 25 million worth of bonds. The bond issue has been almost entirely redeemed by the issuer, which is proof of the issuer’s impeccable record of dealing with investors. Currently, there is UAH 200,000 of unredeemed bonds, which will be redeemed by Eurotek CJSC in the immediate future. Kernel Trade Ltd has issued UAH 50 million worth of bonds. Kernel Group will shortly inform the holders of its bonds about its development strategy and will present its financial forecasts. This deal represents a logical stage in the development of the two companies working in the same market and region. As a result of the acquisition, in addition to its plants in Poltava and Luhansk regions Kernel Group will have control of two more plants in Kharkiv region, which is geographically positioned between the group’s existing capacities. The deal will give Kernel Group better access to the sources of raw materials in Ukraine’s north-eastern region, which will positively influence the prime cost of products. With the acquisition of the production assets of Eurotek CJSC, the sunflower oil production capacities controlled by Kernel Group will increase to 640,000 tons of seeds per year, which will place the Group among the three largest producers and four largest Ukrainian exporters, while its share of the retail market of sunflower oil will exceed 20%. The Group will thus move into a solid second place after the company Bunge (“Oleina” TM). After the acquisition Kernel Group will be selling its products under the trademark “Stozhar” in addition to “Shchedryi DAR”, “Liubonka”, “Kernel Professional”. Kernel Group will provide commentary on the details of the deal after the completion of the deal. Eurotek CJSC is a holding company comprising two oil extraction plants (with a daily sunflower seed processing capacity of 1,500 tons), 13 grain storage and processing enterprises (with a combined storage volume of 650,000 tons), a bread plant, a milk plant, and over 22,000 hectares of rented agricultural land. Eurotek manufactures sunflower, soy and rapeseed oil under the trademark “Stozhar”.