Our next stage in Ukraine is investing in equity capital – partner Argentem Creek Partners

Exclusive interview with founding partner, head of EMEA&Asia Argentem Creek Partners John C. Patton

Text: Dmytro Koshovyy

-- What is the current total value of Ukrainian assets in the portfolio of Argentem Creek Partners (ACP)? How did it change during the war? Please list your main assets and their type: debt (private or public?), equity investments?

-- A private company cannot fully disclose the structure of its portfolio. Nevertheless, over the past 6-7 years we have invested more than $600 million in Ukrainian assets. This includes investments and participation in the restructuring of companies such as Interpipe, Lemtrans, the Mriya agro holding and other companies in the agricultural sector. Let me summarize: first in Ukraine we dealt with complex restructurings, and then we began investing money in projects that were far from default. That is, we invested in both the debt and equity of the companies that we can help solve more complex business problems. Our goal is not only to invest in the context of public markets, but also to make private investments.

I think that our next stage in Ukraine is investing in equity capital, and for ACP, the presence of good governance practices among companies is of great importance. Therefore, problems like the one taking place in Odessa (we are talking about GNT case - ed.) are possible only when the management of Ukrainian companies decides not to be transparent in operations. As a result, inventory worth $130 million disappeared from the warehouse. In such situations, we make efforts to legally enforce and take control of the asset (take enforcement actions). Although, the initial idea of -- cooperation with GNT was good; partnership with Ukrainian entrepreneurs and