A combined team from Dechert LLP’s London and Almaty offices advised the International Creditors’ Committee of JSC Astana Finance, a Kazakh financial services group, in connection with the restructuring of US$1.9 billion of its financial indebtedness. Astana Finance, was the third Kazakh financial institution to default on its international bond obligations, in May 2009, following the global financial crisis.

The restructuring, which was effected by a Kazakh court-approved scheme together with English law noteholder approval procedures for each existing series of notes, involved the cancelation of Astana Finance’s existing notes and other financial indebtedness in exchange for a combination of, in the case of international creditors, cash, equity entitlements (in the form of GDRs) and new recovery notes, which pay a return linked to the proceeds of Astana Finance’s future recoveries and disposals.  Domestic creditors received Tenge-denominated notes due in 2018.

The Dechert team advising the Creditors’ Committee was led by London partners Camille Abousleiman and Giles Belsey and assisted by fellow partner Victor Mokrousov (Almaty) and associate Roman Nurpeissov (Almaty).