October 2021 – Kinstellar’s Kyiv office has provided full legal support to 4i Capital Partners, a leading Ukrainian-based private equity firm, on the sale of its controlling stake in the Ukrainian online payment platform Portmone.com to Kaspi.kz, Kazakhstan’s largest financial technology firm. 4i Capital Partners invested in Portmone.com in 2013, which the current Kinstellar team also advised on.
Kaspi.kz is a payments, marketplace, and fintech ecosystem developer listed on the London Stock Exchange. Portmone.com is the largest independent provider of online payments and money transfers in Ukraine, offering a portfolio of proven IT payment solutions for banking, mobile, e-commerce and service industries.
Kinstellar’s team acting on the deal was led by Illya Muchnyk, Counsel, with key support from Oleksandra Poliakova (Senior Associate) and Zhanna Babych (Associate). Partner Illya Sverdlov provided tax advice, while Partner Galyna Zagorodniuk advised on the competition law aspects of the deal.
Illya Muchnyk comments on the transaction: "We are pleased to have worked with 4i Capital Partners throughout the whole life cycle of their investment, starting from the acquisition of Portmone.com in 2013 to this recent exit. The deal promises to be among the most significant in recent years in Ukraine’s fintech sector, and I am pleased that we were able to contribute to its successful conclusion.”
Alex Munteanu, Managing Partner and Founder of 4i Capital Partners, comments: “It was an exciting and a milestone transaction for us and shows that our strategy—acquiring majority stakes in innovative and highly competitive local companies and building top-notch management teams—works. We were pleased to have the Kinstellar team on our side, with their combination of strong expertise in both fintech and high-end private equity deals.”
About 4i Capital Partners
4i Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm managing investments in Ukraine. The company’s principals have been involved in buyouts, expansions, restructurings and realisations in the region for over two decades. 4i Capital Partners was founded in March 2016 to capitalise on the opportunities resulting from the fundamental transformation of Ukraine, one of the Europe’s largest countries. The investment team currently manages Europe Virgin Fund, with USD 57 million of committed capital and instrumental support from international finance institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets and Dragon Capital.
For more information, please contact Illya Muchnyk, Counsel, at illya.muchnyk@kinstellar.com.
