Business
Locus
Capital Locus Completed Mandate of Tbilisi Dry Port
Capital Locus completed investment & deal advisory mandate of Tbilisi Dry Port: strategic equity partners and USD 15 Mill loan secured.
Capital Locus secured strategic investor and a USD 15 Mill loan for Tbilisi Dry Port
Capital Locus completed its investment and deal advisory mandate of Tbilisi Dry Port – a greenfield investment project in Tbilisi, Georgia, initiated by the founding shareholder Mr. Jemal Inaishvili. Two strategic investors became shareholders of Tbilisi Dry Port and a loan in the amount of USD 15 Mill was secured.
Tbilisi Dry Port is developed as a multimodal inland terminal providing transfer of containers between different modes of transportation – rail and road. It is designed mainly to extend Batumi and Poti Sea ports to the Capital city of Georgia, Tbilisi, away from Georgian coastal borders. It will be operating as a center for the transshipment of ocean cargo to inland destinations in the Caucasus and CIS countries. Read more.
Capital Locus secured EUR 7 Mill for Grand Mall, Batumi
Grand Mall is a modern shopping and entertainment centre located in the touristic center of Batumi, Georgia. Mr. Amiran Darchidze – a highly reputable entrepreneur and successful investor from Georgia – is a project owner.
The total cost of the project is EUR 20 Mill. Capital Locus secured EUR 7 Mill for Grand Mall from EBRD and Bank of Georgia within the risk-sharing facility framework. As part of the partnership, besides the loan, the Grand Mall will additionally receive a grant from the EBRD’s FINTECC program, whose donors are the European Union and the Global Environment Facility, for energy-efficient installations and building materials. See details in the press release.
Capital Locus secured GEL 10 Mill for Chirina
Capital Locus secured senior debt financing in the amount of 10 million GEL for Chirina LLC – a producer of Biu-Biu meat products in Georgia. Funding is provided by EBRD and its partner commercial bank within the risk-sharing framework. In 2020 Chirina successfully completed an investment project to increase its broiler production capacity from 1,200 tons to 2,000 tons per month. The total project cost was 12 million EUR. Alongside equity financing, the project was co-financed by a loan from EBRD. In the second half of 2020 Chirina initiated a new investment project. 20 million GEL will be invested in new freezer stores and sausage production factories. This project is co-financed by a loan from EBRD and its partner commercial bank. See the press release here.
Capital Locus secured EUR 4 Million from EBRD for Chirina
“Chirina” is a vertically integrated poultry producer, which sells its products under “Biu-Biu” brand. Launched in 2013 as a greenfield project by the Georgian investor Mr. Revaz Vashakidze, Chirina LLC has grown to become the largest vertically integrated poultry farm in Georgia. During the last few years, it has doubled domestic poultry production, substituting low-quality imports of frozen chicken with high-quality locally produced meat. Operating according to the best food safety management principles Chirina LLC ensures product safety throughout the entire production cycle. Located in east Georgia, the poultry complex includes lands for cultivation of corn and wheat, grain drying and storage facilities, combicorn plant, hatchery, breeding farms, meat processing plant, rendering and water treatment facilities, and well-organized distribution fleet and retail shops.
Alongside of EUR 8 Mill equity injection by shareholder of Chirina LLC the loan proceeds from EBRD will be utilized to finance the construction of 14 new turn-key broiler farmhouses. The investment project will increase Chirina’s production capacity by 50% to 21,000 tons per year.
Capital Locus secured USD 10 Mill for Armenia’s Unibank from FMO
During two years of cooperation based on a fundraising mandate, Capital Locus secured USD 10 Mill for Unibank from FMO. In August 2019 FMO provided a second tranche of senior loan facility to Unibank for on-lending to small and medium-sized women-entrepreneurs.
Unibank is the first bank in Armenia that listed its shares on Armenia Security Exchange through an IPO. The current market capitalization of the Bank is USD 98 Mill with Moody’s Investors rating of B2, Stable. From being the leading consumer lender in Armenia, Unibank successfully develops its SME business via its large branch network consisting of 46 branches across the country. Despite its solid and historically well-diversified deposit base Unibank broadens its funding base through long-term partnerships with development financial institutions. While keeping its position as a leading consumer lender the Bank consistently strengthens on SME segment and aims to become one of the major partner banks for small and medium sized enterprises.
Hamkorbank – Commercial bank. Uzbekistan
Hamkorbank is the largest privately owned universal commercial bank in Uzbekistan. The Bank is among the top three lenders to MSMEs in the country. Hamkorbank’s loan portfolio exceeds USD 800 and the deposit base is close to USD 400 Mill. The bank employs 3000 professionals and is represented by fifty branches and more than 100 service centers across the country.
Hamkorabnk is one of the first banks of Uzbekistan which began cooperation with Development Financial Institutions; today the Bank has 18 partners among DFIs and Impact Investment Funds. Hamkorbank has the highest international rating in Uzbekistan: B2, Outlook – Positive from Moody’s Investors’ Service and B+, Outlook – Positive from S&P Global Ratings.
The fundraising mandate from Hamkorbank is Capital Locus’s first mandate in the Republic of Uzbekistan signed in January 2022. We, at Capital Locus, highly value the confidence that the Bank has expressed toward us and look forward to successful cooperation.
Unibank – Commercial bank. Armenia
Unibank is a universal commercial bank of Armenia, which offers full-scale banking services to its customers. Established in 2001, Unibank is the first bank in Armenia that listed its shares on the Armenia Security Exchange through an IPO. The current market capitalization of the Bank is USD 100 Mill. With Moody’s Investors rating of B2, Outlook – Stable, Unibank’s loan portfolio by the end of 2021 exceeded USD 300 Mill and a deposit base of USD 400 Mill.
From being the leading consumer lender in Armenia, Unibank successfully developed its SME business via its large branch network consisting of 55 branches across the country. Despite its solid and historically well-diversified deposit base Unibank broadens its funding base through long-term partnerships with development financial institutions.
In 2018-2019 Capital Locus secured USD 10 Mill for the Unibank from FMO in two tranches. The next funding round is planned to be closed in Q2 2022.
At Capital Locus the process of identifying and attracting optimal financing solutions is composed by four major stages: Strategy, Origination, Decision and Execution. Click on respective stage and learn about stakeholders, tasks and deliverables across the process.
Strategy phase has key importance for successful raising of a loan or equity. At this stage we analyze the company’s business model, strategic and operational objectives, balance sheet, profitability and cash flow pattern and identify its funding needs, strengths and weaknesses of the existing structure of liabilities, and the financial risks the company is exposed to.
Based on analysis together with company’s management, we develop the optimal liability and capital structure to be achieved. We agree on the key points about the funding to be attracted: the type of funding – a loan, mezzanine, equity or a combination thereof; the amount, the currency, the maturity, the interest rate (in case of a loan) and other key terms of funding, as well as the long list of potential fund providers.
As a final step of the Strategy phase, we prepare debt/capital raising Executive Summary and Confidential Descriptive Memorandum to start our fundraising roadshow.
At the stage of Origination, we make sure that all financing options which are available on the market are explored in order to arrive at the funding solutions defined at the Strategy phase.
We present Executive Summary of lending or investment opportunity to all potential lenders and investors: special funds, banks, development institutions and investment companies. Executive Summary doesn’t disclose company to be financed.
The finance originators, who express interest in investment/lending opportunity described in the Executive Summary, receive Confidential Descriptive Memorandum from Capital Locus. This document discloses and provides all the details about the company to be financed: its business model, financials, risk profile and purpose of finance.
After receiving Confidential Descriptive Memorandum from Capital Locus, potential finance providers submit their initial lending or investment offers.
Having received initial offers from potential finance originators, the management of the company has to take a decision. To assist the decision making process, we provide our clients with independent, objective and unbiased analysis of the offered financing options.
We analyze strengths and weaknesses of the received offers, bench-marking them with the optimal funding structure defined during the Strategy phase. On a comparative basis, we also provide our clients with a clear picture of financial and risk mitigation impacts to be expected from the received offers.
In order to reach optimal financing solution, we might go for a mixture of different financing instruments of more than one bank or non-bank finance originator.
After the client decides for a financing option, the respective fund provider(s) is/are invited for financial, legal, technical and environmental due diligence of the company.
The selected finance providers might rely on due diligence conducted by Capital Locus, outcome of which is fully and qualitatively described in the Confidential Descriptive Memorandum, they might conduct a light version of due diligence or decide for a completely new analysis.
Having completed due diligence of the company, the finance provider submits term sheet, which is legally binding document describing key terms of financing. On behalf of the client, we negotiate the terms of finance proposed by the fund provider.
Once the all terms of financing are agreed and signed, we assist our client with the legal check of all lending or investment contracts. After the company and the fund provider have signed the contracts, the transaction of transferring funds from the fund provider to the company takes place.