Corporate Advisory

Financial and Legal Due Diligence
The Kortina Advisory founding partners are experienced bankers and lawyers, who can also call upon the cooperation of senior associates, Russian and international, with strong legal and financial backgrounds. The teams we assemble can carry out a wide range of due diligence activities, to ensure that activities, such as raising finance or overseas expansion, can be carried out with the full observance of local and international law and in such a way as to identify optimum solutions for a range of corporate issues.



Raising Finance
Kortina Advisory has many contacts with investment funds, private equity funds and other investors, who are interested in the opportunities in the Russian market. By keeping in close touch with potential investors Kortina Advisory maintains an up-to-date knowledge base of sources of finance. The close contact maintained by Kortina Advisory with the investor base and the speed in assembling initial information for presentation to investors means that reactions and decisions can be speedily obtained.



Borrower Advisory
Even though there are signs of recovery from the financial crisis, many Russian corporate borrowers are experiencing difficulties in their relationships with western lenders. Such lenders have their own problems and, at times, can be unsympathetic to the difficulties of their borrowers. The partners in Kortina Advisory are experienced in dealing with international banks; we understand their psychology and have an intimate knowledge of the documentation governing corporate loans. We can offer a multi-faceted approach to coordinating the restructuring of debt, covering a review of the underlying business and its prospects and the development of a recovery plan to present to lenders. The final stage involves face-to-face negotiations with lenders to optimise the loan restructuring process for the Borrower.



Search and Recruitment
Kortina is able to work with clients to identify and recruit the right candidates for corporate positions. The company’s wide network of contacts provides a sound base for the efficient performance of search and recruitment mandates. Recent examples include the successful placing of candidates in the Russian banking sector.



Investor Relations
At a time when new bank lending is constrained, companies will need to tap other sources of finance, both to fund growth and to refinance debt. In this context, we are seeing the re-emergence of the IPO market, with several dozen Russian companies having announced their intention to list shares over the next 1-2 years. However, this time, it will be much more difficult for companies to achieve their desired valuations, due to the aftermath of the crisis and to the fact that Russian IPOs have a patchy track record at best. This underlines the need for the company message which goes out to potential investors to be strong, effective and targeted. Working with its specialist partners in the Investor Relations field in Moscow and London, Kortina is in an excellent position to help Russian companies optimise their IPO approach.



Distressed Debt and Distressed Asset Solutions
The global economic and financial crisis has impacted hard on Russia and many borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to service and repay debt; it is inevitable that many corporate borrowers will default on their debt, leaving the lending banks with no choice other than to enforce security. Different classes of investors such as private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds, as well as international and local corporations, will be looking to take advantage of this situation. They will be trying to buy assets at low prices on a very selective basis and at sharp discounts to face value. Whether by purchasing distressed debt or by acquiring assets which have been pledged as security, many new investors are entering the corporate scene in Russia. Kortina Advisory can act in a variety of roles to help investors identify and process interesting situations and to help Russian banks and companies achieve the maximum possible selling price for their assets.



Sector / Industry Specific Consultancy
Kortina Advisory seeks to put together teams with sector or industry specific expertise, such expertise is normally hands on experience in Russian in the relevant sector or industry. Recent examples relate to the cement industry and the retail real estate development sector, with an earlier example being arable agriculture. These teams can provide a wide variety of services to clients, from advising on potential opportunities available in Russia to how improve a situation that is not performing adequately.