23 June 2010
Avangard (LSE: AVGR LN) said yesterday that neither it nor its subsidiaries had any outstanding loans issued by VTB Bank (Ukraine), the company announced in a statement yesterday in response to VTB claims that it would seek to delist the former’s shares from the London Stock Exchange over practices it was employing to evade loan payments. Avangard did acknowledge that it has disagreements with VTB regarding an existing collateral security agreement in the amount of UAH 39.2 mln (USD 4.9 mln), which is reflected in its consolidated audited financial statements. Avangard noted that even if it was forced to cover the outstanding liability, it would not affect its business or results of operations. VTB said on Monday that since October 2009 it filed a series of lawsuits in Ukraine to force entities related to Avangard to pay over USD 27 mln in overdue loans.