DLA Piper has advised Europe Virgin Fund (EVF), a private equity fund sponsored by Dragon Capital, in the acquisition of the majority stake in Portmone.com, the leading Ukrainian system of online payments.

The DLA Piper team was led by Illya Muchnyk (legal director) and Margarita Karpenko (managing partner of DLA Piper in Ukraine). Associates Dmytro Pshenychnyuk (Finance & Projects) and Dmytro Tkachenko (Corporate) assisted on the transaction.

Illya Muchnyk said: "We are pleased to have provided support to EVF in their successful investment. This transaction is the first acquisition of a Ukrainian operator of online payments by a private equity fund."

Andrey Nosok, managing director of the private equity department at EVF added: "With our investment, we intend to bring a new energy for the further development of the company. The primary focus will be to attract new clients, the design of new services, as well as introducing a more user-friendly system."

DLA Piper has previously advised EVF on other successful investments, including a transaction in 2011 when the firm advised on EVF's investment into Prime Group, a leading Ukrainian outdoor advertising operator. In 2012, DLA Piper also acted for EVF on its investment into pharmaceutical company Sperko.