US-Ukraine critical minerals fund hires advisers A&M to identify projects

LONDON (Reuters) -The U.S. fund overseeing U.S. President Donald Trump’s critical minerals ​deal with Ukraine said on Friday it had appointed advisory firm ‌Alvarez & Marsal to help it identify and size up potential opportunities.

Ukraine and ‌the U.S. in April signed a deal, heavily promoted by Trump, that gave the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects in exchange for investment.

The U.S. government’s International Development Finance ⁠Corporation (DFC) ‌was then charged with overseeing a newly created U.S.–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. It injected $75 million ‍into the fund to begin financing critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure projects.

Conor Coleman, DFC’s Head of Investments and Chief of Staff, said ​on Friday it had appointed financial advisory firm Alvarez & ‌Marsal “to support the Fund’s investment processes” and help in conducting due diligence and financial analysis.

DFC sent a team to Ukraine in September to start identifying potential projects. Ukraine’s Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said at the time the government wanted to identify at least ⁠three pilot investment projects within the next 18 ​months.

The U.S. has been Ukraine’​s single largest military donor as it battles Russian forces. Since his return to the White House this year, ‍Trump has argued ⁠the U.S. should get something back for its aid to Kyiv.

Half the revenues the Ukrainian government earns from new mineral extraction ⁠under the minerals deal are earmarked to go to the joint investment fund, ‌with profits split between Kyiv and Washington.

(Reporting by Marc ‌Jones, Editing by Nick Zieminski)