MOSCOW, November 18 - RAPSI, Natalia Belova. A commercial court postponed on Friday until December 19 hearing of UniCredit Bank's $13 million lawsuit from Nutritek, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI) reported from the courtroom on Friday.

Nutritek Group was founded in 1990. It comprises six companies producing baby and customized foods in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and New Zealand. The group's major shareholders are founder Georgy Sazhenov (40 percent) and Marshall Capital Funds (35 percent). The remaining shares are involved in a public float.

Nutritek is a guarantor under a loan agreement with Unicredit Bank.

The loan was issued to Nutrinvestholding (part of Nutritek Group, Russia's large baby food producer) in 2008. The borrower defaulted and requested debt restructuring. The bank agreed and concluded supplementary agreements. Nevertheless, the company violated its obligations again, so the bank was entitled to an early loan repayment.

Pursuant to the primary suretyship contract, the loan agreement expired in 2009. However, a supplementary agreement extended the suretyship's term until 2013, the company seeks its invalidation because it was not approved by the shareholders' meeting as the law requires for major transactions.

The litigation was suspended to grant the parties time to review additional documents submitted by the company.

Initially the claims were also made to Nutrinvestholding (Nutritek group's parent company) and the loan borrower.