Linklaters

The firm has been at the heart of the most important issues affecting the Russian market.

Global and Russian companies rely on Linklaters’ Moscow team of around 100 experienced Russian and international lawyers, who focus on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking, project finance and asset finance, energy & natural resources, real estate, litigation and arbitration, tax, employment, IP and TMT. The firm’s global reach, combined with an in-depth understanding of the Russian legal and business environment, enables clients across all industries to achieve their commercial goals. We bring experience, commitment, teamwork and strength in depth to help our clients navigate important business challenges successfully.

Linklaters’ recent transactions in Russia include advising: 

• Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) on the acquisition of the RTS stock exchange followed by merger of RTS into MICEX, unprecedented deal in Russia resulting in establishment of an unrivalled leader in the exchange sector in the RF
• Sberbank in connection with the acquisition of Troika Dialog Group, one of the leading independent investment banks in the Russian market
• PepsiCo on the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia's leading branded food and beverage company
• Madura Holding on the sale of 53.2% in Uralkali – the largest deal in Russia since the establishment of UC Rusal
• on the merger of two of Russia's largest telecoms companies, Mobile TeleSystems and COMSTAR – United TeleSystems
• joint bookrunners on the US$3.27bn privatisation by the Russian Federation of a 10% stake in VTB Bank by way of a secondary public offering of ordinary shares - the first in a series of expected privatisations under the Russian Government’s new, large-scale privatisation programme
• on the groundbreaking US$2.2bn global offering and concurrent simultaneous listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Euronext of shares in UC Rusal, the first Russian headquartered company to list in Hong Kong
• on the US$5.5bn sovereign bond issue by the Russian Federation, the first new money international bond issue by Russia since 1998 and one of the largest deals in emerging markets history
• more than 30 banks on the restructuring of various syndicated debt facilities for Mechel, one of Russia’s largest metals and mining groups. The transaction won three “Deal of the year” awards due to its complex borrowing and security structure
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and 19 mandated lead arrangers on the US$3.13bn syndicated facility to VTB Bank, the largest ever syndicated loan to a Russian bank
• the lenders on the €1.1bn project financing of the Yuzhno-Russkoe gas field in Northern Siberia
• the concessionaire on the innovative project financing, construction and toll operation of the Moscow – Minsk Expressway, one of the two Russian concessions to reach financial close
• AIG/Lincoln on the development and pre-leasing of the White Square office complex - one of the largest pre-lease transactions ever in the Russian market.

Linklaters operates in Russia through Linklaters CIS, an affiliate of Linklaters LLP.