Experience

• • The Russian Federation in several disputes brought by former subsidiaries of Yukos Oil under the Energy Charter Treaty, including an arbitration brought by Financial Performance Holdings relating to an alleged expropriation and other breaches. In that matter, the claimant withdrew its claims and we obtained a full costs order for our client.
  • Universal Cargo Logistics Holding (UCL Holding) in a division of the shipbuilding and shipping business of Volgo-Balt Transport Holding (VBTH) with its minority shareholders, whereby the river cruise business of VBTH (Vodokhod Group) was taken over by the minority shareholders and UCL Holding consolidated 100% of VBTH, which has retained control of all of the shipbuilding and water cargo transportation assets.
  • Shareholders of the International Center for Financial and Economic Development (MCFER) in the buyout of Wolters Kluwer’s stake in a joint publishing business in Russia and other CIS countries, followed by the sale of the consolidated business of MCFER to a major Russian publishing house (including advice on a pre-sale repatriation of the Russian business from foreign jurisdictions back to Russia).
  • Pernod Ricard, in obtaining dismissal of ownership claims filed by a Russian Federation entity related to the Stolichnaya trademark.
  • Titan Group in its establishment of a joint venture with Sibur and Gazprom Neft on the basis of the Omsk Polypropylene Plant (Poliom).
  • Schneider Electric in its acquisition of a 50% interest and further consolidation of a 100% stake in ZAO Group of Companies Electroshield – TM Samara.
  • Four large-scale oil and gas development projects in various regions of Russia (Sakhalin 1, 2 and 3 and the Kharyaga Project).
  • Two important hydrocarbon pipeline construction projects (the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and a project to transport gas-condensate from Russia via the Arctic), as well as various other oil and gas projects, including the acquisition and sale of oil companies.
  • Ukraine’s largest industrial conglomerate in the negotiation and execution of contracts for the $250 million financing and construction of a new five-star soccer stadium in Donetsk to FIFA/UEFA standards.
  • American International Group in regulatory matters related to the sale of AIG Bank Finance to Banque PSA Finance.
  • Novolipetsk Steel in its $500 million acquisition of VIZ-Stal, a leading producer of electrical steel.
  • NLMK in its $750 million acquisition of a controlling interest in Altai Koks and Prokopievsk Ugol.
  • Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant in its acquisition of Nova Zinc, a Kazakh zinc mining company.
  • Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant group in its acquisition of MSA, a Czech producer of tube bolts and bolt clocks.
  • Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant in its $313.5 million initial public offering of shares and global depositary shares and its listing on the London Stock Exchange.
  • NLMK in its acquisition of controlling stakes in St. Petersburg Sea Port and 15 stevedoring and service companies, Stoilensky Ore Mining and Processing Plant, Tuapse Commercial Sea Port and Tuapse Ship Repair Yard, Dansteel AS and KME Ore.
  • NLMK in the sale of the Lebedinsky Ore Mining and Process Plant.
  • NLMK in the $806 million acquisition of a 50% interest in Duferco Group, the owner and operator of a number of steel production and distribution facilities in Europe and the United States of America.
  • Mitsui in its $240 million joint venture with EVRAZ Group to develop the Denisovskoye coal deposit.
  • Deutsche Telekom in its sale of a 15% stake and a 10% stake in leading Russian cellular operator Mobile TeleSystems, structured as a public offering of global depositary receipts and the sale of shares on the Russian stock exchange to Russian and foreign investors for a total of more than $3.2 billion.
  • Norsk Hydro in its $10 billion negotiations with Gazprom to develop the Shtokman gas-condensate field in the Barents Sea.