The Moscow and London offices of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP have advised PJSC Polyus (“PJSC Polyus” or the “Company”) in connection with a public offering of shares and depositary receipts and the listing of the depositary receipts on the LSE. The offering involved an offering of the existing shares of the Company by Polyus Gold International Limited (“PGIL”), the company’s principal shareholder, and by Polyus Gold plc, a subsidiary of PGIL, in each case in the form of shares and depositary receipts , and an offering of new shares by the Company. The total size of the offering was $799 million, excluding the over-allotment option. The offering was the largest international offering by a Russian issuer since 2Q 2014 and the first offering with a listing of depositary receipts by a Russian issuer on the London Stock Exchange since 2014.

Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the top 10 gold miners globally with the lowest cost position. Based on its 2016 Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources, Polyus ranks second by attributable gold reserves and third by attributable gold resources among the world’s largest gold mining companies.

The Debevoise team advising on the matter was led by London based partner James Scoville and Moscow based partners Natalia Drebezgina and Alan Kartashkin and included international counsel Vera Losonci and Maxim Kuleshov and associates Marina Abazyan, Laurence Hanesworth and Timur Ochkhaev. Tax advice was provided by London based partner Richard Ward and New York based partner Michael Bolotin, as well as international counsel Cécile Beurrier and associates ‎Samuel Krawiecz and Ellie Mends.

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