The Moscow and London offices of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP have advised the firm’s longstanding client PJSC Polyus (“Polyus”) on the issue by its indirect subsidiary Polyus Finance plc of $250 million senior bonds convertible into global depositary receipts representing ordinary shares of Polyus.
The bonds are guaranteed jointly and severally by Polyus and its subsidiary, JSC Polyus Krasnoyarsk, and were offered and sold outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S of the US Securities Act 1933, as amended.
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, the Polyus Group ranks second by attributable gold reserves and third by attributable gold resources among the world’s largest gold mining companies.
Debevoise has advised Polyus on a number of significant capital market transactions in recent years. The firm advised on Polyus’s $750 million debut Eurobond issuance in 2013, and two subsequent Eurobond issuances for the total value of $1.3 billion, as well as the offering and listing of depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange in 2017, the first offering with a listing of depositary receipts by a Russian issuer on the London Stock Exchange since 2014.
The Debevoise team advising on the issuance was led by Moscow partner Natalia A. Drebezgina and London partner James C. Scoville. The team also included London partner Alan J. Davies, international counsel Vera Losonci and associate Anna Jones, as well as Moscow associate Timur G. Ochkhaev. Tax advice was provided by New York partner Michael Bolotin and a London team consisting of partner Richard Ward, international counsel Cécile Beurrier, and associate Sarah Ling.
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