Category: Russia

DLA Piper has advised BestDoctor on securing a USD 26 million Series B investment from Winter Capital Partners, VNV Global, and UNIQA Ventures. Cleary Gottlieb reportedly advised the investors.

According to DLA Piper, BestDoctor’s valuation stands at USD 90 million following the investment round. The company will use the funds to establish a health management platform consolidating all of BestDoctor’s products.

DLA Piper’s Moscow team consisted of Partner Leo Batalov, Legal Director Andrei Sheetkin, and Associate Alexandra Braterskaya.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Cleary Gottlieb confirmed that it had advised Winter Capital Partners on the deal. The firm’s team included Moscow-based Partner Mikhail Suvorov and Associates Vladislav Miroshnichenko, Timofey Neklyudov, and Irina Bratishkina.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has successfully represented insurance company Rosgosstrakh in a case in which Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service considered an agreement between the company and another undisclosed insurance company as anti-competitive.

According to EPAM, this is the first time that the Federal Antimonopoly Service has considered anti-competitive agreements between two independent insurance companies.

According to the firm, on July 14, 2021, the FAS ruled that “Article 11(4) of the Law on Protection of Competition on Life, Health, and Medical Insurance Markets had been violated and issued an order to terminate the anticompetitive agreements.” It further explained that, under an indemnity program, Rosgosstrakh’s fine is to be waived, while the fine for the counterparty could amount to RUB 300 million.

Anna Numerova, the Partner who led the EPAM team, commented: “The case had been pending since October 2020 amid significant personnel changes at the Antimonopoly Service. The regulator’s decision could be decisive for the ongoing litigation between the insurance companies.”

“We have made a number of attempts to terminate the agreements before the proceedings at the FAS commission,” added Natalia Cheltsova, Vice President for Legal Affairs at Rosgosstrakh. “Rosgosstrakh is in agreement with the FAS commission’s decision and will take steps to comply with the improvement notice issued by the antimonopoly authority.”

Aside from Numerova, the EPAM team included Senior Associate Olga Denchenkova.

White & Case has advised the underwriters on the USD 500 million IPO of United Medical Group CY PLC. Liniya Prava advised the company.

White & Case has advised the underwriters on the USD 500 million IPO of United Medical Group CY PLC. Liniya Prava advised the company.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited, J.P. Morgan AG, and VTB Capital plc were joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. 

United Medical Group is a Russian multidisciplinary healthcare services provider operating under the European Medical Center brand, and the IPO was placed on the Moscow Exchange.

White & Case’s team included Moscow-based Partner Darina Kogan-Bellamy, Local Partner Dmitry Lapshin, and Associates Renat Akhmetzyanov and Anastasia Sheyndlina and London-based Partner Inigo Esteve and Associate Samuel Curme.

Liniya Prava’s team was led by Senior Associate and Head of Capital Markets Aleksandr Kuznetsov and included Lawyers Anna Vershinina, Maxim Sidorenko, and Lilia Mukhamedyanova.

Dentons has advised the EuroChem Group on a project financing for the construction of an ammonia plant in Kingisepp, Russia, from a bank syndicate consisting of VEB.RF, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, and Otkritie FC Bank. Linklaters Moscow advised the banks.

The total anticipated cost of the project is RUB 123.5 billion, 80% of which will be provided by the banks.

According to Dentons, “the production facility with an annual capacity of 1.1 million metric tons of ammonia and 1.4 million tons of carbamide is scheduled to begin operation in 2024.”

The Dentons team included Partner Evgenia Laurson, Counsel Konstantin Nazarov, Senior Associate Anna Booth, and Associate Gleb Tikhomirov.

The Linklaters team consisted of Partner Ilia Ditiatev, Counsel Julia Voskoboinikova , Managing Associates Maxim Kraynov and Ivan Ditiatev, and Associate Dmitry Gorchakov.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has advised US-based chemical corporation 3M on Russian legal aspects of personal data processing and website cookies.

According to EPAM, cookies have only recently been recognized as a matter of personal data in the Russian Federation. According to the firm, its lawyers provided recommendations to 3M as to the utilization of website cookies and procurement of necessary consent for their processing. 

EPAM’s team consisted of Counsel Elena Agaeva and Lawyer Elena Kvartnikova.

Debevoise & Plimpton has advised the Ultra Group on the establishment of a joint venture with Sredneuralsk Copper Smelter to form and operate an ammonium sulfate production plant.

Sredneuralsk Copper Smelter is a subsidiary of the Ural Mining Metallurgical Company. 

According to Debevoise, the joint venture is created with a 50/50 equity participation. The estimated volume of investments is EUB 5.7 billion (approximately USD 77 million). Design and construction are planned to be completed within three years, with the plant anticipated to have an annual production volume of half a million tons of ammonium sulfate.

Debevoise’s team was led by Moscow-based International Counsel Maxim Kuleshov and included Associate Elena Klutchareva.

Debevoise did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has advised the MTT Group on the sale of MTT to Mobile TeleSystems PJSC for RUB 5 billion.

The transaction has passed all regulatory approvals and has closed.

According to BCLP, “MTT is one of the top-10 biggest telecom companies in Russia and a leading provider of intelligent connectivity solutions for businesses. MTS expects that the deal will help it become a Russian market leader in Virtual Private Branch Exchanges and Telecom APIs and strengthen its position in high-growth tech sectors such as eCommerce, telemedicine, e-ticketing, and ride-hailing and delivery.”

BCLP’s team included Partners Matvey Kaploukhiy and Ian Ivory, Counsels Nikolay Kholshev, Anna Zelenskaya, and Inna Firsova, Senior Associate Denis Khramkin, Associate Director Lena Belozerova, Associates Ruslan Nurullaev and Mikhail Erokhin, and Paralegal Gleb Aleksandrov.

BCLP did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Latham & Watkins has advised Russian investment company Sistema on VTB Capital’s RUB 7 billion minority investment in Binnopharm.

According to Latham & Watkins, “VTB Capital has announced that it has invested in the pharmaceutical holding company Binnopharm Group. Sistema’s wholly-owned subsidiary LLC Sistema Telecom Assets sold an 11.2% stake in Ristango Holding Limited, which owns 100% of the authorized capital of Binnopharm Group, to Nevsky Property Investments Limited [itself] controlled by VTB Capital.”

Latham & Watkins’ team was led by Moscow-based Partner Olga Ponomarenko and included Associates Timur Bayramov and Nina Malkova.

Latham & Watkins did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Debevoise & Plimpton has advised Russian Norilsk Nickel on a buyback of up to 3.4% of its issued outstanding shares for a total amount of approximately USD 2 billion.

According to Debevoise, Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, a major producer of palladium, nickel, platinum, and copper, also producing cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium, and sulfur.

The Debevoise team was led by Partner Alan Kartashkin and included Counsel Maxim Kuleshov and Associates Timur Ochkhaev and Tamara Kulyk.

Former CMS Russia Head of M&A Vladimir Zenin has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a Partner of the firm’s Global Corporate Practice, based in the Moscow office. He is followed by a team of three Associates. 

Prior to his move, Zenin had been with CMS for almost six years. Earlier still, he was a Senior Associate with Allen & Overy between 2006 and 2015 and an Associate with Baker McKenzie, which he first joined as an Intern in 2002.

The three Associates to join the firm along with Zenin are Elizaveta Rakova, Natalia Gegechkory, and Viktoria Shcherba.

“Zenin and his team are an excellent addition to our firm,” commented Squire Patton Boggs’ EMEA Chair of the Global Corporate Practice Tony Reed. “Our Moscow office is an important component of our Global Corporate Practice and we are confident that Zenin’s team is well placed to help us grow it.”

“My colleagues and I are very pleased to join a firm with such a strong platform, great potential, and bold strategic vision,” added Zenin. “We are thrilled at the opportunities that lie ahead of us and look forward to contributing to the development of the corporate, M&A, and real estate practices of Squire Patton Boggs in Russia and the wider region.”