Category: Russia

BGP Litigation has launched a Life Sciences & Technology practice, to be led by Partner Alexander Panov, who is joining the firm from the Pepeliaev Group.

According to BGP Litigation, the firm’s Life Sciences & Technology practice will provide “full legal support on issues related to the regulation and circulation of medicines and medical devices, legal issues of healthcare and life sciences law, localization of production, legal aspects of FMCG companies, transactional work with technological assets, legal issues of data protection and circulation, anti-corruption compliance, and GR-interaction with regulatory authorities.”

Panov has been practicing Life Sciences law for over ten years, and was Head of Life Sciences at the Pepeliaev Group. According to the BGP Litigation, his expertise covers manufacturing and registration of medicines, construction and equipment of healthcare facilities, and acquisitions of pharmaceutical assets. According to the firm, “Alexander’s experience includes working in legal consulting, in major Russian and international companies, as well as liaising with state authorities.” He is a graduate of HSE University.

“I am happy to become a part of BGP Litigation’s successful and ambitious team,” said Panov. “I hope that the synergy of the expertise of my team and other practices of the firm will allow us to offer the market a new dimension in industrial legal competence, both in the life sciences law and high technology.”

“Alexander Panov’s team has proven to be one of the most talented and efficient teams in the market,” commented BGP Litigation Partner Alexander Vaneev. “That legal services in pharmaceuticals are in high demand is beyond all question. In a relatively short time, Alexander managed to build one of the most successful healthcare practices. And that is in keeping with the dynamic of our firm. In my view, that has made it only logical for his team to join our firm.”

The Moscow office of Eversheds Sutherland has advised the Cherkizovo Group on its acquisition of meat processing company Pit-Product from the Atria Group. Finnish law firm Castren & Snellman and Capital Legal Services from Russia reportedly advised the Atria Group on the deal, which remains contingent on the approval of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service. 

Pit-Product was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atria and had approximately 700 employees working in two plants, producing a range of meat products under several trademarks.

Eversheds Sutherland’s team included Moscow Managing Partner Victoria Goldman, Partner Mikhail Timonov, and Counsel Anton Bakov.

Alexander Panov, Head of the Pepeliaev Group’s Life Sciences practice, will be leaving the firm.

Pepeliaev Group Partners Nikolay Solodovnikov and Maria Nikonova will take over the practice.

“We wish him every success in his future endeavors,” the Pepeliaev Group said.

Andrey Gorodissky & Partners has advised Rose Group on its sale of the Tsvetnoy department store in Moscow to Bonum Capital.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Bonum Capital is a Moscow-based investment company that also deals in asset management and brokerage.

Andrey Gorodissky & Partners did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.

Debevoise & Plimpton has advised the Ant Group on its agreements with Mail.ru Group, USM, Russian Direct Investment Fund, and MegaFon to create payments and financial services joint ventures. 

The deals are expected to close in 2021 after satisfying a number of conditions including third-party approvals. Upon completion, Russian shareholders will own the majority stakes in both the PJV and FSJV.

Debevoise & Plimpton’s team included in Hong Kong, Partner Edwin Northover, Associates Wen-Wei Lai and Tiffany Wu, and International Counsel Alison Lee; in Washington DC, Associate Robert Dura; in London, Partner Richard Ward and Associate Heather Atkins; and in Moscow, Associates Nikolay Kiselev and Anastasia Magid and International Counsel Evgeny Samoylov.

Debevoise did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Akin Gump announced that it had advised Mail.ru on the deal. The firm’s team included London-based Partner Artem Faekov and Associate Alla Barford, Beijing-based Counsel Jingli Jiang, and Hong Kong-based Associate Janice Wong.

Noerr has advised the Aluminium Rheinfelden Group on the sale of its assets to Russian aluminum manufacturer RUSAL, in the form of an asset-reorganization deal.

Aluminium Rheinfelden is a German aluminum manufacturer that was founded in 1898.

RUSAL is a Moscow-headquartered manufacturer of aluminum and its alloys. The company employs around 64,000 people and operates its assets in 13 countries across five continents. RUSAL reported USD 9.7 billion in revenue in 2019.

According to Noerr, “on September 22, 2020, the Aluminium Rheinfelden Group applied for the initiation of insolvency proceedings as self-administration proceedings…[and] the takeover is still subject to the approval of both the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Cartel Office.”

Noerr’s team included Frankfurt-based Partners Thomas Hoffmann and Christof Federwisch, Associated Partner Andrea Braun, and Associate Sabrina Lux; Munich-based Partner Christoph Rieken and Associates Niclas Gajeck and Katja Schmitt; Berlin-based Partner Kathrin Westermann; Brussels-based Associated Partner Claus Zimmermann; and Dusseldorf-based Associate Linda Degen.

The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.

Dentons Partner Konstantin Kroll has been appointed Head of the firm’s Russian Corporate and M&A Practice in Moscow. He takes the practice over from Partner Mathieu Fabre-Magnan, who had led the practice since 2016.

According to the firm, Fabre-Magnan will continue to work in his leadership roles as Co-head of Dentons’ Global Retail, Fashion and Luxury practice and Head of French Desk in Russia. He will also continue to work with clients as a partner in the Corporate and International Arbitration practices.

Kroll has over two decades of experience advising corporate clients and financial institutions on complex cross-border transactions in Russia and the broader Commonwealth of Independent States. He is triple qualified as a Russian advocate, solicitor of Senior Courts of England and Wales, and Irish solicitor (non-practicing).

According to Dentons, “Konstantin also focuses on international arbitration. He is a fellow  of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators in London and a Vice President of the Russian Chapter of CIArb European Branch, a member of the ICC Russia Commission on Arbitration and ICC Russia recommended arbitrator, and an accredited arbitrator at the Russian Arbitration Center at the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration and the Arbitration Center at the RSPP, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.”

Kroll has a law degree from the Moscow State University and an LLM from the University of Manchester. Before joining Dentons in 2019, he spent over 14 years with Allen & Overy, over three years with Jones Day, and almost five years with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

“It is a great honor for me to head one of the leading and largest corporate and M&A practices in the country,” said Kroll. “Our lawyers have impressive experience of handling the most complex and innovative transactions in Russia and abroad. Our team’s goals are ambitious and I hope to contribute to the further development of the practice, while also strengthening our leading position on the market.”

Kachkin & Partners has successfully represented Anton Vladimirovich Novikov, a former top manager and a JSC Mostostroy No. 6 board of directors member, in a dispute valued at RUB 7 billion.

According to Kachkin & Partners, JSC Mostostroy No. 6 was declared bankrupt in March 2016, and the firm represented Novikov’s interests in a dispute concerning the imposition of subsidiary responsibility. According to the firm, “14 senior managers of the company were claimed as defendants together with Anton Novikov, [and] our client was accused of executing transactions that creditors and the insolvency representative considered unprofitable, as well as of refusing to initiate bankruptcy proceedings.”

In May 2019, Kachkin & Partners successfully argued that the appellate court’s decision imposing subsidiary responsibility should be overturned, and the case was remanded for further consideration. According to the firm, “in addition to the request of subsidiary responsibility imposition, the Court requested restitution in the sum of more than RUB 1 billion to our client and another former top manager and the liquidator.” Finally, according to the firm, “As a result, on January 25, 2021, more than a year and a half after the case was returned from the court of cassation, the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region completed the trial and refused to bring Mr. Novikov to responsibility.”

Kachkin & Partners’ team included Partner Kirill Saskov and Attorney Alexandra Ulezko.

Baker McKenzie has advised the Goal Number Seven association on the launch of the international renewable energy certificates system in Russia. The firm provided its services on a pro bono basis.

Goal Number Seven is a non-profit organization authorized to issue I-RECs to Russian renewable energy producers. According to Baker McKenzie, “I-RECs are electronic documents certifying renewable power production and associated environmental attributes … [and their purpose is] to incentivize renewable power producers by creating additional cash flows for renewable projects and improving their financial feasibility.”

Baker McKenzie reported that, so far, 14 Russian energy producers have registered in the I-REC system.

The Baker McKenzie team included, in Chicago, Partner Stanislav Sirot, in St. Petersburg, Partner Maxim Kalinin and Associates Roman Ishmukhametov and Ekaterina Gladkikh, and in Moscow, Partner Marina Tokunova.

Morgan Lewis has advised Russian online services provider Yandex and its subsidiary MLU on the acquisition of Vezet Group’s call centers and cargo business. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner reportedly advised the seller.

According to Yandex, Vezet Group’s current shareholders will receive up to USD 178 million in cash as a result of the transaction, with a significant part of the sum contingent on certain integration milestones. 

Yandex is a Russian-owned Netherlands-domiciled provider of transportation, search and information, ecommerce, navigation, mobile application, and online advertising services. 

The Vezet Group provides ride-hailing and cargo and food delivery services in more than 100 cities in Russia. The company was established in May 2017 as the result of the merger between Saturn and RuTaxi. 

The Morgan Lewis team included London-based Partner Tim Corbett and Associate George Taylor and Moscow-based Partner Anastasia Dergacheva and Associates Valentina Semenikhina and Anastasia Kiseleva.