Category: Russia

Dentons has advised Russia’s Chelpipe on its debut issuance of USD 300 million 4.50% loan participation notes due 2024. Dentons acted as English, United States, and Russian counsel to Chelpipe.

Chelpipe Group is a pipe manufacturer serving the automotive, energy and utilities, mining, and machinery industries. Its business includes both scrap procurement and steel pipe production as well as the production of trunk pipeline systems.

Denton’s Moscow-based team included Partners Cameron Half and Tamer Amara, Senior Associate Filipp Petyukov, and Associate Arsen Safaryan. The firm’s team also included London-based Partner David Cohen and Associate Nicolo Ascione and New York-based Partner Jon Hutchens.

Dentons did not reply to our inquiry about the deal.  

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has successfully defended the interests of the founders of Transaero in a dispute over a loan that partially led to the air carrier’s bankruptcy proceedings.

According to EPAM, the bankruptcy trustee for Transaero filed a challenge to a loan agreement that resulted in the company receiving RUB 250 million and a claim to recover interest paid.

The Court of Arbitration of Russia’s North-Western District found the bankruptcy trustee’s claim that the loan was invalid unfounded and held that the “Transaero leadership team had acted reasonably and in good faith.” As a result, the court rejected the bankruptcy trustee’s claim.

The EPAM team was led by Saint-Petersburg-based Managing Partner Ivan Smirnov and included Counsel Evgeny Gurchenko, Senior Associate Artem Magunov, and Associates Alexander Svashenko and Yulia Sevostyanova.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has provided pro bono legal consulting to Big Brothers Big Sisters in Russia.

According to EPAM, “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia supports children in state care, children without parents, adopted children, children from single-parent, large, and underprivileged households, and children with disabilities through an individual mentorship program.” According to the firm, its lawyers developed a set of guidelines addressing legal issues and types of government assistance available to orphaned children and children whose parents are unable to care for them. The guidelines help both volunteer mentors and children supported by the program in Saint Petersburg navigate state benefits system and address legal issues as they arise.

The document EPAM created contains guidelines related to available government support in education, healthcare, employment opportunities, and housing, as well as financial support. The document also addresses questions on transfer of property rights, military service, custody and guardianship, and civil and criminal liability.

EPAM’s St. Petersburg team was led by Counsel Olga Mischenko and Associates Ays Lidzhanova, Yuri Nefedov, and Yulia Sevostyanova.

Acting on behalf of Russia’s Fund for Infrastructure and Educational Programs, Dentons has prepared what it calls a “Concept” for regulating alternative finance methods in Russia.

Dentons describes the Fund for Infrastructure and Educational Programs as “one of the key tools for implementing state innovation policy,” and the firm reports that “it occupies an important place in the system for state support of innovation.” According to Dentons, “the Fund was created on October 22, 2010 on the basis of Federal Law No. 211-FZ on Reorganization of the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies of July 27, 2010. It provides financial and other support to the nanotechnologies and related high-tech sectors, shapes the innovation infrastructure, creates a market for skilled personnel and a system of professional development, and helps to market technological solutions and finished products.”

According to Dentons, “alternative finance methods are not related to traditional financial instruments (e.g., credit facilities, loans) and institutional investors (e.g., banks, insurers). They allow innovation entrepreneurs to raise investment to set up and develop a business when classic tools are unavailable.”

Dentons reports that its “Concept” is “based on the first major research in this area in Russia.” According to the firm, “carried out by a Dentons team led by Partners Victor Naumov and Evgenia Teterevkova, the research involved analyzing ideas, regulatory approaches, and solutions in the development of alternative finance in five jurisdictions: France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as sector-specific statutes of the European Union. The Concept can be used in the future to amend sector-specific legislation.”

The Concept does not touch on crowdfunding, in Russia, according to Dentons, “because there is already a special law regulating that alternative finance tool (Federal Law No. 259-FZ on Raising Investments via Investment Platforms and on Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation of August 2, 2019).”

Akin Gump is advising Russian Internet and IT company Mail.ru Group Limited on the formation of a joint venture between its ESforce e-sports business and games producer Modern Pick.

Akin Gump reports that the transaction, which involves the transfer of a 51% stake of ESforce to Modern Pick, is “expected to close shortly.”

According to Akin Gump, this joint venture will enable both parties to have “access to a broader games portfolio and expertise in games development, e-sports teams, broadcasting, video production, streaming, tournament organization, and venues, combined with an extensive set of media and global brand partnerships.”

Akin Gump’s London-based team includes Partner Artem Faekov, Counsel Jasdeep Rai, and Associate Harpreet Hundal.  

Baker McKenzie has successfully represented EPK Saratov at Rospatent in a dispute involving a patent on an axle-box with dual bearings.

According to Baker McKenzie, on the basis of the arguments and evidence presented, Rospatent recognized the patent as partially invalid. The successful completion of the process in a short period allowed EPK to proceed with production of its own rail transport components.

EPK Saratov JSC is part of the EPK Group — the CIS’s manufacturer of bearings for all branches of engineering. Among its clients are Russian Railways OJSC, the Moscow metro, and rail sector companies across the world.

The Baker McKenzie team consisted of Partner Denis Khabarov and Counsel Yuri Pylnev.

Alexey Bardin, former Managing Counsel at Shell Exploration and Production Services in Russia, has joined Eversheds Sutherland as Of Counsel and Head of Energy & Infrastructure.

Bardin spent the past 14 years at Shell, and from fromJanuary 2009 to January 2019 was also Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Petroleum Advisory Forum, where he was in charge of cooperation with Russian governmental authorities and provided effective expert support in the field of Russian subsoil legislation. 

Before joining Shell in 2005, Bardin spent five years with Allen & Overy and then three years with LeBouef, Lamb, Green & MacRae. He is a graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

“Having worked for 22 years at Shell and in international law firms, Alexey has been involved in some of the most important oil and gas projects since the fall of the Soviet Union,” according to Eversheds Sutherland.  

“Alexey is an outstanding specialist with a wealth of experience and deep understanding of the oil and gas industry,” commented Eversheds Sutherland Managing Partner Victoria Goldman, “and I am certain that Alexey will help us with further development of this practice in our firm, providing our clients with the highest possible quality of legal support.”

Bardin stated that he is “happy to join Eversheds Sutherland’s team and of course very pleased of the confidence shown in me,” and that he hopes that he can “contribute to the firm by building on my experience within oil & gas law.”  

Clifford Chance has advised Russia’s SIBUR gas processing and petrochemical company on its benchmark USD 500 million 3.45% Eurobonds issue due 2024.

According to SIBUR’s press release, its new Eurobonds were oversubscribed more than 2.5 times with a total demand exceeding USD 1.3 billion. The Eurobonds were purchased by global investors, more than half of which were foreign.

Clifford Chance’s Moscow-based team included Partner Arthur Iliev, Counsel Evgeny Soloviev, and Senior Associate Ekaterina Makarova. The firm’s London-based team included Partners John Connolly and Kate Vyvyan, Counsel Arthur Levi, and Associate Russell Harris. 

Rustam Kurmaev & Partners has successfully defended Bio-Rad Laboratories in a dispute with Rosstandart, the Russian Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology.

Bio-Rad Laboratories is the manufacturer of D-10, a high-tech hemoglobin testing system used in diabetes diagnostics. According to RKP “the company believes that Rosstandart incorrectly classified the D-10 system as a measurement device.” 

On October 1, 2019, the Moscow Commercial Court upheld Bio-Rad’s claims. Rosstandart’s order, which effectively banned the D-10 testing system from the market, was declared unlawful, and the court ordered Rosstandart to reverse its earlier order and publish an announcement of the reversal on its official website.

U.S.-based Bio-Rad Laboratories manufactures instruments and reagents for the life sciences research market. 

The RKP team included Managing Partner Rustam Kurmaev and Attorney at Law Vasily Malinin. 

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has helped the Aqua Investments Group and Kavminkurortresursy JSC establish their exclusive geographical indication rights to the  Yessentuki N4 and Yessentuki N17 healing diets and mineralized healing water brands.

According to EPAM, the Aqua Investments Group and Kavminkurortresursy – holders of the geographical indication rights — have generally managed to prevent competitors from launching counterfeit versions of their well-known brands. However, in a recent dispute, the Aqua Investments Group and Kavminkurortresursy faced difficulty in proving the infringement by the Yessentuki-based Universal Mineral Water Bottling Plant Aqua-Vait LLC, which, despite including the geographical indication “Yessentuki” in the product’s title, was including mineral water extracted from other wells, and with a composition different from the original Yessentuki N4 and Yessentuki N17 mineral waters.

According to EPAM, the Aqua Investments Group and Kavminkurortresursy were able eventually to prove that the geographical indication used by Universal Mineral Water Bottling Plant Aqua-Vait infringed on their exclusive rights, and the court ruled that the infringing company’s products should be withdrawn from the market and destroyed at its expense.

The EPAM team was led by Partner Dmitry Dyakin, supported by Counsel Irina Kosovskaya and Junior Associate Stepan Abramov.