The Legal 500

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acts on the largest and most complex Russian capital markets transactions. Murat Akuyev represented Mail.ru Group Limited in its $1bn IPO and London Stock Exchange (LSE) listing, and advised UC Rusal on the establishment of a sponsored Russian depository receipts programme, the first of its kind. On the debt side, work included advising Sovcomflot on its $800m debut Eurobond offering.

Clifford Chance’s broad and very busy practice has expertise in equity and debt capital markets, structured finance and securitisation, and derivatives and financial regulation. The equity capital markets group, led by Arthur Iliev, acted on Nomos Bank’s $782m IPO, and PhosAgro’s $538m IPO. Tamer Amara heads the debt capital markets team, which advised Russian Agricultural Bank regarding its $800m loan participation notes issuance.

Linklaters CIS practice head Dmitry Dobatkin recently advised Merrill Lynch, VTB Capital and Deutsche Bank on the Russian Federation’s $3.27bn privatisation offering of shares in VTB. Andrei Murygin is ‘very much up to speed with the constant and sometimes non-transparent legal developments in the capital markets sector in Russia’. In multi-jurisdictional matters, ‘the co-operation between the different offices’ is ‘effortless and very reassuring’. Andrew Burge is also recommended.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is ‘one of the leading capital markets firms’, deserving ‘top marks’ in all areas. Pranav Trivedi, who divides his time between London and Moscow, and Moscow-based Alexey Kiyashko advised the underwriters on a $560m SEC-registered offering by Mechel. Dmitri Kovalenko advised Ros Agro on its £330m IPO of LSE-listed GDRs.

Allen & Overy Legal Services’ quality capital markets practice is ‘one of the best in terms of value for money’. Team head James Roe is ‘very efficient and always available’. He acted for Troika Dialog and NCB Stockbrokers on Avangardco Investment’s $256m IPO on the LSE. Stephen Matthews advised Renaissance Capital on the sale of its benchmark Rule 144A $325m Eurobond. Varun Gupta and two associates joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in 2011.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s balanced practice attracts strong mandates in equity and debt transactions, and its work is of ‘excellent quality’ and ‘always rendered on time’. Practice head Mikhail Loktionov advised Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, VTB Capital and Citi on the $718m IPO of Nomos Bank. Infrastructure and transport practice head Innokenty Ivanov worked with the team to advise Russian Railways on its Eurobond issue, and a tap issue of £650m, on the Irish Stock Exchange.

‘Very knowledgeable, responsive, and with a lot of expertise in different areas’, Herbert Smith CIS LLP’s capital markets team fields Russian, English and US qualified lawyers. It advised Alfa Bank on two $1bn issues of LSE-listed loan participation notes, and VTB Capital on a $556m follow-on offering of leading Russian food retailer Dixy Group, listed on the RTS and MICEX Stock Exchanges. Practice head Evgeny Zelensky is ‘very easy to contact and quick to come back with any answers a client may need at any time around the clock’.

Latham & Watkins LLP experienced the departure of its former managing partner and highly respected head of the Russian capital markets practice, Mark Banovich, at the end of 2010. Senior associate John David Stewart is now co-leader of the practice, which was reinforced by Mikhail Turetsky, who joined from Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited. In 2011, Stewart advised Nomos Bank and Deutsche Bank on an IPO listed on the LSE.

Following on from Carter Brod and Sven Krogius’ relocation from London to Moscow in 2010, White & Case LLC continues to make significant investments in its capital markets practice locally, adding four new associates to the Moscow office. The team is particularly strong in debt capital markets transactions but is increasingly visible on the equity side, where it acted as underwriters’ counsel to VTB Capital on Armada’s equity offering and subsequent listing on the RTS and MICEX Stock Exchanges.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP recruited Varun Gupta and two associates from Allen & Overy Legal Services in 2011. The team regularly represents Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil in transactions. It also advised MMC Norilsk Nickel regarding the sale of its shareholding in Stillwater Mining Company. Richard Wilkie leads the Moscow office and is also heavily involved in international capital markets transactions.

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited acts on some complex and innovative transactions, and has been particularly active on the debt side where it advised Barclays Capital on its first Russian domestic bond transaction. Vladimir Dragunov, who leads the team in Moscow, and Igor Gorchakov, who leads in St Petersburg, are both recommended.

Hogan Lovells (CIS) has recently been most active advising on significant debt-related transactions for a mix of international and domestic clients. These included advising Credit Bank of Moscow on a $200m issue of loan participation notes, listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Michael Pugh heads this ‘very efficient’ team.

Alrud Law Firm has raised its profile, having recently acted as Russian legal adviser to Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, VTB Capital and Pacific Crest Securities as underwriters on Mail.ru’s IPO in the form of LSE-listed GDRs. Vassily Rudomino heads the team.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP advised Goldman Sachs regarding the amendment of documents relating to senior secured notes in the amounts of $380m and €380m. Simon Morgan advises various Russian and international banks. Other clients include ABH Financial Limited.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s Alan Kartashkin advised RusHydro on its LSE listing, and Polyus Gold on the listing of its ADRs on the LSE.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP’s Yulia Cherkassova has advised lead managers and Russian borrowers on Eurobond offerings; issuers and depositories regarding depository receipts programmes; and international investment banks on Russian corporate and securities law matters in connection with international offerings of Russian shares.

Law Firm Liniya Prava is one of the strongest Russian law firms in the capital markets sphere. It advised Citibank on the first ever Russian placement of EBRD’s commodity-linked bonds. Sberbank is also a client. Dmitry Glazounov ‘has a very practical approach and is sensitive to the client’s needs’, and Roman Belenkov is also recommended.

Norton Rose (Central Europe) LLP has experience of IPOs and listings, and a strong track record acting for issuers on equity and debt fundraising involving overseas holding companies of Russian businesses. Teams in Hong Kong, London, Moscow and Beijing recently advised IRC Limited on its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.