Mergers & Acquisitions in the CIS
During our research we identified 87 leading practitioners: an eight per cent fall from last year’s edition. Due to the global economic downturn, capital lending by banks has been slow and companies are less willing to embark on expensive expansions. Consequently M&A lawyers have seen a drop in demand for their expertise and are looking for work in related areas, such as project financing and joint ventures.
At Ameria Legal Practice Andrew Mkrtchyan and David Sargsyan stand out as leading practitioners in this field. Mkrtchyan is considered a leading lawyer, and Sargsyan is “one of the best in legal practice – clients like working with him,” according to one lawyer we spoke to.
In Azerbaijan at Baker & McKenzie - CIS Limited Aykhan I Asadov features for his excellent advice on aspects of oil, gas, competition and infrastructure, among other areas. One interviewee considers him “the man for M&A at this firm”. In Kazakhstan Azamat Kuatbekov is well experienced in acquisitions and financing in the natural resources sector, as is Curtis B Masters whose practice also includes advising on cross-border M&A and USSR-based investment. Maxim Grekov has extensive experience advising clients on financing.
At MGB Law Offices Ismail Askerov features for his “respected” knowledge and extensive practice. He specialises in a wide variety of M&A related areas, including corporate, energy, real estate, telecommunications and IP law.
Farhad Mirzayev at BM International LLC is recognised for his work in complex transactions and banking work in the public and private arena. He has represented the government of Azerbaijan in connection with restructuring and privatisation of major domestic commercial companies.
Managing partner Nariman Ramazanov from Fina LLP is well known for his foreign trade management, taxation, banking and commercial advice to domestic and overseas entities in Azerbaijan.
Omni Law Firm offers Ismayil Zargarli who is regarded as “one of the best” for complicated M&A work. He is an experienced lawyer having advised domestic companies on joint venture, structuring, corporate governance and acquisition matters.
As the managing partner of Salan’s Baku office, James E Hogan is considered “really very good” in this field. His sole focus is M&A and joint venture transactions in the scope of corporate, commercial and natural resources matters. He has represented and advised a number of natural resources companies both in Azerbaijan and internationally. Similarly, in Kazakhstan managing partner Aigoul Kenjebayeva is known for her M&A work relating to oil and gas companies. She is the former in-house counsel to Oryx in Almaty, and has acted for British Gas and Halliburton on foreign investment issues. In Kiev Oleg Batyuk “knows what he is talking about” according to one interviewee. He is considered a knowledgeable lawyer.
Joel Benjamin at Denton Wilde Sapte Kazakhstan Limited heads the firm’s banking and finance practice. He has substantial experience in mergers, acquisitions, trade and project finance. He acts for both private and public bodies.
Yuri A Bolotov is the managing partner at BMF Group LLP in Almaty. His experience lies in IP rights protection, corporate transactions and competition.
Aequitas is a well known corporate firm which counts ING Bank, JP Morgan Securities and Citibank Kazakhstan as clients. We feature Olga Chentsova, Natalya V Braynina and Tatyana V Suleyeva for their expertise in corporate finance, energy and foreign trade investment, among other areas. They count BNP Paribas among their clients.
In Kazakhstan Rashid Gaissin from Grata Law Firm earns a mention for his natural resources, banking, finance and corporate law practice. As the head of the banking and finance department he has acted for Kazakh and overseas entities in IPOs and M&A matters. In Uzbekistan Zafar Malikov and Ravshan Rakhmanov are considered “excellent” in this field and come highly recommended.
Marat Ibragimov at White & Case Kazakhstan LLP features in the mining, and oil and gas chapters as well as for his broad M&A expertise. He is highly regarded as an “excellent lawyer, highly experienced with a good academic background”. In Russia we feature Igor Ostapets, Eric Michailov, Marc Polonsky and Andrei Dontsov from the same firm. Ostapets heads the Moscow energy and utility practice where his work centres on cross-border transactions between CIS based natural resources companies. Michailov heads the Moscow M&A practice group where enjoys an extensive client list, including Google, Microsoft RUS and Nestlé. Polonsky is held in “high esteem” for his work on IPOs. Dontsov is internationally recognised and is considered a “top” M&A lawyer who specialises in advising telecommunications and automotive businesses.
From Macleod Dixon LLP in Kazakhstan we feature Yerzhan Kumarov and Maxim Telemtayev both of whom feature in our mining chapter. The latter is a “top M&A lawyer” and the former advises on investment for natural resources companies. In Russia Anatoly E Andriash is specialised in oil, gas and telecommunications mergers. He is well recognised as having “formidable expertise” in this area.
Michael E Wilson from Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd is developing the firm into “one of the leading law firms” in the region. He focuses on cross-border transactions, due diligence for foreign entities, takeovers and tender offers.
In Belarus Maksim Salahub at Sorainen is head of the restructuring and insolvency team and of the corporate advisory team and centres his practice on cross-border transactions and privatisations. Kiryl Apanasevich is an established M&A lawyer who also features in a number of our chapters, including banking, construction and real estate, insolvency and restructuring, and management labour and employment, for his “sharp” legal mind.
Dmitry Bokhan at Businessconsult is considered a leading lawyer and is praised for his corporate and international law practice.
Vassili Salei at Borovtsov & Salei is well known for his M&A and construction work for international clients, he is joined by Alexander Botian who is acknowledged in foreign investment and international arbitration matters.
Vlasova Mikhael & Partners sees three partners listed this chapter in Belarus. Svetlana Dashuk features in the management labour and employment chapter as well as for her M&A talents. Tatiana Emelianova is considered “impressive” and according to lawyers we interviewed, she “goes the extra mile” for clients. Konstantin Mikhel received a lot of votes during our research and is internationally well regarded.
Eugene V Lazarenkov at Law Firm Trust is lauded for his client skills and is considered “enjoyable to work with”.
CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati FLLC’s Sergai Makarchuk practises in privatisations, corporate restructuring and competition law, among other areas.
Stepanovski Papakul and Partners enjoys two listings. Alexander Stepanovski and Valery Papakul are seasoned and well known players in this field. Stepanovski is “one of the best” at what he does. His focus is on corporate and internal company issues relating to M&A. Papakul is eminent for her work in strategic alliances, acquisitions and litigations involving companies from the consumer product industry.
Magisters boasts Anna T Rusetskaya, who is recognised as a “great lawyer” and also features in the management labour and employment chapter. She is joined by Dennis V Turovets the managing partner of the Minsk office whose wide-ranging experience firmly places him in guide. In Ukraine Andrew Mac is “very good” and advises private bodies on a managerial level.
The “exceptional” Dmitry Viltovsky at Arzinger & Partners has experience in legislative lobbying developed while working for the Belarusian government and a wider practice in corporate and investment work.
Darya Zhuk at Glimstedt Law Firm is considered “superb”. One interviewee remarked he has received “excellent treatment at Glimstedt and [is] happy with their work”.
In Kyrgyzstan, Niyazbek Aldashev at Lorenz is rated highly among his peers. He practices in competition, secured transactions and tax related M&A transactions for both private corporations and sovereign states.
At Kalikova Associates Satkyn Beketaeva is building a reputation as an “up and coming player”. Gulnara A Kalikova has been described as “one of the best” in Kyrgyzstan for her “excellent” practice.
Mirgul Smanalieva of Partner Law Firm concentrates on international corporate matters involving wire and metallurgy companies.
In Moldova, Victor Burac of Individual Law Office Victor Burac comes highly recommend by some of the top nominees in our research, as does Mihail Buruiana of Buruiana & Partners who specialises in banking, commercial, corporate governance matters.
Turcan & Turcan managing partner Alexander Turcan centres his practice on banking, finance and corporate tax, alongside him is private equity and finance practitioner Octavian Cazac.
Victor A Levintsa of Levintsa & Associates is very active mainly in the area of international business transactions. He advises on various matters such as securing international financing, investment, privatisation, acquisitions, leasing and sale of goods to both Moldovan and potential foreign investors.
In Moscow, Dimitry Afanasiev of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has a lot of experience representing mineral companies and investment groups and advising on investment projects, legal due diligence, acquisitions and IPOs. In the firm’s St Petersburg office Ilya Nikiforov is a leading M&A lawyer with “exceptional” experience and knowledge in commercial litigation and international arbitration matters.
The internationally “recognised” Marc Bartholomy at Clifford Chance CIS Limited has a defined practice advising international and Russian telecommunications and chemical companies on EU competition law, joint ventures, acquisitions and financing matters.
At Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP Oleg Berger is the co-chair of the M&A practice group. He advises Russian and western companies in relation to entry into the industrial and financial markets. He is considered an “expert” in M&A and commercial dispute resolution. Also in Moscow is Jonathan H Hines who has over 20 years of experience in investment transactions advising CIS-based entities. He counts ExxonMobil, Caspian Pipeline Consortium and TNK-BP among his clients.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP features Igor Gerber and Mikhail Irzhevsky in this chapter. Gerber is a “great” lawyer in M&A and joint ventures work as applied to the energy, natural resources and media and technology industries. Dmitry Surikov advises major Russian mining and metals companies on international and cross-border transactions.
Goltsbalt BLP fields managing partner, Andrey A Goltsblat, who specialises in advising and acting for foreign direct investors on infrastructure projects, and head of the M&A practice group Anton Sitnikov, whose client list includes Siemens, Danone and IKEA.
At Debevoise & Plimpton Alan V Kartashkin specialises in finance, M&A and securities particularly in the aviation and infrastructure industry. Dmitri V Nikiforov is the “impressive” chair of the Moscow office.
“Well regarded” Alexey V Kiyashko at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP is known for his work in cross-border M&A, international corporate finance and private equity. He has acted for some of the world’s leading financial institutions such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.
Anton Klyachin at Salomons focuses on complex cross-border transactions, joint ventures and M&A in competition, private equity and capital markets matters. Sources say he “should certainly be on the list”.
At ALRUD Law Firm we list Vassily Rudomino and Alexander Zharskiy. The former features in this chapter for his competition related M&A work. The latter is an “expert” in joint ventures, M&A and financing.
Dennis Uvarov at Linklaters CIS is a specialist in all areas of corporate law. He has advised BP and Gazprom on multi-million dollar acquisitions in recent years.
At Arzinger in Kiev Timur Bondaryev is regarded as “outstanding” and rated highly in both domestic and international M&A, real estate and construction matters and consequently features in both chapters. Maksym Cherkasenko led business restructuring and privatisation deals and has advised on insolvency, strategic management and corporate governance.
At Asters Oleksiy Didkovskiy is considered “first-rate”. He specialises in telecommunications, insurance and pharmaceuticals M&A. As the head of the banking, finance and securities practice Armen Khachaturyan has developed a strong practice in these areas as they relate to M&A. He has advised extensively on cross-border and regulatory issues relating to foreign and domestic companies. He is considered “very active, and very good”.
At Vasil Kisil & Partners Denis Y Lysenko specialises in banking, finance, competition and investments, among other areas. He has worked extensively in cross-border transactions for Ukrainian and international companies. He is joined by Oleksiy V Filatov who specialises in litigation, competition and IP-related matters. He also features in the commercial litigation chapter.
Jaroslawa Z Johnson at Chadbourne & Parke LLP is a “big name” according to one interviewee. She is the managing partner of the Kiev office and brings over 17 years experience to her M&A, banking and project finance practice.
Michael Kharenko at Sayenko Kharenko specialises in complex cross-border mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, privatisation and joint ventures. He has extensive experience providing advice in the finance, telecommunications, food and energy sectors. Vladimir Sayenko is “extremely active” and is well regarded for his experience and knowledge.
At Konnov & Sozanovsky, Sergei Konnov couples a corporate practice with an interest in IP. He counsels his clients on strategic planning, mergers, acquisitions and foreign investments.
Oleh Malskyy at Astapov Lawyers, International Law Group is head of the M&A, corporate, international trade and antitrust practice. He is well known and highly praised for his “impressive” knowledge, a reflection of his time at a number of leading firms in the UK and the US. He represents both private and public bodies.
At CMS Cameron McKenna in Ukraine Olexander Martinenko focuses his practice on M&A and competition matters. He has acted for a range of European telecommunications and consumer goods companies in restructurings and M&A.
KM Partners boasts Alexander Minin. He specialises in complex M&A work and related tax issues. He is known for his client-focused service.
In Uzbekistan Ilkhom Azizov at Azizov & Partners provides “really very good services” in this area. His interest is in advising foreign entities in strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions of domestic companies.