Akin Gump Advises MMC Norilsk Nickel on Share Exchange
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(Moscow, Russia) – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is the legal advisor to MMC Norilsk Nickel - one of the largest global mining companies and the world’s largest producer of nickel - in the swap of MMC Norilsk Nickel’s stake in OAO OGK-3 for a stake in OAO INTER RAO UES.
MMC Norilsk Nickel, owner of a considerable stake in OAO OGK-3, a company consolidating six state district power plants in the Russian Federation with total capacity of 8,400 megawatts, disposed of its stake in OAO OGK-3 as a result of a OAO INTER RAO UES/OAO OGK-3 share swap deal between OAO MMC Norilsk Nickel and ZAO INTER RAO Capital (of which OAO INTER RAO UES is the parent company).
Upon completion of the deal, MMC Norilsk Nickel will become one of the largest private shareholders in Russian energy giant OAO INTER RAO UES. This deal is considered to be one of the largest and most significant in the Russian energy sector.
Akin Gump Moscow partners Vladimir Kouznetsov (corporate) and Ilya Rybalkin (tax) led the team advising Norilsk Nickel. The Akin Gump team also included Moscow corporate counsel Anthony Walker, corporate senior adviser Vadim Kukushkin, and corporate associates Pavel Kabatov and Nato Tskhakaya along with London corporate partner Greg Hammond and tax associate John McLean.
“We are delighted that, in 2011, MMC Norilsk Nickel trusted our firm to represent it in two large strategic deals relating to its Russian energy and foreign mining assets. We hope to continue to build a successful and long-standing relationship with our client,” commented Rybalkin.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 800 lawyers in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The firm’s London and Moscow offices are home to teams of highly experienced English, U.S. and Russian-qualified lawyers who have been active in major transactions and litigation proceedings across the region for more than 15 years.
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