Kristina Akalovich

Kristina Akalovich

Senior Associate
Kristina Akalovich
Biography
Recent work
Publications and Insights
Rankings and awards

Kristina is a Senior Associate in the Corporate / M&A practice at ALRUD Law Firm.

She supports projects in the corporate sphere, specializes in mergers and acquisitions, creation of joint ventures and restructuring, project financing, and direct investments both under the Russian law and in cross-border transactions. Kristina has experience in structuring and supporting M&A transactions in various sectors of the economy, including energy and natural resources, telecommunications, media and technology, retail and real estate, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Kristina graduated with honors from the Faculty of Law of the National Research University – Higher School of Economics (NRU-HSE).

Kristina is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA).

Includes advising and representing:

Qiwi Plc.

on the sale of Russian assets to management for RUB 23.75 bn.

Аsna

a leader in the pharmacy retail market in Russia, to raise over RUB 1bn in equity investments from a major Russian bank.

Mechel Group

on the RUB 89bn sale of its 51% participatory interest in the companies which operate the Elga coalfield project, estimated reserves are approx. 2,2bn tons: Elgaugol, Elga Doroga and Mechel Trans Vostok.

TJX Companies

the leading off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the U.S. and worldwide, on the US$225m acquisition of a 25% stake in Familia, Russian low-cost clothing retailer.

A shareholder of NIKE

in a merger deal with NIKE retail chain (Inventive Retail Group).

Komatsu Ltd.

on the acquisition of a majority stake in BOT Leasing Eurasia, a company providing leasing services with respect to machinery and equipment.

Elbrus Capital

on the sale of the leading electronic trading platform in Russia for purchases and sales in the business-to-business (b2b) segment, in favor of a group of companies that owns a federal electronic platform for State, corporate and commercial procurements.

A French manufacturer of construction materials

on the acquisition of a 100% stake in two Russian companies operating in the production of roofing ware and soundproofing products.

Ctrip

a large Chinese airline selling company, on the acquisition of minority stakes in Avia Center Group companies located in Russia and England, in order to establish long-term cooperation with Avia Center in the field of introducing modern technologies into the market for the sale of air tickets and related services in Russia and the CIS.

Sojitz Corporation

on the acquisition of shares and several joint ventures in Russia, related to automotive industry.

China Gold

on the acquisition of its majority stake in gold mines in Russia.

Russian private investors

on the sale of 100% of the company's shares in the largest independent data center in Russia, to a subsidiary of one of the funds associated with Goldman Sachs Group.

Russian private investors

on the sale of electronic platform Fl.ru, the largest Russian-language platform for searching and hiring freelancers. The price was based on revenue and traffic, in favor of Severgroup, a private investment company.

ALRUD team supported Qiwi Plc. on the sale of its Russian assets to management for RUB 23.75 bn
Qiwi Plc. sold its Russian assets to a Hong Kong based Fusion Factor Fintech Limited owned by Andrey Protopopov, former Qiwi CEO. The 23.75 bn RUB transaction was approved by the Russian regulators and the Qiwi Plc. board of directors. ALRUD team provided Qiwi Plc. with legal support of the transaction, including drafting binding documents and advising on particular regulatory and counter-sanction issues. The ALRUD team was headed by Corporate and M&A Practice Partner Sergey Khanaev and comprised Senior Associate Kristina Akalovich, Senior Associate Natalia Raschevskaya, Senior Associate Roman Vedernikov, Associate Olesya Klesheva, and Associate Eva-Maria Shakhmaeva.
31 January 2024
ALRUD Team successfully advises VEON on the exit from the Russian Market via sale of VimpelCom (Beeline brand) to Russian top management
VEON is a major telecommunications operator in the CIS and several Asian countries that provides communications to more than 150 million users every day. VimpelCom (Beeline brand) was previously part of VEON Group. The ALRUD team advised VEON on comprehensive legal support throughout all the stages of the transaction: on the initial stages of the transaction, the ALRUD team advised VEON on general issues related to the structuring of the transaction and advised on the auction sale process with several potential buyers; ALRUD lawyers subsequently supported VEON with negotiating transaction documents with the Russian top management of VimpelCom led by Alexander Torbakhov. This included complex issues associated with structuring the redemption of VEON Eurobonds taking into account Russian and international regulatory restrictions and a disruption in communication between the National Settlement Depository and Euroclear/Clearstream; on the final stages of the transaction, ALRUD represented VEON in negotiating commercial terms of the brand’s division and the operating activities of VEON Group and VimpelCom, as well as in complex issues involving the finalization of the transaction (including interaction with the registrar and broker). Supporting such a major and multi-faceted transaction would not have been possible without the full-service concept of ALRUD law firm. We not only provide comprehensive, high-quality legal assistance, but also integrate our services into our clients’ strategic goals. The ALRUD team that worked on the project under the guidance of Corporate and M&A Practice Partner Sergey Khanaev and Head of the Corporate and M&A Practice Alexander Zharskiy included a cross-functional team from the Corporate, Competition/Antitrust, Commercial/IP and Tax practices: Partner German Zakharov, Senior Associate Anna Grosheva, Senior Associate Ksenia Erokhina, Senior Associate Daniil Lozovsky, Senior Associate Sergey Artemiev, Senior Associate Kristina Akalovich, Associate Eva-Maria Shakhmaeva, Associate Yulia Malchenkova and Associate Olga Yuz.
12 October 2023
ALRUD Corporate practice experts prepared materials for the ABA publication in “The Year In Review”
Anton Dzhuplin, Partner within ALRUD Corporate / M&A practice, Co-Head of Crisis Management, Economic sanctions and Compliance practice, edited the “International M&A and Joint Ventures” part of the ABA annual publication “The Year In Review”. Kristina Akalovich, ALRUD Associate, and Natella Koriashvili, ALRUD Attorney, under Anton Dzhuplin’s guidance prepared an article on important trends of 2021 in the sphere of international mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures in Russia. Authors from Russia worked on preparation of materials for “International M&A and Joint Ventures” in cooperation with authors from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Italy, Poland, Spain and Great Britain. “The Year In Review” – is an annual survey of the law from around the world. An average, thirty to forty Committees of the ABA International Law Section contribute to the publication and capture the germane legal developments, key pieces of legislation, and landmark decisions that help to shape the legal tapestry of their respective countries. Full publication is available through the link.
09 August 2022
Best Lawyers 2022 recommends Kristina Akalovich for Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law.
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