Withdrawing from, acquiring and restructuring Russian assets
Our team has significant hands-on experience advising Russian and foreign clients in all industries about the most sensitive issues caused by the recent changes in the Russian business landscape and sanctions.
We have gained unique expertise in assisting clients with urgently withdrawing from Russian assets, restructuring ownership in Russian assets or transferring them to management or third-party investors. This gives us a bird's-eye view of the whole situation and allows us to offer the most effective and suitable solution for each case.
As a full-service independent law firm with a strong Best Friends network, which includes top-tier law firms all over the world, we are uniquely positioned to assist our clients in handling the most complex multi-jurisdictional situations.
Our services
Our team advises various clients on the sale or purchase of Russian businesses in compliance with existing sanctions and counter-sanctions. Having strong international exposure and contacts at independent law firms across the world, our team is capable of advising clients and considering the purposes of transactions both in terms of international and Russian sanctions, while mitigating any associated risks.
With a strong project portfolio, our team is able to guide our clients in these complex market conditions and provide the leading market advice on various legal matters.
Selling a business to local management (management buy-out) is one of the most common solutions that foreign businesses employ to reduce their presence in Russia.
Our capabilities include analysis of possible sale and purchase scenarios, including with a buy-back option and retaining a certain degree of control over the business, conducting due diligence, negotiating and preparing all the necessary legal documentation under Russian or foreign law, obtaining regulatory approval and structuring the financing of a buy-out.
We also provide consultations on the risk of management’s personal liability and ways to effectively mitigate such risks.
Apart from negotiating and drafting legal documentation to establish separate or independent fiduciary management, we offer assistance as a legal counsel that deals with day-to-day inquiries by management to ensure compliance with the appropriate regime and minimize risk exposure.
The Russian authorities’ heightened attention to any signs of foreign businesses planning to leave the market triggers significant challenges associated with such decisions, especially for local management.
We are best positioned to ensure a detailed study and careful implementation of a multi-stage strategy that entails the lowest possible risks in a variety of aspects, starting from settlements with commercial counterparties and the tax authorities to dealing with the employers and resolving such issues as data protection and regulatory compliance.
We also closely monitor legislative initiatives about the withdrawal of foreign businesses and assess their impact on any possible strategies and tactical solutions.