Capital markets – equity
Capital markets – debt
Linklaters
Linklaters is a seriously respected firm in capital markets, with both clients and competitors in the market effusive about its capabilities. Market opinion seems to dictate that the title of best capital markets firm is solely between Linklaters and Cleary, in terms of quality and output....
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Linklaters is a seriously respected firm in capital markets, with both clients and competitors in the market effusive about its capabilities. Market opinion seems to dictate that the title of best capital markets firm is solely between Linklaters and Cleary, in terms of quality and output.
"Links are strong here; they have a stranglehold on this market. They turn out a good product with great efficiency," concedes one rival partner, while another adds: "Linklaters do work with major banks and their international global clients. They also act on most things on the side of the underwriter, and they do an extremely good job of this."
Dmitry Dobtakin is active in the practice on the ground in Moscow alongside debt specialist Andrew Burge, who was singled out by one client for particular praise: "For me, Andrew is a fantastic example of an English lawyer going over there and giving comparable expertise which you would get from London partners."
The overall strength in depth is also something clients point to: "They have a very strong team there. For example, in other firms you will get a varying quality of senior associates, but Linklaters have an outstanding team overall."
Mr Dobatkin took the lead on a big debt deal for the firm, advising the joint Lead Managers and joint Bookrunners Barclays, Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) and VTB Capital on a dual issue of bonds by the Russian government's Ministry of Finance. This came in two tranches, the first holding a coupon of 3.625% and due 2015, worth $2 billion, and the second holding figures of 5% interest, a maturity date of 2020 and a value of $3.5 billion.
Another good deal on the debt side made use of the firm's offices in London and Hong Kong as well as Moscow. Andrew Burge led on this, advising HSBC and VTB Capital with regard to the issue of 2.95% Loan Participation Notes, due 2013, to the offshore Remnimbi market in Hong Kong. It is the first time a Russian issuer has done an issue there and it represents a value of Rmb1 billion, or €108 million.
Another thing that keeps Linklaters in the top tier is their list of clients, which is studded with prestigious names including ABN AMRO/RBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS.
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Leading lawyers
Andrew Burge
Dmitry Dobatkin
Linklaters
Linklaters is a firm very much at the forefront of the market, grudgingly admired by peers and feted by its clients in almost every area. In terms of market opinion, if they were pushed to select a market leader, Linklaters would appear to be definitely amongst the favourites....
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Linklaters is a firm very much at the forefront of the market, grudgingly admired by peers and feted by its clients in almost every area. In terms of market opinion, if they were pushed to select a market leader, Linklaters would appear to be definitely amongst the favourites.
"In general they give us good advice and offer solutions. They bring your attention to important details, as well as being very quick and very professional," enthuses one client, while another adds: "Very good at explaining any solutions to problems and coming up with very clear suggestions without using legal jargon. We always get good clear responses."
Clients, always looking for a deal, are keen on the fees Linklaters offer: "When we pay Linklaters, we save money! It's very reasonable." Another is far more succinct in his opinion: "Linklaters is the best."
Rival partners are keen on the firm's team too, especially their fully prepared, no fuss approach: "Linklaters are incredibly good. They make their point, not aggressively though, and they back it up. So, you end up walking out and thinking 'yeah, that's good'," concedes a competitor, while another adds: "Links are doing far more big deals and can handle more of those types of deals too."
Practice head Michael Bott is by no means hands-off, getting involved on all the major deals done by the firm over the past 12 months. He led a team that advised a group of banks, namely, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, HSBC, ING, Natixis, RBS, Société Générale and UniCredit in regard to the prevision of a pre-export facility for Mechel, a leading Russian mining and metallurgy company. Entailing an award-winningly complex borrowing and security structure, the deal closed out for a value of $2 billion.
In another highlight deal Bott also advised BNP Paribas, alongside Citi and Credit Agricole on a deal with an astronomical flavour. The banks were providing financing for Gazprom to be used to buy space satellites from Thales, a French satellite manufacturer. Representing the first space satellite financing in Russia, the deal was guaranteed in part by the French government's Export Credit Agency COFACE, and finalised for a value of €467 million.
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Leading lawyers
Michael Bott
Linklaters
Described by rivals as "really good," possessing a "solid team" and, more concisely, "the best," Linklaters is a tier one powerhouse with a deal flow over the past 12 months that demonstrates its illustrious standing in the market.The only negative comment from a competitor concerned the perhaps slightly consolidative nature of the firm's corporate practice: "Linklaters tends to have its core clients that it services, they don't go for a lot of new deals," though it doesn't seem to have made a dent in the size of deals the team has completed recently....
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Described by rivals as "really good," possessing a "solid team" and, more concisely, "the best," Linklaters is a tier one powerhouse with a deal flow over the past 12 months that demonstrates its illustrious standing in the market.
The only negative comment from a competitor concerned the perhaps slightly consolidative nature of the firm's corporate practice: "Linklaters tends to have its core clients that it services, they don't go for a lot of new deals," though it doesn't seem to have made a dent in the size of deals the team has completed recently.
One of the largest deals for the team came in the oil sector, advising BP on a strategic share swap. The terms of this deal saw BP swap 5% of itself for 9.8% of Rosneft, in respect of a mooted Arctic survey of the South Kara Sea, a highly prospective section of the Arctic Ocean that has remained undeveloped. The deal is notable for two reasons, first for its size, settling for a value of $7.8 billion, and secondly because it represents the first major equity-linked partnership agreed between an international and national oil company. Partners Stephen Griffin and Grigory Gadzhiev led on this transaction, which completed in early 2011.
Another big deal was led on by department head John Goodwin and leading lawyer Denis Uvarov, who advised PepsiCo as it established itself as the largest food and beverage business in Russia by acquiring a two-thirds stake in Wimm-Bill-Dann, a leading Russian company in the dairy sector. Worth $3.8 billion, the deal completed late 2010, with an expected tender offer for the remaining shares completed in May 2011.
The firm didn't desert its solid domestic practice in this area this year though, as Denis Uvarov again led a team, this time advising Sberbank, in relation to an acquisition of Troika Dialog Group, an active independent investment bank. This ties in with the overall strategy to drive Moscow toward being a major global financial centre, by streamlining the biggest bank and the country's leading investment bank into one package. The deal represents a value of $1 billion, with an earn-out amount to come in 2013.
Client feedback is also consistent in its satisfaction with Linklaters' team, as one comments: "They are excellent in dealing with very complex matters within various jurisdictions. They are very creative and practical in different areas too."
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Leading lawyers
Denis Uvarov
Linklaters
The last 12 months for the projects team at Linklaters began with the return of finance specialist Matthew Keats, who took up the head of department role left by Daniel Tryer, who still continues to be involved here and there from the London office. Keats though has overseen a busy year flush with sizeable deals and it is this big ticket work and high visibility that keeps the firm in the top tier again....
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The last 12 months for the projects team at Linklaters began with the return of finance specialist Matthew Keats, who took up the head of department role left by Daniel Tryer, who still continues to be involved here and there from the London office. Keats though has overseen a busy year flush with sizeable deals and it is this big ticket work and high visibility that keeps the firm in the top tier again.
"We see Linklaters a lot, all the time in fact," comments a rival partner.
Like many teams in Russia, Linklaters has found itself active on a number of energy related mandates. One big deal entailed Keats advising Gazprom Export on the ongoing Nord Stream Project. This was primarily rendering advice as regards the offshore and onshore long term gas transit arrangements for the project. A highly politicised deal, involving the upper echelons of the governments of Germany as well as Russia, the total value is approximately $12 billion and work is still live on the project.
Another fine deal that is representative of the team's work is a team, including Daniel Tryer, advising Total E&P Activités Petrolières on a pair of issues, including its 20% involvement with the large Yamal LNG (liquefied natural gas) project and participation in the Shtokman gas field and LNG project within Russia. The deal is highly complex due to the integration of both gas and LNG concerns and is currently still live. The project is expected to represent a value of $20-30 billion when it completes.
One smaller, though notable, deal was Linklaters advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sberbank, COFACE, ONDD, BNP Paribas, HSBC and ING as the lenders in connection with the €750 million financing of a new integrated petrochemical plant in Ksovo, Russia called RusVinyl. The deal is noteworthy due to its unique nature, being the first multi-sourced project financing in Russia since Sakhalin II Phase 2 and the first fully Russian greenfield project in the energy sector.
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Leading lawyers
Matthew Keats
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