Dealmakers

Russia: Black gold bonanza

Where there’s oil there must be lawyers – and the potential creation of an energy sector beast in Russia has attracted a gaggle of leading legal roughnecks.
A joint London-Moscow team of Skadden lawyers advised the consortium of Alfa-Access-Renova – as well as the Alfa Group individually -- as it flogged its 50 per cent share in the TNK-BP joint venture to Russia’s state-owned oil giant Rosneft for some $28 billion, in a deal the firm maintains is the world’s largest in the last three years. London mergers and acquisition partners Michal Berkner and Scott Simpson were joined by Moscow partners Dmitri Kovalenko and Linda Davies in advising on the matter.
The AmLawDaily reports that energy specialist firm Akin is primarily advising its long-standing client Renova, with Moscow-based tax and corporate partner Ilya Rybalkin and London-based corporate partner Steven Blakeley leading.  
Also, specifically advising US-based conglomerate Access Industries – and in part, Renova -- on the deal was global law firm Weil, with a team led by London partner Marco Compagnoni.
AmLaw Daily also reports that New York big-boys White & Case is advising TNK-BP.
It is understood that the deal will turn Rosneft into the world’s largest publicly-traded oil producer, knocking out some 4 million barrels of black gold a day.
Earlier this week, the Financial Times pointed out that the impending sale did nothing to cool TNK-BP enthusiasm for competing with Rosneft. The newspaper reported on the Anglo-Russians outmanoeuvring their future Russian owners in a bid for the rights to develop the Lodochnoye oilfield in a deal worth more than $151m.

Cameroon: Sundance kid

Leading French and US firms teamed up to advice the Cameroon government on a mining deal struck with Australian company Sundance Resources. Cam Iron, a local subsidiary of Sundance, is bidding for a $4.5 billion project, including construction of a dedicated deep sea port terminal and a major railway infrastructure for the transport of iron ore.
Paris-based Gide Loyrette Nouel and Washington DC-headquartered Patton Boggs advised the government, with partners Christophe Eck form the former and Douglas Boggs, Thomas Reems and Alan Noskow from the latter taking the lead. Sundance instructed New York white shoe law firm Shearman & Sterling partner Christophe Asselineau and Michael Blakiston, a partner with Australia law firm Gilbert & Tobin.
According to a Gide statement, the convention deal sets out the legal, tax and financial conditions under which Cam Iron will develop and operate a mine at Mbalam near the border with Congo.

Africa: In the bank

Only a matter of days after the ink on their formal alliance had dried, London-based magic circle firm and South Africa’s Webber Wentzel joined forces to advise Johannesburg bank Absa on a proposed merger with Barclays’ Africa operations.
The Londoners were led by corporate partner Charlie Jacobs, while the South African firm’s team was headed by mergers and acquisitions partner Sarah Adcock.
The deal sees the Absa Group acquire the entire Barclays Africa portfolio – which covers interests in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia as well as South Africa – for R18.3 billion. Nonetheless, the Absa Group name will disappear as the bank will operate in the future under the Barclays Africa Group banner.

Chile: Shopped ‘til they dropped

A 10-year bond issued by Chilean retailer Cencosud to back a bid for the former Colombian assets French supermarket giant Carrefour raised $1.2 billion, $200m more than anticipated, owing to investor demand, claim the lawyers advising on the deal.
New York-based Millbank acted for Cencosud in the bond offer and the following acquisition, which is valued at $2.6b and will yield more than 90 shipping outlets – including 72 ‘hypermarkets’ -- across Colombia to the Chileans.
Marcelo Mottesi, head of Millbank’s global securities practice, led the firm’s team on the deal.