Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Beijing Gas Group on the successful completion of its first major investment in the Russian energy market through agreements with Russian state-owned company Rosneft. The transaction has been completed alongside other work for the company - in May this year, a team led by Beijing partner Zhong Wang and Hong Kong partner William Ku assisted Beijing Gas Group on a successful US$500 million five-year bond issue, the proceeds of which have been used to fund the acquisition.
In November 2016, Beijing Gas Group entered into an agreement on cooperation in the energy sector and signed a suite of transaction agreements for the acquisition of 20% of Verkhnechonskneftegaz from Rosneft. Verkhnechonskneftegaz is exploring and developing the Verkhnechonskoe oil and gas condensate field, one of the largest in Eastern Siberia. The transactions were signed in November 2016 during a meeting between the presidents of Russia and China in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Herbert Smith Freehills provided full legal assistance to Beijing Gas Group for this milestone deal, including the coordination of intense and virtually non-stop negotiations which took place both in Moscow and Beijing, and all aspects of completion work.
The firm's team was led by Beijing partner Monica Sun, supported by partners Danila Logofet in Hong Kong, Oleg Konnov in Moscow, Zhong Wang in Beijing and William Ku in Hong Kong, as well as of counsel Justin Vaughan and Evgeny Yuriev in Moscow.
"This cooperation agreement with one of the Russian oil majors is a significant step forward for Beijing Gas," said Monica Sun. "Our team provided the very best quality advice under extremely challenging and short timeframes and I would like to thank them all for their diligent work and invaluable input."
"The tireless work between our Russian and Chinese offices on this deal demonstrated the excellent connections across our network, allowing us to provide our client with the best advice," said Oleg Konnov.
The partners were assisted by Hao Su as lead associate, associate Elvira Vanieva, trainees Daria Senilova and Yulia Turkina, and paralegal Qiujie Tan. Senior associate Isaac Chen and associate Marcus Wong assisted on the bond offering.
The firm's Asia competition team, led by partner Mark Jephcott, also provided support on competition aspects of the agreements. Sanctions advice was provided by London partner Susannah Cogman, New York of counsel Jonathan Cross and Moscow senior associate Sergei Eremin.
