Akin Gump and Cleary advise on £14bn VimpelCom acquisition

Akin Gump is advising longstanding client VimpelCom on its acquisition of Weather Investments, creating a company with operations in 20 European, Asian, African and North American countries.

London corporate partner Dan Walsh is leading the Akin Gump team, which also features fellow London corporate partners Fred Heller and Sebastian Rice as well as New York corporate partner Pat Dooley.

Cleary Gottlieb is acting for Weather Investments on the transaction, with Paris-based corporate partners Pierre-Yves Chabert and Gamal Abouali understood to be leading.

Walsh said: “This is a transformational deal for VimpelCom, bringing it to new markets around the world. We’re delighted to advise on one of the most significant telecoms deals of the year.”

The enlarged VimpelCom will become the fifth largest mobile telecoms carrier by number of subscribers when the deal closes next year.