Ashurst and Egorov scoop £7.6bn Rusal deal

Aluminium giant Rusal has turned to the familiar pairing of Ashurst and Russian firm Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAP) to guide it through its first major M&A deal since its 2006 tripartite merger with Sual and Glencore.

Rusal has bought a 25 per cent stake in Norlisk, the world’s largest nickel producer. It bought the stake from Onexim, which was advised by US firm Hogan & Hartson.

Financial details of the deal have not been released, although it is understood that a similar stake was first offered by Onexim to Russian entrepreneur Vladmir Potanin for $15.2bn (£7.6bn) last week.

In return for the 25 per cent stake, Onexim will receive an 11 per cent holding in Rusal.

Corporate partner Andrew Edge led the team at Ashurst with chairman Dimitry Afanasiev at EPAP. Both partners led on Rusal’s £15.04bn merger last year, while Afanasiev joined Rusal's board immediately after the merger was complete. Linklaters advised Sual and Glencore.

At Hogan, London-based corporate partners Peter Kohl and Todd Schafer led for Onexim, which is owned by Mikhail Prokhorov.

Hogan also advised Onexim on its $4.8bn (£2.4bn) bid for LionOre Mining earlier this year.