Dewey, Links lead on Irish listing of Russian bank

The $1bn (£660m) Irish listing is the first part of a $30bn loan participation notes (LPN) agreement, with a second rouble-denominated listing to match the dollar offering believed to be ready to launch.

Corporate partner Louise Roman Bernstein led the Dewey team acting for VEB with client relationship partner Brian Zimbler.

Linklaters advised the four banks acting as co-arrangers on the listing, with capital markets ­partners Cecil Quillen in London and Andrew Burge in Moscow leading. The bank group features Barclays Capital, Citigroup, HSBC and Société Générale.

The deal marks a return to international capital ­markets work in Russia for Dewey after many of the firm’s clients were involved in lengthy litigations following the 1998 financial crisis in the country.

“For Dewey, it gets us back on the stage in Russia,” confirmed Bernstein. “We missed the first wave of deals in the mid-2000s. Now we’ve made a name
for ourselves again with this deal.

“Russian issuers are ­looking to tap into the ­international capital ­markets and raise their ­profiles. There’s good ­liquidity out there.”

In Ireland Arthur Cox acted on corporate matters for the orphan special ­purpose vehicle established by VEB as issuer. Capital markets ­partner Glenn Butt led for the Irish firm, which also acted as the listing sponsor.