Baker McKenzie advises on the sale of Carlsberg business in Russia

Baker McKenzie has advised Carlsberg, the Danish multinational brewer, on the sale of Baltika, the biggest brewer in Russia, as well as on the separation of the Russian business from the rest of the Carlsberg Group. Partner Paul Amberg of the Madrid office participated in this multi-jurisdictional operation.

The separation of the Russian business from the rest of the Carlsberg Group has been very complicated, including around 150 work streams across business functions and more than DKK 150m investments in brewery equipment and IT infrastructure in markets outside Russia.

The transaction is subject to a comprehensive regulatory approval process in Russia. This includes the filing of applications with the Russian Government Commission to obtain its approvals, which is mandatory under Russian law.

In addition, the transaction is subject to several customary conditions, including regulatory approval and fulfillment of certain conditions in a number of jurisdictions. Consequently, the timing of the final completion of the transaction remains uncertain.

Led by London Partner, Nick Bryans, the Baker McKenzie team included:

• Corporate: Ben Saraci and Matthew Bennett (Senior Associates, London), Silvina Rueda and Debaditya Datta (Associates, London), Meredith Hughes (Trainee), Osama Audi (Partner, Abu Dhabi), Grace Ong (Counsel, Abu Dhabi)

• Intellectual Property: Ash von Schwan (Senior Associate, London), Bryan Poon (Associate, London)

• Commercial: Jalil Karim (Senior Associate, London)

• Finance: Nick O’Grady and Priyanka Usmani (Partners, London), James Kirkpatrick (Senior Associate, London)

• Trade and Competition: Sunny Mann (Partner, London), Paul Amberg (Partner, Madrid), Fiona Carlin (Partner, Brussels), Andrew Rose (Senior Associate, London), Marcela Pirola (Associate, Brussels), Tom Jenkins (Special Counsel, Hong Kong)

• Tax: Alistair Craig (Partner, London), Marina Tokunova (Legal Director, Amsterdam)