Baker & McKenzie has advised the shareholders of JSC Novatek, Russia’s largest independent gas producer, on the sale of a 12% stake to Total SA as part of a strategic partnership.

Moscow partner Sergei Voitishkin who led the Baker team on the deal said: “The transaction documents were negotiated within a very short timeframe and both parties were impressively constructive in resolving complex matters and structuring their relationship.”

The Baker & McKenzie team also included London partners Hugh Stewart, who played the leading role in advising on English law aspects, and Ian Jack and partner Andrei Afanasiev in Moscow, as well as associates Sergey Krokhalev, Olga Komleva and Ekaterina Sorokina in Moscow and Mark O’Connor and David S. Scott in London.

JSC Novatek is Russia’s largest independent gas producer and the second-largest natural gas producer in Russia. Founded in 1994, the company is engaged in the exploration, production, processing and marketing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, which is the world’s largest natural gas producing area. JSC Novatek’s shares are listed on the Russian Trading System, MICEX Stock Exchange, and the London Stock Exchange and on the NASDAQ PORTAL System.