Herbert Smith Freehills advised Onexim Holdings Limited (“Onexim”) on the disposal of its 37.78% stake in the London listed gold mining company Polyus Gold International Limited (“Polyus Gold”) to two purchasers for an aggregate value of approximately US$3.62 billion.
Onexim is one of Russia’s largest private investment funds and is associated with Mr Mikhail Prokhorov (No. 58 in Forbes’ The World’s Billionaires list). Polyus Gold is the largest gold producer in Russia and one of the top 10 gold mining companies in the world in terms of output. Mikhail Prokhorov and later Onexim had been involved in the development of Polyus Gold and its predecessor companies over a period of several years and Polyus Gold had been one of the major assets of Onexim Group.
Onexim announced on 22 February 2013 that it had sold all of its interest in Polyus Gold to two purchasers associated with Mr Zelimkhan Mutsoev and Mr Gavril Yushvaev.
Herbert Smith Freehills advised Onexim throughout the process including its negotiations with the purchasers, its discussions with the Takeover Panel and the arrangements for settlement of the transactions.
The team was led by Moscow Managing Partner and Head of Russian Corporate Practice Alexei Roudiak in Moscow and partner Mark Bardell in London on Takeover Code matters and liaison with the Takeover Panel.
Onexim will be utilising the proceeds of the sale for current and future investment projects. Herbert Smith Freehills is advising Onexim in connection with some of those projects.
