Olga Watson advises major clients on cross-border transactions including M&A, private equity, joint ventures, and debt and equity finance transactions. For more than ten years, she has represented leading companies in sectors including metals and mining, TMT, manufacturing and agriculture. According to Chambers Global (2012), “Olga Watson is valued for her ability to blend English law skills with a grasp of Russian legislation. According to sources, she is ‘exceptionally good at translating the complex into the simple.’”
Significant Representations
- Dufry AG on its acquisition of 51% of the share capital of Regstaer Group, a Russian airport retail operator
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and OAO Rusnano on their proposed €185 million joint equity investment in a Russian subsidiary of NSG Pilkington to finance a new production line that will manufacture energy-saving glass for the Russian market
- PepsiCo Inc. on various matters including its:
- $3.8 billion acquisition of 66% of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC, a leader in both traditional and value-added dairy products in Russia, with a solid position in juice
- $1.4 billion joint acquisition of 75.5% control over Russia’s leading branded juice company, JSC Lebedyansky
- Kinross Gold Corporation on various matters including its:
- sale of its 50% interest in the Crixás (Serra Grande) gold mine in Brazil to an affiliate of AngloGold Ashanti for gross cash proceeds of $220 million
- approximately $350 million acquisition of a 25% stake in Chukotka Mining and Geological Company (CMGC), the 100% owner of the Kupol gold and silver mine in the Chukotka Autonomous Region of the Far East Region of the Russian Federation
- acquisition of the high-grade Dvoinoye deposit and the Vodorazdelnaya property in the Chukotka region of the Russian Far East for a total purchase price of $368 million, comprising $165 million in cash and approximately 10.56 million newly issued Kinross shares
- Daimler AG on its $250 million acquisition of a 10% stake in Russian truck manufacturer KAMAZ, which involved a comprehensive due diligence of approximately 150 companies in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.
- The Boeing Company on matters including its:
- $60 million joint venture with Open Joint Stock Company "Corporation VSMPO-Avisma," the world's largest titanium producer
- acquisition of the C-MAP group of companies, a leading producer of digital maritime cartography, data services, and other navigational information
- Holcim Auslandbeteiligungs GmbH and some of its Russian subsidiaries on a number of acquisitions and disposals of cement producers in Russia and Ukraine, as well as reorganization of the Russian assets
- VimpelCom on its €341.9 million acquisition from Hellenic Telecommunications Organization of 90% of CJSC Armenia Telephone Company (Armentel)
Education
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Law Degree, 1999, With highest honors
BPP Law School, Graduate Diploma in Law, 2009
BPP Law School, LPC, 2011
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
Russian Federation
England and Wales
Memberships
Moscow City Bar Chamber
Languages
Russian
English
Publications and Lectures
- "Legal Update on the Strategic Sectors Law and Key Issues when Investing in LLCs," EBRD Seminar (London, February 1, 2011)
- "Russian Anti-Bribery Laws," Guarding Against Corruption Offences in Domestic and International Business, Russian Federation (Moscow, February 2010)
- "The Legal Framework in Russia from the Perspective of Acquisition Finance: Practical Considerations," Russia Alternative Investment Forum (London, February 2009)