To get the team

What he specialises in

Ilya specialises in corporate and contract law. For over 25 years, he has been advising Russian and international clients on how to invest in Russian businesses, on how business is done in Russia, and specifically on M&A transactions. This has covered the subtleties of commercial and contractual law, various cross-border projects and antimonopoly regulation (relating to the acquisition of assets, the restructuring of businesses and the integrated structuring of contractual relationships in Russia).

His main achievements

• performed due diligence and structured transactions to acquire assets and/or set up joint ventures in Russia (including managing transactions being implemented in various CIS states);
• represented a private equity fund with a long track record in Russia during transactions to invest in private companies in Russia, including support in transactions for the fund's portfolio companies to acquire new companies and assets;
• provided legal support during the integration and launching of enterprises on the Russian market after transactions had been completed and also provided support when there were changes to the structure of membership interests in relation to holding assets;
• represented clients in various deals to sell companies or assets, to buy out shares, including the buying out of shares by a company’s management between 2022 and 2024 and also with respect to the restructuring of companies’ operations further to such transactions after the changes in the ownership structure;
• represented the clients when they entered into, implemented or terminated various integrated cross-border transactions for the sale and purchase of goods, the maintenance of sophisticated industrial equipment and the performance of commissioning work;
• represented major companies in such industries as car manufacturing, telecommunications, the media and information technologies; drafted and implemented specific contracts or contractual models for them to tackle ongoing commercial issues or to launch new projects in Russia. This included work in connection with expanding or restructuring a business, and with introducing new distribution models or new products in Russia;
• assessed legal risks and devised recommendations on how such risks could be mitigated for a company’s owners and/or management when they were planning investment projects; represented clients in resolving corporate disputes.

What they say

“Large corporate practice now raising its reputation in the area of M&A transactions”. (Chambers Europe)

Lawyers of the corporate practice “provide pragmatic recommendations based on their knowledge of the local specifics”. (Chambers Europe)

The clients invariably describe the performance of the lawyers they interacted with as ‘excellent’ and ‘impeccable’. (IFLR1000)

“Detailed analysis and client-oriented.” (Chambers Europe)

IFLR 1000 experts have commended Ilya Bolotnov as a “consummate professional offering services at a reasonable cost and good insights into how M&A is done in Russia.” (IFLR)