Cleary and Dewey lead on $4.2bn Russian deal

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Dewey & LeBoeuf have taken lead roles on the biggest deal to close in Moscow so far this year - a $4.2bn (£2.9bn) Gazprom purchase.

The deal saw Cleary advising Gazprom on its purchase of a 20% stake in its oil unit Gazprom Neft (formerly Sibneft) from Italian utility Eni. Moscow corporate finance partner Russell Pollack led the team for Cleary.

Eni turned to Dewey, which fielded a team led by corporate partners Dan Coppel in London and Jon Hines in Moscow.

An Eni affiliate had bought the stake in Gazprom Neft - Russia's fifth-largest oil producer - in the 2007 Russian bankruptcy auction of the assets of Yukos.

It is understood that Eni will sell further assets to Gazprom, with Freshfields thought to be advising Eni on the talks. In addition, Italian energy company Enel is also expected to sell back some energy stakes to Gazprom, with Cleary advising Gazprom and Salans acting for Enel.

Enel last month turned to Latham & Watkins for advice on the €8bn (£7.2bn) financing of its acquisition of Acciona's 25% stake in Spanish utility company Endesa. Allen & Overy (A&O) advised the banks.

One partner with knowledge of the Russian energy market said: "The Eni transaction is a very important deal for Eni, as analysts were concerned they were not going to be able to sell this asset. It is also at an amount significantly above stock market price because it is part of a wider deal."

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