Christopher is a senior associate in our Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Christopher spent three years working in the London office before joining the Moscow office in October 2009. Christopher has substantial experience advising on mergers and acquisitions, general corporate advisory and ECM. Prior to joining White & Case, Christopher spent more than three years with a leading Australian law firm in their corporate/M&A practice.

Representative transactions include:

Real Estate Sector

• Advising VTB Capital on the acquisition of a 47% stake in the White Square business center and 40% stake in the White Gardens real estate project in Moscow from Coalco;
• Advising Capital Partners, a foreign investment fund, on the sale of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Moscow;
• Advising Capital Partners, on the sale of commercial office property Metropolis Building 2 to Heitman, a real estate investment management firm;
• Advising Capital Group on the sale of three Metromarket shopping malls for US$102 mln to OOO “Invest RMB”, an investment fund of Russian International Bank; and
• Advising Capital Group on the sale of the Capital Plaza Complex (an office building located in Moscow) for US$186 mln to VTB Capital.

IT/Telecommunication sector

• Advising Myriad International Holdings (MIH), a subsidiary of Naspers Limited, a South Africa based media company listed on the JSE, on the acquisition of a 28.7% stake in DST, one of the largest internet companies in Russia;
• Advising owners of Synterra, a company with Russia-wide data transmission and fixed telephony infrastructure, on its sale to MegaFon, a top Russian cellular telephone services provider, for US$745 mln; and
• Advising Starcomms Plc, a leading provider of telecommunications services in Nigeria, in connection with its US$500 mln private placement (June 2008).

Other Sectors

• Advising Bombardier Inc. (TSX listed manufacturer of planes and trains) on its acquisition of 50% (- 1 share) in the signalling equipment manufacturer OJSC ELTEZA (United Electrical Engineering Plant), a subsidiary of Russian Railways (RZD) (2010 and 2011). This transaction was the first time RZD has sold shares in a subsidiary to a foreign investor; and
• Advising Mitie Group plc, a UK FTSE 250 business and a leading provider of facilities, property and asset management services in the UK, on its acquisition of Dalkia Technical Facilities Management for £130m and placing of approximately 6 per cent of issued share capital (August 2009).

Bars and Courts
Supreme Court of Victoria, 2005
England and Wales, 2009

Education
Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment in the Financial Services Institute of Australia, Sydney, TBD
Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Deakin University, 2002
Bachelor of Arts (Psych), Deakin University, 2002

Languages
English

Citizenship
Australia