Eric heads our Moscow office's corporate/ M&A practice and is the co-head of our corporate/M&A practice in Central and Eastern Europe. With White & Case in Moscow and New York since 1992, Eric has worked on many of the major M&A deals in Russia. He regularly advises investment and private equity funds and Fortune 500 companies in their operations in the Russian Federation.

Eric was the first foreign lawyer to be offered membership to the Guild of Russian Advocates.

Eric is ranked among the top corporate lawyers in Russia by Chambers Global, IFLR 1000, and PLC Which Lawyer?. He is also listed as a top real estate lawyer by Chambers Europe and PLC Which Lawyer?. Chambers Global 2011 describes Eric as a "thorough and flexible lawyer who … impresses with his work for major financial institutions".

His recent experience includes:

• Advising Meridian Capital and Unimilk on a US $ 1.2 billion joint venture between Unimilk, one of Russia's largest dairy companies, with the Russian arm of French foods giant Danone. This deal was named "M&A Deal of the Year" at IFLR's 2011 European Awards;
• Advising Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia, on its US $ 6 billion joint bid, together with Magna International, of a 55% interest in Adam Opel GmbH and its subsidiaries in a number of European countries including Russia, from General Motors;
• Advising American International Group, Inc. on the sale of 100% of its life insurance division in Russia to MetLife;
• Advising Russian energy group EN+ on the sale of the Afipsky Oil Refinery; and
• Advising Nestlé on the acquisition of the Ruzskaya Confectionery Factory in Russia, which produces chocolates under the Ruzanna and Comilfo brands.

IT/Telecommunication sector:

• Advising Myriad International Holdings (MIH), a subsidiary of Naspers Limited, a South Africa based media company, on the acquisition of a 28.7% stake in DST, one of the largest Internet companies in Russia;
• Advising MIH on the acquisition of an interest in the Russian Internet portal Port.ru;
• Advising Google on the acquisition of Begun, a leading Russian context advertising service, from Rambler Media;
• Advising Soros Fund Management as the lead investor in connection with the US $1.875 billion acquisition of a 25% interest in Svyazinvest;
• Advising TeliaSonera in the merger and reorganization of Sonic Duo and North-West GSM to create MegaFon, the first nationwide GSM mobile phone operator in Russia; and
• Advising a large multinational company on the regulation of telecommunication services, Internet activities and media industries in Russia.

Real Estate sector:

• Advising VTB Capital on the acquisition of 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 acquisition and subsequent sale of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow;
• Advising AFI Development PLC, a subsidiary of Africa Israel Investments, on its US $1.4 billion initial public offering on the LSE;
• Advising Meridian Capital on legal issues in connection with its real estate acquisitions in Russia;
• Advising Capital Partners on a €380 million loan from Eurohypo for the development of the Metropolis mixed-use real estate project in Moscow;
• Advising City Developments Limited, an international property and hotel conglomerate, on its maiden investment in Russia, a significant joint venture with the Amtel group;
• Advising Credit Suisse on the sale of a 49-year building lease for 4,000 sq m of office space in the center of Moscow to a large Russian developer – one of the first transactions of its kind in Moscow;
• Advising ENKA, a major Turkish construction and real estate development company, on a number of significant corporate and real estate matters; and
• Advising Kvartstroy, a large Russian real estate developer, on its private placement to IMG Group.

Retail sector:

• Advising a major Russian bank on the acquisition of the Mosmart retail chain;
• Advising Migros Turk T.A.S., a major Turkish conglomerate and part of the Koc Group, on the sale of its 50% interest in the Ramstore, Russia's biggest supermarket chain; and
• Advising a foreign strategic investor on the acquisition of a majority interest in a large Russian retail chain.

Bank M&A sector:

• Advising Nordea Bank on the US $395 million sale of its holding in International Moscow Bank to Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank AG, a member of the Uncredit Group;
• Advising Nordea Bank on its US $313.7 million acquisition of a 75% stake in Orgresbank; and
• Advising IKANO Finance Management AB on establishing its consumer lending business in Russia.

Bars and Courts
High Court of Australia, 1992
Law Society of England and Wales, 1997
New York State Bar, 1999
Guild of Russian Advocates (honorary member), 2000

Education
LLB, University of Adelaide, with honors, 1990
BEc, University of Adelaide, 1989

Professional Associations and Memberships
American Bar Association
New York State Bar Association
Law Society of England and Wales

Languages
English
Russian

Citizenship
Australia