White & Case Advises on First Ever Russian Real Estate Listing on London Stock Exchange

London, Moscow,  July 22, 2010 ... Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised a leading real estate company on its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange.

AFI Development plc, a company focused on property development in Russia and the CIS, on 5 July 2010 listed over 520 million B ordinary shares, giving the company a market capitalisation of more than £550 million. AFI Development will also continue to trade its global depository receipts on the London Stock Exchange.

"This was a groundbreaking listing," said London corporate partner Greg Stonefield. "As well as being the first-ever Russian real estate company to achieve a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange AFI Development is also the first company with a GDR listing on the London Stock Exchange to 'step-up' to a premium listing. Furthermore, a unique structure was devised to facilitate the premium listing."

AFI Development, a publicly traded subsidiary of Africa Israel Investments Ltd, develops commercial and residential projects in Russia; leasing its commercial holdings, which include hotels, offices and shopping centres, and selling on its residential projects post-development. The company holds under management 29 projects in 15 locations.

The White & Case team was led by London partners Greg Stonefield and Joshua Kiernan, with Moscow partner Steffen Kauffman. They were assisted by Gordon Charlton; Shlomi Azar; Imogen Collingwood; Elizabeth Palmer and trainee Philip Baldwin (all London) and Mukhamed Evloev, Elizaveta Ivanova, Anton Kudachkin, Dmitry Lapshin, Daria Plotnikova and Natalia Yakimova (all Moscow).

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