Orient-Express Chain to Invest US$125 Million in St. Petersburg Hotel
MOSCOW — LAWFUEL.com – February 18, 2005 — The international law firm of Chadbourne & Parke recently represented the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in connection with a financing of the acquisition by Orient Express Hotels of a 93.5% stake in St. Petersburg’s historical Grand Hotel Europe.
The deal marks the largest single property acquisition in Russia and was the first ever acquisition financing by IFC in Russia. Orient-Express is investing a total of US$125 million in the five-star hotel, which first opened in 1875 and is Russia’s oldest operating hotel.
Terms of the financing were not disclosed.
Heading up Chadbourne’s work on the deal was Laura Brank, Managing Partner of the Firm’s Moscow office. Other Chadbourne attorneys handling the deal included Partner Denis Petkovic in London and associates Konstantin Konstantinov, Dmitry Gubarev and Sheri Reizner in Moscow, and associate Sasha Ferrigan in London.
“The deal was unique because there has been very little acquisition financing done in Russia to date which created unique issues for the lender in establishing its security,” said Brank. Given the improving legal system, we are likely to see more such financings in the future.”
About Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, corporate finance, energy, telecommunications, commercial and products liability litigation, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, white collar defense, intellectual property, antitrust, tax, reinsurance and insurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, employment law, trusts and estates and government contract matters. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston, Moscow, Kyiv, Warsaw (through a Polish partnership), Tashkent, Beijing and a multinational partnership, Chadbourne & Parke, in London. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com
