Valentina Semenikhina

As a member of Morgan Lewis’s top-ranked technology, outsourcing, and commercial transactions group, Valentina regularly advises clients on unique transactions and unprecedented projects in the tech sphere.

A native Russian speaker who is also fluent in English and German, Valentina has written and co-written a number of publications on corporate law issues, competition law, and environmental law. Before joining Morgan Lewis, Valentina worked as an associate in the corporate practice of another international law firm.

• Advised one of the largest Russian financial groups in connection with investments by Middle East sovereign funds into the concessionaire of the public-private partnership project for the construction of a toll road in St. Petersburg and related debt financing arrangements
• Advised Kismet Group in relation to consolidation of its telecom tower business with one of Russia’s largest telecommunication companies, MegaFon, including advice on JV arrangements
• Advised a private company on acquisition of business of a crypto exchange trading terminal and related intellectual property
• Advised Yandex, one of Europe’s largest internet companies and a leading tech company in Russia, on the following:
  
  • Acquisition by the ride-hailing and food-delivery JV with Uber of the call centers and cargo business of Vezet Group
  • Complex and novel corporate governance restructuring, announced in November 2019 and implemented in 2020, involving the creation of a new public interest foundation (PIF) to be formed under newly introduced Russian legislation
  • Ride-sharing JV with Uber in Russia and neighboring countries, with a combined valuation of $3.8 billion
  • Ecommerce JV with Sberbank of Russia, with a combined valuation of $1 billion
• Advised an investment vehicle of a Russian state corporation on its joint investment platform with a subsidiary of a leading Indian financial institution focused on infrastructure investments
• Advised Russia-China Investment Fund on its investment into the pharmaceutical holding created by a prominent Russian industrial group and a major Russian state-owned bank
• Advised a private investment fund related to one of Russia's biggest airlines in its acquisition of a minority stake in a German pharma company developing cutting-edge drugs
• Advised Media One in its acquisition of Gallery Group, the second-largest outdoor advertising operator in Russia, from Baring Vostok
• Advised a Russian telecom major in its acquisition of a majority stake in a virtual mobile operator and related technology agreements
• Advised a Russian sovereign investment vehicle on the acquisition of a significant interest in the largest children's goods retailer in Russia from a major Russian financial group
• Advised CTC Media, a leading Russian television broadcaster, in its company sale, following the adoption of the amended Mass Media Law in Russia
• Advised a Russian state-controlled company on investments in international developers and manufacturers of microchips, with some parts of business to be acquired in a tender bid process; the project involved coordination of work by local counsel in four jurisdictions, advice on JV structuring, and negotiations with local partners