Sistema Acquires 25 Percent Stake in Etalon for $226.6 Million

Cleary Gottlieb represented Sistema PJSFC (Sistema) in the $226.6 million acquisition of a 25 percent stake in Etalon Group PLC(Etalon) from Viacheslav Zarenkov, Etalon’s founder and largest shareholder, and his family members.

The transaction was signed and closed on February 19, 2019.

Etalon is one of the largest and oldest residential property developers in the Russian market, occupying a leading position in St. Petersburg and increasing its presence in the Moscow region. As of June 30, 2018, its portfolio comprised 39 projects, primarily in the highly profitable comfort and business-class segments, with total unsold net sellable area exceeding 2.73 million square meters. Etalon’s global depositary receipts are listed under the ETLN ticker on the London Stock Exchange.

Sistema is a large private Russian conglomerate, which investment portfolio comprises stakes in predominantly Russian companies representing various sectors of economy, including telecommunications, retail, timber processing, agriculture, high technology, banking, real estate, healthcare services, and hospitality. Sistema’s global depositary receipts are listed under the SSA ticker on the London Stock Exchange.