DLA Piper has advised Sberbank Investments, an investment arm of Russia’s largest bank, on the RUB2 billion secured mezzanine financing for Avtoban, one of the largest road construction companies in Russia, to finance, construct and operate Startup Facilities No 3 and No 4 of the Central Ring Road (CRR) in the Moscow Region, one of the major infrastructure projects in the country.

CRR is a significant infrastructure project of federal importance, which consists of five startup facilities, which enable each of them to be put into operation as an independent investment project. The construction of Startup Facilities No 3 and No 4 is implemented under a concession agreement concluded by the state-owned Avtodor. Construction is carried out by special purpose entities that are part of the Avtoban Group. The Eurasian Development Bank and the Russian Direct Investment Fund are also involved in the project.

With four traffic lanes and the rated speed of 140 kmph (87 mph), the highway is directly adjacent to the China–Western Europe transport corridor – combining the Russian Routes M11 (Neva Highway) and M7 (Volga Highway) – and goes to the border with Kazakhstan. The implementation of the project might become one of the essential factors for the economic development of the Moscow Region and Russia as a whole, as the highway will significantly speed up movement of people and goods in the region and beyond.

DLA Piper advised Sberbank Investments on the transaction structuring and provided legal support on the deal, which envisaged the establishment of a joint structure between Sberbank Investment and Avtoban to finance the Avtoban Group. The firm’s Moscow-based team was led by Corporate partner Leo Batalov, supported by Finance and Projects legal director Ivan Sezin and associates Anna Litovchenko and Daria Vasilieva, as well as Corporate senior associate Georgy Vinogradov and associate Roman Abu Salekh.