
Our Completed Projects
LINEBROOK
Establishment and management of a Cyprus-based full service advisory and industrial holding company for a large Russian industrial group
Clients: Andrey Melnichenko and Sergei Popov (“UBOs”)
Assets: TMK (33%)- pipes; SUEK (100%) - coal and energy; EuroChem (100%) - fertilizers
Team: Alexandre Kotcherguine and Alexey Katulevskiy supported by 4 senior executives and 15+ staff specialised in different areas
Investment portfolio: Over US$12bln in industrial assets under management
Purpose: Establish international institutional-quality direct investment portfolio management infrastructure and prepare the industrial companies for future value realisation events
Duration: 30 months
Period: 2004-2007
Principal project objectives:
- Secure ownership rights and create shareholder value through asset restructuring
- Develop and implement institutional ownership and control practices
- Ensure manageability and transparency of business through implementing efficient top-down corporate governance system
- Retain top international talent for corporate governance bodies of the investees
- Build an international team of professionals capable of providing efficient direct investment portfolio management and quality deal execution
- Facilitate value realisation events and investees access to international capital markets
Key project tasks performed:
Carried out a due diligence of the pre-existing ownership structure, development strategy, governance, control and management procedures, financial position, reputation and transparency of the investees
Developed a five year development strategy for the investees
Carried out legal restructuring transforming a collection of assets encompassing several hundred legal entities into an established lean and transparent group of companies
Set up Linebrook Ltd - a full-service advisory and industrial holding company with a highly qualified professional team
Established Linebrook Ltd as a true institutional investor actively involved in managing the investment portfolio
Provided project management and carried out quality execution of substantial debt and equity transactions, in particular:
- Multi-billion-dollar dividend and capital distributions to the group's shareholders
- Refinancing and repayment of over $1.6 bln of related and third-party loans
- Capital transactions including $700+mln recapitalisations, $450+mln debt-to-equity conversions and $150+mln share premium distributions
- Repo financing and subsequent sale of a large minority stake in RAO UES for $400mln
- Negotiation and repayment of a $250mln loan facility with Dresdner Bank
- Preparation for TMK’s IPO in 2006 - 20.6% of shares placed at LSE and RTS (the books were covered 19x) resulting in over $1bln in new equity proceeds
- Sale of 33% in TMK for $1.3bln to the majority shareholder, including legal structuring, negotiation and closure of the deal
- Negotiations of a JV between SUEK and Gazprom (aborted)
- Development of EuroChem’s business strategy and governance system and preparing the company to tap international capital markets
Upon completion of the key tasks in 2007 reduced the size and scope of Linebrook and limited its services to transaction execution and support functions
Participated in the preparation for the separation of assets between the UBOs in 2007
Project results:
The success of Linebrook project allowed TMK, SUEK and EuroChem to develop into multi-billion dollar companies, Russian and global leaders in their respective industries with established access to international debt and equity capital markets:
- SUEK - Eurobond issue $175mln (2006); $400mln syndicated loan (2006)
- EuroChem – Eurobond issues $150mln (2005) and $300mln (2006); syndicated loans $350mln (2006) and $1.5bn (2008)
- TMK – Eurobond issues $600mln (2008) and $412mln (2009); syndicated loans $155mln (2006) and US$1.2mln (2008)
The investee companies adopted a new system of shareholder communication allowing the UBOs to obtain timely and accurate information on all key aspects of the investees’ operations.
The industrial companies gained efficient Boards of Directors consisting of top-quality professionals with established reputation in domestic and international markets that led to the improvement of the quality and efficiency of their management.
The new corporate governance system allowed the UBOs to step aside from hands-on management of the investee companies while preserving necessary control over assets