CMS Russia has advised global travel retailer Dufry on its agreement, made through its Russian joint venture, to acquire a 60% stake in RegStaer-M LLC, a Russian duty-free and duty-paid operator, from RegStaer Group. O2 Consulting advised the sellers on the deal.
Dufry is a global travel retailer operating over 2,300 duty-free and duty-paid shops in airports, cruise lines, seaports, railway stations, and downtown tourist areas. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, the company operates in 64 countries in all six continents. According to CMS, this “landmark transaction for the sector in Russia and the rest of the CIS” will allow the company to increase its presence at the airports of the Moscow air hub, as it is already present at Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo.
Founded in 1998, RegStaer Group is headquartered in Moscow. The company owns and operates duty-free shops at the Sheremetyevo airport, Vnukovo airport, as well as at Rostov-on-Don and Mineralnye Vody airports. RegStaer also owns and operates four Stefano Ricci boutiques in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The CMS team was led by Partners Vladimir Zenin and Hayk Safaryan, supported by Counsel Gregor Kennedy and Associates Mikhail Panferov, Elizaveta Rakova, and Nikolai Molostov.
The O2 team was led by Managing Partner Olga Sorokina and Partner Karen Shakhnazarov and included Partner Inna Perelekhova and Associates Yury Ustinov, Anna Chykhanatskikh, Georgiy Murzakaev, and Ksenia Kedrovskaya.