Karen
Shakhnazarov

experience/skills

Karen joined the O2 Consulting team in 2016.

Prior to that, Karen worked in the New York and Moscow offices of leading international law firms (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler; Salans; Dewey & LeBoeuf) and held a number of executive positions with private equity funds in the USA and Russia.

He has been member of the New York State Bar Association since 2002.

Over his 20 years of practice, Mr Shakhnazarov has implemented over 100 M&A/Private Equity/VC transactions, including a number of landmark projects in energy; oil & gas; pharmaceuticals; telecommunications; artificial intelligence, blockchain and other high tech; recreation and entertainment; retail; fast food chains, food and beverages and other industries.

Individual
recognition

Over the years, Karen Shakhnazarov has been personally recognized as an expert by Russian and international individual rankings.

Best Lawyers — in the nomination "Leveraged Buyouts".

The Legal 500, Russia — in the nomination "TMT".

Recommended Lawyers "Pravo-300", nominations:

• "Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions",
• "Sanctions Law",
• "TMT",
• "Digital Economy".

In 2023, in the category "Partners and Practice Leaders", nominations: "PPP/Infrastructure Projects", "Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions (High Market)".

Kommersant Legal Market Leaders, nominations:

• "Commercial Law",
• "Corporate Law / Mergers and Acquisitions",
• "Sanctions Law".

education

Karen obtained his Master of Law (LLM) degree from Columbia University (New York, USA), graduated with distinction from the Law Department of Moscow State University and is a specialist in US and English law. He also holds a diploma in philology from Moscow State Linguistic University.

languages

english

russian

french

spanish

selected projects

• Advising a leading telecom company in three acquisitions of telecom targets and in sales of its shares to two strategic investors

• Representing a major investment company in its sales of Russian and Belorussian breweries to two major global brewing companies

• Representing a majority shareholder of the Sbarro Russia fast food chain in his sale of chain shares owing to a restructuring of the network’s debt to Alfa Bank and Alfa Bank’s investment arm becoming a new strategic investor of the Sbarro Russia group

• Representing the founders of the CryptoPay international payment platform in their salege of CryptoPay group companies shares to a strategic investor

• Advising founders of various blockchain and cryptocurrency projects on regulation matters, comprehensive legal support to prepare a number of projects for ICOs

• Restructuring by RusGazEngineering Group (RGE, a leading Russian oil and gas infrastructure developer), of its debts to Sberbank of Russia and the related sale by RGE of a stake in its capital to Sberbank CIB gfk

• Representing iTech Capital II fund in its acquisition of interest in the capital of the Amulex National Legal Service, a Russian company providing round-the-clock, subscription-based legal support and remote legal services

• Developing and implementing for a VC fund affiliated with a leading Russian bank an optimal corporate and tax structuree for its joint investments with several private investors in new high tech projects, using various investment and financial instruments

• Advising a Forbes-100 r Russian businessman and investornr with respect to several exits from his joint projects with a former business partner

• Advising a leading Italian energy and gas company on a transaction for purchasing Russian oil & gas assets (worth a total of USD 5.8 bln)

• Representing several Russian investors in their acquisition of gan amusement park in the USA

• Representing First Quantum in its purchase of gports facilities and container terminals in Russia and Ukraine from the National Container Company