Evgeniya Rakhmanina

Evgeniya is Counsel in the Linklaters Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group. Evgeniya has over 15 years of experience in advising clients across the globe on the broadest range of antitrust, merger control, foreign investment and related issues. Evgeniya’s past corporate/M&A and commercial advisory roles further enhances her regulatory and transactional expertise.

Evgeniya has significant experience advising corporates, private equity houses and financial sponsors in a variety of industries, with a particular recent focus on the sectors of energy, green energy and natural resources, healthcare, industrials and transport, utilities and infrastructure.

Evgeniya regularly advises on market-leading and high-profile transactions, as well as clients’ day-to-day business operations. Her expertise includes advising on industry-specific antitrust, compliance and related issues, including anticompetitive agreements, unfair competition, state procurement and consumer regulations. Evgeniya has successfully represented clients before antitrust authorities in antitrust cases, as well as dawn raids and investigations.

Evgeniya also remains Head of the Linklaters Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group for Russia & CIS, with extensive experience in navigating the evolving Russian regulatory framework and Russian countersanctions, having advised numerous multinationals on their exits from Russia post-February 2022.

Work highlights 

• Linde/Praxair merger: advising Linde AG on its US$90bn merger-of-equals with Praxair, Inc., combining two of the leading industrial gas companies to create the largest industrial gas group in the world.
• Takeda/Shire acquisition: advising Takeda on its GBP 46bn recommended acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Shire plc.
• Delisting of KAZ Minerals: advising on the recommended cash offer by a consortium of its two largest shareholders, followed by KAZ Minerals delisting from LSE and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, valuing the company at approximately £4.1bn.
• Sale of Uniper SE: advising E.ON SE on the spin-off of Uniper SE and the subsequent sale of its stake in Uniper SE to Fortum Corporation.
• Novartis/GSK asset swap: advising Novartis on its inter-conditional asset swap with GSK, involving the acquisition of GSK’s oncology business, the sale of Novartis’ vaccines business (except influenza) and the creation of a joint venture in consumer health products.
• German automobile manufacturers’ exit from Russia: advising German automobile manufacturers on their exits from Russia, Russian regulatory clearances and countersanctions restrictions, intra-group restructurings in advance of the exits, transfer of remaining businesses to buyers, including in a competing bid process.
• Various Glencore projects: advising Glencore on various transactions and matters, including the sale of a stake in its agricultural business to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (bcIMC).
• Various Unilever projects: advising on the unification of Unilever's dual headed structure through a cross-border merger between Unilever PLC and Unilever NV; advising on the sale of its global tea business (known as ekaterra) to CVC Capital Partners for €4.5 bn.

Evgeniya joined Linklaters in 2012.

In her role as Head of the Linklaters Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group for Russia & CIS, Evgeniya regularly participated in legislative initiatives and writing commentaries to Russian laws in the areas of her expertise, and Evgeniya remains a member of the Competition Experts Association.

Evgeniya is an instrumental member of the firm’s Innovation and Efficiency team. She is actively engaged in the testing and integration of various technological and AI-based tools aimed at maximising speed, efficiency and capabilities of the legal team, carefully balancing technological advancement and responsible application, to bring tangible benefit and value to our clients while championing the firm’s early commitment to actively embrace technological developments in the legal world.

Evgeniya has also been involved in graduate recruitment and mentoring trainees and junior associates, helping the firm achieve its strategic aims of attracting and retaining exceptional talent and celebrating and embedding diversity.

Evgeniya studied law at the Moscow State University of Foreign Affairs (MGIMO).

She speaks Russian, English and conversational German.