In the spring of 2024, a high-profile M&A event was completed: one of Georgia’s largest banks, Bank of Georgia Group, acquired Ameriabank, Armenia’s leading bank. The transaction involved major international players: investment bank J.P. Morgan Securities plc acted as financial adviser, while legal support was provided by international law firm Baker McKenzie. The entire process took less than two months. During that time, the parties managed to reach consensus and successfully close the transaction in the amount of $303.6 million.
Usually, processes like this stretch out for a year or more. The reasons for such delays are bureaucratic obstacles, including restrictions and conditions imposed by the national banks of the countries involved, as well as disagreements over the valuation of the asset. In this case, the record speed was achieved благодаря предпродажной подготовке: the parties assessed regulatory risks in advance and carried out a full audit of the asset. The advisers managed to reconcile all disputed issues and prepare the documents even before the official announcement. Situations like this are becoming a clear example of how the requirements of the consulting market are tightening today. The role of M&A specialists is becoming much tougher—they now act not simply as technical executors, but as key figures in carrying deals through. The timing and commercial success of billion-dollar integrations depend on their qualifications.
The Battle for Expertise
Georgia’s market is compact. According to the annual report of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Protection Agency (GCCA), in 2023 the agency approved 9 major company merger transactions, having first checked more than 40,000 registered business entities through its databases. The highest number of concentrations was observed in the sectors of retail trade, construction, fuel, medicine, heavy metallurgy, and agribusiness.
Traditionally, the Georgian offices of the Big Four—PwC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG—as well as leading local law firms such as BGI Legal, MG Law, BLC, Mgaloblishvili Kipiani Dzidziguri participate in major Georgian M&A transactions, as they know all the intricacies of the requirements of the National Bank of Georgia.
Georgian M&A Leaders
One of them is Lasha Gogiberidze. The founding partner of BGI Advisory Services Georgia and senior partner of BGI Legal, over the past two decades he has taken part in practically all of Georgia’s landmark transactions, the total volume of whose portfolio exceeds $20 billion.
Another expert, Viktor Kipiani, is the senior partner at Mgaloblishvili Kipiani Dzidziguri. According to several ranking agencies, Viktor Kipiani is among Georgia’s leading lawyers in the fields of commercial law, corporate law, and M&A.
This same circle of advisers also includes Archil Giorgadze, managing partner of Andersen in Georgia. The firm he built achieved such strong market positions that it attracted the attention of the international giant Andersen Global, with which they are now cooperating.
This list of top advisers also includes Kakha Sharabidze, managing partner and co-founder of Business Legal Bureau, and Alexander Bolkvadze, senior partner of BLC Law Office.
The Main Players in the CIS Market
Kazakh firm AEQUITAS is a leader in Central Asia. Olga Chentsova, Chair of the Council of Partners, and Elena Manaenko, Managing Partner and Head of the Mergers and Acquisitions Practice, have handled international transactions totaling more than $15 billion. Among them are cooperation with Polymetal International Plc, advising a group of companies within the ALMEX holding structure, and planning restructuring and preparation for sale to Sinopec. Their lawyers also advised on Shell’s acquisition of BG Group, whose market value ultimately amounted to $70 billion.
For many years, ranking publications Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 have recognized AEQUITAS as the best law firm, including in the field of corporate law and M&A.
Many key mergers and acquisitions deals were completed with the participation of corporate law specialist Ekaterina Kapustina, who is of Armenian descent and serves as CEO of a legal company. Under her leadership, legal support was provided for such projects as the sale of the largest online classifieds platform Avito for $2.4 billion and the buyout of the major telecommunications company VimpelCom for $1.294 billion. She also advised on the transaction between development company Sezar Group, through its subsidiary Sezar Invest, and international corporation Mondi Plc, one of the global leaders in packaging materials and paper production, on the acquisition of one of Eastern Europe’s largest pulp-and-paper mills, Mondi Syktyvkar, for around $827 million. The results of her management activity were recognized with an award in the category “Best CEO of a Legal Company” at the National Business Award.
A leader in Uzbekistan’s legal market is Eldor Mannopov, managing partner of the Tashkent office of international law firm Dentons. He leads the country’s largest investment and M&A projects in energy, infrastructure, and the corporate sector. He oversaw the landmark sale of a 57.118% stake in Coca-Cola Bottlers Uzbekistan LLC to strategic investor Coca-Cola İçecek A.Ş. The amount of the transaction was $252.28 million. The deal became one of the first signs—and the main symbol—of the government’s large-scale plan to accelerate privatization in the country. Mannopov is included in authoritative international rankings in the categories of general business law and corporate transactions in the region.
The New Role of the M&A Adviser
A professional M&A adviser—whether an investment banker or an M&A lawyer—joins a project as an expert in transaction structuring and as a personal adviser to shareholders. Usually, this status belongs to partners and CEOs of leading legal and consulting firms. Such a specialist creates complex settlement structures, finds ways to minimize sanctions risks, and takes on negotiations with state regulators. His task is to ensure the safe transfer of billion-dollar assets to a new owner with minimal legal and financial losses.
The main trend in this profession today is a focus on cybersecurity and IT, the introduction of AI tools into the workflow, portfolio diversification, and geopolitical risk management. The modern market demands cross-functional specialists who can simultaneously navigate all legal nuances, new technologies, and global politics. The introduction of these competencies directly explains why the fees of leading M&A advisers are rising so rapidly today.
