The Herbert Smith Freehills Moscow office has won the first ever Central and Eastern Europe ("CEE") Legal Matters Deal of the Year award in Russia.

The prestigious award was presented at the Deal of the Year awards banquet in Prague, on June 7, in the presence of over 100 of the most reputable lawyers in the CEE area. 

Herbert Smith Freehills lawyers were rewarded for their work on a restructuring, led by VTB Bank, of an up to US$680 million equivalent, dual-currency, secured loan facility for PJSC "Commercial Port of Vladivostok", a subsidiary of Russia's largest intermodal transport operator, FESCO.

Finalists for the Deal of the Year award were selected by a panel of highly-respected private practitioners from each relevant market. The ultimate winners were then determined by a second group of prominent legal experts from across the Central and Eastern Europe region, who evaluated the submitted deals, each of which had been signed in the 2017 calendar year, based on deal complexity, market (and regional) significance, and innovation.

"To a real extent, the ability to make these important deals happen demands a unique combination of skill, passion, training, and commitment that the best lawyers in the region bring to their work every day" said CEE Legal Matters Executive Editor David Stuckey, who co-hosted the event with CEELM Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea.

More information about the awards and a complete list of winners can be found on the CEE Legal Matters website, here.