Igor Ostapets on the return of foreign markets to Russia. M&A Forum 2025

The forum featured more than 35 speakers who discussed the current state of the market, key regulatory trends, risks, modern M&A tools, as well as issues at the intersection of law, business and technology.

The Forum’s agenda included discussions on the role of generative AI in transactions, the specifics of establishing joint ventures, asset ownership structuring, and mechanisms for resolving corporate deadlocks.

Igor Ostapets, Partner and Head of Corporate at Asari Legal, spoke at a session dedicated to the new regulatory reality in M&A transactions. In his remarks, Igor shared his perspective on the potential return of foreign direct investment and analysed how factors such as sanctions, countermeasures, regulatory and enforcement risks, asset valuations, competition levels, protection of domestic producers, and the emerging case-by-case approach to returning investors may shape the investment attractiveness of the Russian market in the near term.