Cleary Gottlieb represented the Central Bank of Russia (the “CBR”) as a seller in connection with the sale of a portion of its stake in Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest securities exchange group and one of the top 10 derivatives exchanges globally. The CBR sold 267,274,238 ordinary shares in Moscow Exchange, or approximately 11.7% of its share capital, for the total consideration of approximately US$ 470,000,000. As announced by the CBR, this sale is the first in a series of transactions pursuant to the statutory requirement for the CBR (which assumed the functions of the securities market regulator in 2013) to dispose of its stake in Moscow Exchange before January 1, 2016. The sale was structured as a Rule 144A/Regulation S private placement through accelerated book-building. The deal was signed and the settlement in local shares started on July 2, 2014; the settlement is to be completed by July 23, 2014.