Russia Coming to America

One of Ambramovich’s more legitimate enterprises, Evraz Group SA, purchased Oregon Steel Mills for $2.3B, making it the biggest acquisition of a US company by a Russian one. I predict and hope this is the start of a trend. Why is this great news? Two reasons:
First, if Russians own American companies then the US can do the same shit to them that Russia does to its foreign investors. That is, coming up with phony violations and injunctions until the foreigners succumb to any and all demands. Not that any US party has the balls to actually do that outright, but it’s nice to know the possibility is there, and if American interests are oppressed far enough who knows what can happen. Anything that can possibly put a check on Putin’s despotic regime is a good thing.
Second, in order to buy out a public company or (better yet) take majority stake in a public company the buyer has to bare a certain amount of information. There is nothing better then thus subjecting Russian companies into exposing themselves, even if they’re only showing a leg. If this trend picks up the bra and the thong will come off soon enough. It’s a lot harder to trick/bribe the SEC (and US auditors in the wake of Sarbox) than the Russian government, so some Russian entities may actually have to clean themselves up to look presentable and legal. This would likely involve shaving some of the dirtier activities have heretofore been hidden from the public eye.
So even if I didn’t see these transactions as great opportunities for cross-border special situations arbitrage I welcome them, and hope they increase exponentially.