Today in Russian Business – May 16, 2011

Ailing British bookstore chain Waterstone’s could receive a Russian rescue; according to the Financial Times, tycoon Alexander Mamut has offered $70 million in cash to buy the bookseller from indebted entertainment retailer HMV Group.  Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, India’s second-biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer by revenue, is apparently interested in acquiring medicine brands in Russia, possibly including cough medicine brand Doktor Mom.  VTB will seek shareholder approval for a spate of multibillion-dollar deals with rival lenders Bank of Moscow and TransCreditBank, says the Moscow Times.  Read here to see which sector is doing well out of Russia’s road chaos.  ‘Russian companies increasingly look to invest overseas as insurance against political risk: foreign assets can’t be seized by the government if their owners clash with the Kremlin’: Beyond Brics considers the exodus of Russian businesses from their home turf.