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Herbst Kinsky has advised Matomy Media Group on the acquisition of Mobfox Mobile Advertising, Europe’s leading mobile programmatic advertising platform. Freumuller/Obereder/Pilz law firm avised Mobfox. The total purchase price amounts to USD 17.6 million. 

Matomy was established in 2007 and is a leading global performance marketing company. With 9 branches and more than 400 employees worldwide, Matomy Media Group serves 60 billion impressions per month for 500 of the world’s leading advertisers.

Mobfox was founded in 2010 in Vienna, Austria by entrepreneur Julian Zehetmayr, and it has become one of the industry’s largest mobile advertising platforms with offices worldwide.

Phillip Dubsky led Herbst Kinsky team on the transaction, with Alina Regal and Alexander Weber assisting.

Gide announced the election of a new partner in its affiliated firm in Turkey, whose name was updated to Ozdirekcan Dundar Senocak Avukatlik Ortakligi.

   

Arpat Senocak (gide.com)

The new Partner, Arpat Senocak, specializes in M&A transactions and in investments structuring. Senocak has been advising Turkish and international investors for more than 10 years in various business areas with a specific focus on regulated sectors such as financial services and energy. 

Senocak has been with the firm for little over 10 years. He gained significant experience in handling multi-jurisdictional transactions during his 9-month secondment at Gide’s Paris M&A department in 2011, where he advised on numerous cross-border transactions. Prior to joining Gide in August 2004 he worked for DeReynier Law Firm. Admitted to the Neuchatel (Switzerland) Bar in 2003 and to the Istanbul (Turkey) Bar in 2008, he is a graduate of the Neuchatel University Law School and holds an equivalency degree from the Istanbul University Law School. Senocak is a board member with the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey.

Gide Senior Partner Baudouin de Moucheron stated: “I am particularly pleased to announce the election of Arpat Senocak as a partner of our affiliated firm in Turkey, having personally contributed to the establishment of Gide in Istanbul more than seventeen years ago. This election is a testament to our strategic vision and contributes to further strengthening our areas of key expertise, particularly in mergers & acquisitions / corporate law, in a region that enjoys a strong growth potential.”

The name change of the associated firm of Gide in Turkey was also needed in light of Haluk Bilgic’s (former named partner) departure for Chadbourne & Parke (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on September 15, 2014).

Lawin has advised on issues of Lithuanian law on the pre-transaction process of Lithuania’s recent borrowing of EUR 1 billion in the international capital markets for a 12-year period with a coupon of 2.125% (originally reported on by CEE Legal Matters on October 27, 2014).

It also advised on the distribution of the Eurobonds of the Republic of Lithuania to the organizers of the issue and distributors HSBC, JP Morgan, and Societe Generale. The issue was made according to the medium-term note program of the Republic of Lithuania, which was renewed prior to distribution.

This EUR 1 billion Eurobond issue was made at 97.957% of its face value to yield 2.322%. The Eurobond issue — at the lowest coupon in the country’s history — will mature in 2026. 

Tomasz Ozdzinski has been appointed the new head of the Tax Department of Garrigues in Poland.

   

Tomasz Ozdzinski

Ozdzinski, who joined the firm on September 23, 2014, was previously the Partner responsible for the Warsaw tax practice of TPA Horwath, and the Director in charge of the Real Estate Team in the Tax and Legal Department of PwC. He is a graduate of the Law and Administration Faculty of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, and the Real Estate Executive Program at Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management of Universite Libre de Bruxelles. He is also a qualified tax advisor. 

Pedro Saavedra, the Managing Partner of the Polish office of Garrigues, is enthusiastic about the move: “We are very pleased to have Tomasz joining Garrigues. With his experience, energy and commitment not only the Tax Department, but the whole practice, has gained a new momentum to further improve its presence on the Polish market and continue to attract top-tier clients. I am confident that having Tomasz as the new leader of the Tax Department will strengthen our capabilities in the taxation area and beyond, as he is not only a very skilled tax professional, but also a recognized real estate and M&A expert, which makes him a very valuable addition to the current team.”

Also in September, two members of the Garrigues tax practice in Warsaw left the firm to found Tax Matters (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on October 20, 2014).

Garrigues is the largest law firm in Europe (excluding the United Kingdom), with 35 offices across Asia, Europe, Northern Africa, and South and North America. The Warsaw office is the firm’s only one in CEE.

Raidla Lejins & Norcous has announced it advised Practica Capital, a venture capital firm, in three different investments in the Lithuanian market. 

The first was in a fast-growing online community TOKIA.lt. TOKIA.lt is a free of charge localized marketplace of beauty services with focus on showcasing the beauty looks and beauty content created by the community itself that leads to personalized experience when selecting specific specialists and beauty products. TOKIA.LT was launched less than a year ago and the community has grown into more than 13,000 members. Users are able to choose a beauty specialist from more than 300 registered professionals across Lithuania. Our work included drafting of transaction documents, assistance during negotiations and advice on other transaction related matters. The investment will be devoted to a systematic improvement of the product and development of new functionalities when expanding to foreign markets. 

The second was in UAB MCT, which is currently developing a 90-room medical rehabilitation centre in Druskininkai. The funds will be used for the development, launch and operation of a modern medical rehabilitation centre in Druskininkai, a popular health resort in southern Lithuania. The centre will operate 35 procedure rooms, health, athletic gymnastics, fitness and conference halls, SPA zone and a restaurant. It will be opened in the second half of 2015. 

Lastly, the firm advised Practica Capital in its investment in Fast Foods Group, UAB (FFG). FFG is a franchisee of Yum! Brands Inc. and represents KFC and Pizza Hut brands in the Baltics. FFG currently operates three KFC and one Pizza Hut Express quick service restaurants in Lithuania and this year will open and additional KFC restaurant and a Pizza Hut Express one as well. 

All three projects were led by Managing Associate Akvile Bosaite.

Noerr and PRK Partners advised on Czech aspects of an international shareholding exchange between Cemex and Holcim. The various transactions have now been signed in Frankfurt.

The agreed transactions affect the German, Czech and Spanish markets. In the Czech Republic, Cemex will take over the Holcim business completely and in Spain two plants. The Cemex Group will spin-off its German business and sell it to Holcim. In addition, Cemex will pay Holcim a purchase price of EUR 45 million. The transaction is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2015. 

The Noerr team in Prague advising Cemex was led by Partner Barbara Kusak and included Associates Petr Hrncir, Dita Sulcova, Alena Cechticka, Halka Pavlikova, and Milos Temel. PRK Partners advised Holcim on Czech matters. PRK also advised Holcim earlier this year before Czech antitrust authorities regarding Holcim’s divestment of its Czech operations to the Mexican Cemex corporation (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on March 19, 2014).

Internationally, Cemex was advised by Noerr in Germany, and by Clifford Chance and Uria Menendez in Spain, while Holcim was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Germany.

Herbst Kinsky has advised NewMoove GmbH and its shareholders (UNIQA Health Service – Services im Gesundheitswesen GmbH and others) on its entire assets sale to Fitness First GmbH. The value of the transaction was EUR 3.6 million.

NewMoove is the leading online fitness and healthy living platform with over 400 courses in 12 categories such as Body Shape, Yoga, Pilates or Back-Fit ad and an innovative trendsetter of a new category in the fitness market. With over 100,000 registered members, the online fitness company is one of the largest portals in the German-speaking region which also became the #1 online fitness studio in the latest “Fit for Fun” ranking. NewMoove is pre-installed on all major Smart TVs and one of the most downloaded Smart TV sports apps in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Fitness First is one of the world’s leading health and fitness company with approx. 380 Fitness First Clubs in 16 countries. In Germany, Fitness First operates more than 80 studios with over 270,000 members. Members have access to numerous strength, endurance and small fitness equipment as well as up to 40 fitness group classes. Spacious spas, pools, child-care and other services are also available for Fitness First Germany members.

Commenting on the deal, Stefan Tilk, CEO of Fitness First Germany GmbH said: “As an industry trendsetter, we continuously seek to spearhead new developments in our market segment and design the best available offering for our members. The acquisition of NewMoove underlines this strategy. We now enter into the fastest growing segment in the fitness market and offer our customers a real added value: Our members will have the opportunity to continue their training experience with a professional guidance in their private environment. We look forward to benefitting from the online expertise of NewMoove.”

Christian Fischer, Founder of NewMoove, added: “We are very convinced that we have found the perfect partner with Fitness First with whom we can pursue many joint strategic initiatives. Together with Fitness First, we can offer our members a real “Fitness 4 anybody, anytime, anywhere” solution.“

Philipp Kinsky and Florian Steinhart led the team of Herbst Kinsky during this transaction. LD&A Jupiter acted as the financial advisor of NewMoove on this transaction. Dr. Gantefuhrer, Marquardt & Partner advised Fitness First in Germany on the deal. 

On 31 October, Lawin has announced the successful completion of the sale of RSA Insurance Group of its subsidiaries in three Baltic countries to the Polish insurance market leader Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen (PZU). The deal (originally reported on by CEE Legal Matters on April 18, 2014) had an estimated value of EUR 360 million. 

RSA Insurance Group sold its company Lietuvos Draudimas in Lithuania, Balta in Latvia, Codan Forsikring in Estonia, and Link4 Society Ubezpieczen Spolka Akcyjna in Poland.  

Consultancy to RSA Insurance Group was provided by a team of lawyers consisting of representatives of the law firms Slaughter and May in the UK, Lawin in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Gorrissen Federspiel in Denmark, and Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak in Poland. Linklaters Advised PZU on the acquisition. Sorainen advised on the merger clearance in Latvia for the deal. 

Kinstellar has announced the opening of a new office in Sofia, Bulgaria, and the appointment of Diana Dimova as office Managing Partner.  

Kinstellar was formed in 2008 from the Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest and Prague offices of Linklaters — the firm’s name is an anagram of its Magic Circle-member parent — and in recent years it has expanded into Serbia, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The Sofia office becomes the firm’s eighth in CEE. 

The core of the firm’s 10-person office in Sofia moved with Dimova from Wolf Theiss, where she spent the past three years. Dimova specializes in advising Corporate and Private Equity clients on acquisitions and disposals, VC investments, restructuring, and joint ventures, among other things. She studied law at Sofia University and holds an LLM degree from King’s College, University of London, as well as a Practice Diploma from College of Law of England and Wales. Before joining Wolf Theiss in 2010, Dimova spent three years as a Senior Associate at DLA Piper in Sofia. 

Jason Mogg, Kinstellar’s Firm Managing Partner, was enthusiastic about the new office: “We are very excited to be launching in Sofia. We look forward to working with the team to serve our clients’ business interests in Bulgaria. Following our launch in Almaty, the opening in Sofia demonstrates Kinstellar’s underlying strength and commitment to deliver integrated, consistent, top-quality advice and service to clients across emerging markets.’’