CEE Legal Matters

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  • Sayenko Kharenko Advises on Acquisition of Pharmaceutical Producer

    Sayenko Kharenko acted as Ukrainian legal counsel to Pamplona Capital Management in its March 14, 2014 acquisition of a majority stake in Alvogen.

    Sayenko Kharenko describes Alvogen as “one of the fastest growing generics companies in the pharmaceutical industry.” The Luxembourg-based Alvogen is a multinational pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing, and distributing generic pharmaceuticals and OTC medicines. Alvogen employs 2,000 people and currently operates in 34 markets in the US, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia Pacific region with manufacturing hubs in New Jersey, Romania, and South Korea.

    Pamplona Capital Management is a London and New York-based specialist investment manager with over USD 6 billion in assets under management.

    Sayenko Kharenko’s work included due diligence regarding the Ukrainian assets and general advice on Ukrainian law matters. The firm’s team was led by Vladimir Sayenko and included Counsel Leonid Antonenko and Associates Oleksandr Bevz and Kateryna Zhebanova.

  • YUST Represents the Russian Public Library and Ministry of Culture on Demand of Rare Books from USA

    The YUST law firm has represented the Russian Public Library (RPL) and the Russian Ministry of Culture in their claim against the United States for return of 7 books from the rare Schneerson Collection to Russia.

    According to YUST, the Moscow Court of Arbitration “concluded the consideration of the case on May 22 of 2014 and declared the operative part of the judgment, which upheld the claim by the Russian Public Library and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation to oblige the respondents to return to the RPL 7 books from the so-called Schneerson Collection.”

    A statement on the YUST website claims that in January 1994, pursuant to a formal request by the American Library of Congress, the RPL sent 7 books from the Schneerson Collection for temporary use within the scope of international exchange of library funds. The initial agreement between the two was for 60 days, but the books were not returned to Russia. The RPL officially notified the Library of Congress of the need to return the books in March of 2013, but the notification was ignored. After that, the RPL and the Ministry of Culture or Russia (which exercises the powers of the books’ owner on behalf of Russia) filed the above-stated claim with the Court.

    In ruling that the books must be returned to Russia, the Moscow Court of Arbitration also declared that the United States must pay daily damages of USD 50,000 for non-conformance with its ruling, an award YUST described as “one of the first of its kind in the Russian arbitration practice.” 

    The parties now have one month to appeal the judgment before it become final and binding.

    YUST Senior Partner Yury Pilipenko, Managing Partner Evgeny Zhilin, Partner Alexander Yevdokimov, and Advocate Mikhail Chugunov represented the Russian Public Library and the Ministry of Culture.

  • EPAP Partner Elected to High Council of Justice of Ukraine

    Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAP) Partner Oleksii Reznikov has been appointed a Member of the High Council of Justice of Ukraine and has been sworn in. Reznikov’s appointment followed the Congress of Advocates of Ukraine held on 27 April, 2014.

    According to EPAP, “the High Council of Justice is a collective independent body responsible for the formation of highly professional corps of judges capable of qualified, honest and unbiased conduct of justice on a professional basis, as well as for decision making relating to judges’ and public prosecutors’ infringement of incompatibility requirements and, within its terms of reference, of their disciplinary accountability.” 

    The High Council of Justice includes 20 members, out of which 17 members are appointed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, the Congress of Judges of Ukraine, the Congress of Advocates of Ukraine, the Congress of Representatives of Higher Legal Educational Establishments and Scientific Institutions, and the All-Ukrainian Conference of Employees of the Public Prosecutors Office. The Chairman of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine are ex officio members of the High Council of Justice. All members, except for those appointed ex officio, are elected for six years. 

    Reznikov heads EPAP’s Litigation Practice in Ukraine. According to the firm, “Reznikov has extensive experience in Ukrainian litigation, commercial, civil and electoral law, as well as in the field of privatization and securities, and protection from hostile takeovers (including corporate raids). He specializes in the resolution of disputes with tax, customs and other state authorities. His experience includes protection of clients in the Supreme Court of Ukraine, Supreme Economic Court, Higher Specialized Court, and Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine.” He is also the Vice-President (as reported on April 11, 2014, he was temporarily made Acting President) of the Ukrainian Bar Association.  

     

  • Borenius Advises Paroc Group on Major Offering and Credit Facility

    Borenius has announced that it advised the Helsinki-based Paroc Group in connection with an offering of EUR 430 million high-yield notes to international investors as part of the Group’s refinancing.

    Paroc is the leading manufacturer of energy-efficient insulation solutions in the Baltic Sea region. Its products are manufactured in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland and, as of 2013, also in Russia. Borenius acted as the Finnish, Russian, and Lithuanian counsel to the Group. Cravath, Swaine & Moore advised Paroc Group with respect to US law. 

    Simultaneously, the firm announced that it assisted Paroc Group on Finnish, Russian, and Lithuanian law aspects of a new EUR 60 million revolving credit facility. English law advice was provided by Macfarlanes LLP.

    Borenius’s Capital Markets, and Financing teams were led by Partners Juha Koponen and Andrei Aganimov, respectively. Managing Partner Jari Vikio oversaw the coordination of the refinancing arrangement.

    Also involved were Capital Markets lawyers Henri Isohanni and Elina Toivakainen, Finance Partners Johannes Ahti and Jenna Saario, Tax lawyers Janne Juusela, Nerijus Jurkus, and Einari Karhu and Sanna Lindqvist, Environmental lawyers Casper Herler, Jessica Hellstrom, Henna Lusenius, Juha Maapera, Insolvency lawyer Antti Husa, Competition lawyer Ilkka Aalto-Setala, Employment lawyers Jani Syrjanen and Juhana Nevala,and Corporate lawyers Andreas Doepel, Evgenia Tetervkova, Ilya Kotov, Evaldas Valciukas, and Jonas Kialeikis.

     

     

  • Red Advises UAV Factory in Cross-border Investment Deal

    The Red law firm has advised UAV Factory in cross-border financing for development of unmanned aerial vehicles and platforms.

    The parties involved in the deal are legal entities and individuals from Latvia, Estonia, and the United States. The investor is the co-founder of communication software company Skype.

    Established in 2009, UAV Factory supplies its long endurance unmanned aircraft, pneumatic catapults, onboard generator systems, and portable ground control stations to customers in over 30 counties. UAV Factory products can also be used for military purposes.

    According to a statement on its website, Red prepared “the transaction agreement as well as the organizational chart for the target company and prepared other documents necessary for the implementation of the transaction and relevant registrations.”

    The transaction was advised by Red Partner Sintija Radionova and Associates Konstantins Telakovs and Zanete Raize.

     

  • Linklaters Advises Bundesdruckerei on Joint Venture with Giesecke & Devrient

    Linklaters has advised Bundesdruckerei on the formation of a joint venture with Giesecke & Devrient.

    The new joint venture will operate under the name Veridos, and will bundle both partners’ international business with solutions for secure identification, such as passport and ID card systems for governments. Bundesdruckerei will hold a 40% share in Veridos and G&D a 60% share.

    The parties have agreed on Berlin as the new company’s headquarters. Additionally, the company will have an operating facility in Munich, a production site in Greece and other subsidiaries in Canada, Mexico, and Brazil and will operate independently on the international market. Subject to approval under competition law, Veridos will commence business operations in mid-2014.

    The parties continue to independently pursue their business in Germany, their business activities on the private sector market, and in banknote printing.

    Veridos will be a one-stop supplier and technology leader for ID solutions for the international government market. Veridos will provide a total of around 400 jobs.

    According to Linklaters, the portfolio of Bundesdruckerei and G&D includes “one-stop solutions for the production and personalisation of passport documents, ID cards and cards for the health sector as well as driving licences via issuance, personalisation and document management systems right through to solutions for border control and identification of individuals. eID systems to authenticate and protect electronic internet transactions and to safeguard communications by public agencies are another important part of this portfolio.”

    The Linklaters team was led by Partner Christopher Bremme, and included Detlev Schuster, Jan Endler, Oliver Rosenberg, Kirsten Placke, Martin Borning, Thorben Eisenbeiss, Martin Dressel, Christian Ley, Julia Sack, Anna Reshetina, Alexander von Heinz, Dr Ferry Buhring, Beatrice Moller, Jens Hollinderbaumer, Katja Kupko, and Elena Rodriguez.

     

  • MZS Persuades Russian Court to Quash Rospatent Decision

    Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners lawyers have successfully protected the interests of their client Uralvagonzavod in a complex and lengthy patent litigation in the Ninth Appelate Court.

    A team of MZS lawyers — led by Partner Anton Aleksandrov — convinced that Court that the Federal Service for Intellectual Property erroneously and improperly terminated Uralvagonzavod’s patent for a railroad car truck invention. According to an MZS press release, “the patented invention has long been heavily used in Russian and foreign railroad cars.” 

    Uralvagonzavod — the name means “Urals Railroad Cars Manufacturing Plant” — is a Russian machine building company located in Nizhny Tagil, Russia, and the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world. The company’s main products include railway cars, tanks, road-building vehicles, agricultural vehicles, metallurgical products, tools, and other consumer goods.

     

  • Squire Sanders Announced Merger with Patton Boggs

    Squire Sanders has announced its merger with the American Patton Boggs law firm, and as of June 1, 2014 — when the merger goes into affect — will begin operating under the name Squire Patton Boggs.

    The new entity — which will add Patton Boggs’ 300 lawyers to Squire Sanders’ 1300 — will have 1,600 lawyers and 45 offices in 21 countries, which the firm claims will place is squarely among the top 25 firms globally by headcount, and 8th in number of offices around the world. According to a jointly-issued press release, “the combined firm will bring together Squire Sanders’ top ranked global legal platform and Patton Boggs’ preeminent public policy, white collar and other practices to provide clients with unparalleled geographic reach, breadth and depth of practice capabilities and unmatched knowledge in matters where law, government and business intersect.” 

    Jim Maiwurm, the Chair and Global CEO of Squire Sanders, is unsurprisingly enthusiastic about the news. “Today marks an important day in the history of our firm. Patton Boggs is the premier public policy firm in the world, and this combination establishes us as the ‘go-to’ firm for public policy work. We also gain a leading position in the Middle East and several new locations in the United States, while deepening our bench in a number of important practices areas, all of which strengthen our service platform,” he said.  “Through our discussions we have gained a great deal of respect for the partnership and culture of Patton Boggs. We are very pleased to combine leading global and public policy firms with diverse and strong practices and client bases, strong regional positions and international orientations. Together we will be uniquely positioned to respond to the needs of business clients around the world.”  

    Ed Newberry, the Managing Partner of Patton Boggs, shared Maiwurm’s confidence. “Squire Sanders is recognized as a one of the industry’s leading global law firms with practice and industry expertise in key financial markets spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,” he said. “The platform and collective expertise created through this combination provide considerable opportunities to access new markets, engage clients in new ways and attract and retain top talent. I couldn’t be more excited for the future of our firm.”  

  • Conference in Chisinau Celebrates 20 Years of Arbitration in Moldova

    A May 16, 2014 conference on “Arbitration in Moldova: Achievements and Prospects” marked the 20th anniversary of the alternative dispute resolution method in Moldova. Speakers came from Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Poland, and Bulgaria as well as the United Kingdom and the European Union.

    Cristina Martin, a Partner at the Moldovan ACI Partners law firm, attended the event, which she described as “a very good opportunity to share information about experience and the development of arbitration in other countries.” Martin and ACI Partners Managing Partner Igor Odobescu are both Arbitrators at the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova.  

    According to Martin, the focus of the conference was on both practical and scientific aspects of arbitration, including such matters as the development of arbitration in the country, EU perspectives on arbitration, reforms in Russian, Ukrainian, and Romnian legislation, application of interim measures in international commercial arbitration, and much more. Martin explained that “we cannot say that arbitration in Moldova is very active, but it is growing,” and she attributed its limited popularity in part to poor advertising and a lack of awareness of arbitration advantages and an insufficient number of professionals in the field. At the conference, she reported, “improvement in Moldovan arbitration legislation and inclusion of arbitration in Higher Education Institutions in Moldova were offered as solutions.” 

    Carolina Parcalab, a Senior Associate at ACI Partners who also attended the conference, reported that approximately 200 people attended, “including Moldovan government officials, EU delegation, arbitrators and mediators from Moldova and other countries,” as well as “judges from Moldova courts, lawyers and professors of law.” She described it as “very productive … in particular because of the sharing of experience and information on the development of arbitration rules in different jurisdictions.” 

    Parcalab also reported that the Moldovan Court of International Commercial Arbitration intends to publish a special edition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of arbitrationin the country, which will include “the presentations of all speakers as well as other articles on arbitration.” 

  • Sorainen Advises on EPSO-G Acquisition of Amber Grid Shareholding

    Sorainen has advised Amber Grid on the acquisition of 38.9% of the shares of EPSO-G from E.ON Ruhrgas International for the price of EUR 49.76 million.

    Amber Grid is the operator of Lithuania’s natural gas transmission system, listed on the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius Stock Exchange. The Sorainen team was led by Partner Algirdas Peksys and Senior Associate Liudas Ramanauskas.