CEE Legal Matters

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  • RLN Advises on Sale of Baltics Cosmetics Wholesaler

    Raidla Lejins & Norcous has advised UAB LTk Capital and UAB G Capital on their sale of 100% interest in the UAB Kruzas Nordic Cosmetics Distribution cosmetics wholesaler to Berner.

    Berner is a Finnish family-owned company that has been building its product brands for 130 years. It is focused on manufacturing and distribution of various consumer goods, sporting goods, and agriculture production — and cosmetics trade. The acquisition of UAB Nordic Cosmetics Distribution is likely to help consolidate Berner’s presence in the Baltic States.

    UAB Kruzas Nordic Cosmetics Distribution is one of the largest independent cosmetics and perfume wholesalers in the Baltic countries. In 2007, the Company opened its subsidiary SIA Kruzas NCD Latvia, and in 2009 the company expanded to Estonia. The company currently has over 90 employees across the three Baltic countries.

    Raidla Lejins & Norcous’ responsibilities included the preparation and management of the data room, structuring the acquisition, drafting the entire package of transaction documents, negotiations with the buyer, and assistance in closing the transaction. The team was led by Partner Elijus Burgis and Senior Associate Eva Suduiko.

     

  • Lawin Advises on Sale of Waste Management Company

    Lawin has advised the Finnish Lassila & Tikanoja (L&T) company, in its divestment of SIA L&T – the largest waste management company operating in Latvia. The transaction involved a sale of the shares of SIA L&T to SIA Bioinvest, a Latvian energy and utilities company. 

    The L&T group is a service company group that is working in environmental management and property and plant support services (and as a supplier of wood-based biofuels, recovered fuels and recycled raw materials). The group operates in Finland, Sweden and Russia, with 8,000 employees. L&T is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Its net sales in 2013 amounted to EUR 668.2 million. 

    The Lawin team was led by Partner Liga Merwin and Senior Associate Ivars Slokenbergs.

     

  • VKP Advises Marubeni Corporation on Trade Finance

    Vasil Kisil & Partners has acted as legal advisor to the Marubeni Corporation, one of Japan’s major integrated conglomerates, on trade finance matters.

    VKP’s advice on Ukrainian law matters related to elaboration of FCR-based trade finance solutions and the establishment of security under a grains supply contract with a Ukrainian leading grain supplier. In addition to FCR instruments the scope of work also included drafting and negotiating the security agreement (i.e. pledge over goods in turnover) and forwarding agreement.

    The transaction was supported by VKP Associate Denys Kulgavyi, working under the supervision of VKP Partner Yulia Kyrpa.

     

  • Wolf Theiss Makes New Partners

    Following on the already-reported news that Wolf Theiss has made Ileana Glodeanu a Partner in its Bucharest office, the firm announced today that it had made four more partners in various CEE offices. Lawyers Laura Struc (Ljubljana), Katerina Kraeva and Radoslav Mikov (Sofia) and Sebastian Oberzaucher (Vienna) all joined the Wolf Theiss partnership along with Glodeanu.

    Struc joined Wolf Theiss in 2007, after graduating from the University of Vienna in 2001 and earning an LL.M. degree in U.S. and Global Business Law from Suffolk University, Boston. Laura works in the fields of Corporate/M&A, Insolvency & Restructuring, Banking & Finance and is specialized in cross border transactions and restructurings. Her professional experience includes work at the European Court of Justice and a Viennese insolvency law firm. She is a lecturer for Slovenian Business Law at the Vienna University of Economics and author of several publications on Slovenian law.

    Kraeva has over fifteen years of professional experience in Bulgaria. She started her career as in-house lawyer in Bulgarian banks and subsequently moved to international private practice, where she held senior positions at Cameron McKenna and DLA Piper before joining Wolf Theiss. In her practice she advises lenders and borrowers  on a variety of projects such as Islamic finance, mezzanine finance and aircraft financing. Her core practice areas are Banking & Finance and Corporate/M&A, and she is specialized in financial services regulation.

    Mikov joined Wolf Theiss as Senior Associate in January 2010 as part of the merger with the DLA Piper Bulgaria team. He gained experience in the Energy and Regulatory sectors in Bulgaria and his previous work includes an in-house lawyer position at a Nuclear Power Plant in Bulgaria and head of regulatory management at E.ON Bulgaria. Mikov covers a wide spectrum of issues related to the energy regulatory framework. In addition, he is experienced in the legal aspects of multi-disciplinary due diligence projects with respect to regulatory and real estate law matters in the energy sector. He has been involved in the decision making processes of several large energy sector stakeholders operating in Bulgaria. 

    Oberzaucher joined the public procurement team of Wolf Theiss in 2010, after working several years for CMS. He studied law at the University of Vienna and was admitted to the Austrian Bar in 2011. His main area of expertise is public procurement law where he advises Austrian and international clients – both bidders and contracting authorities – on matters related to public tenders. He regularly advises contracting authorities on planning and implementing tender procedures, particularly in the infrastructure and the health care sectors. He advises and represents both contracting authorities as well as bidders in reviewing procedures. Moreover he advises bidders during tender procedures to safeguard full compliance of their bids with public procurement law. 

    Partner and Spokesman of the Wolf Theiss Management Board, Erik Steger, commented: “It gives me great pleasure to announce that the partnership has promoted five new Partners. It is a privilege to have them on board – these promotions show the extraordinary potential of the firm, even in the prevailing economic situation.”

     

  • Tark Grunte Sutkiene Advises on Tahe Outdoors Acquisition

    Tark Grunte Sutkiene has advised the Enterprise Investors private equity and venture capital firm on the acquisition of 32.4% stake in Tahe Outdoors, the leading European manufacturer and distributor of high quality watersports equipment.

    Tahe Outdoors, which is headquartered in Estonia, operates two factories in Estonia and one in France, and its sales network covers over 35 countries.

    Tark Grunte Sutkiene assisted Enterprise Investors with the due diligence review of the Tahe group, structuring the transaction as well as preparing and negotiating the transaction documents. The interdisciplinary TGS project team was led by Partner Rolan Jankelevitsh and Senior Associate Piret Jesse, also included Senior Associates Imbi Jurgen, Marit Savi, and Tanel Tark.

     

  • Dentons Advises on New Warehouse in Poland

    Dentons has advised Goodman, the global property group that owns, develops, and manages logistics space, on the construction of a new central warehouse and office facility in Poznan (Poland) for the grocery and DIY franchising chain Mousquetaires Group.

    The site will dedicate 74,000 square meters to logistics and 8,500 square meters to office space. Goodman signed a 10-year lease with the Mousquetaires Group and delivery is due early next year.

    In addition to this deal, Goodman agreed to purchase the existing Mousquetaires Group properties in Poznan, which includes 45,500 square meters of storage and office facilities.

    Partner Piotr Szafarz and Counsel Jakub Sobotkowski led the Dentons team on the deal.

     

  • Wolf Theiss Makes Partner in Romania

    Wolf Theiss has promoted Ileana Glodeanu to Partner in the firm’s Bucharest office. 

    Glodeanu is a Corporate/M&A lawyer, with a particular focus on Energy, TMT, and Pharma. She also specializes in Employment and Insolvency Restructurings. She has been with Wolf Theiss since 2005, when she joined as a Senior Associate. She was promoted in 2012 to the position of Counsel. 

    Prior to joining the firm, Glodeanu worked with Voicu & Filipescu, the associated firm of Squire Sanders in Romania. She has been the Vice-President of the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association since 2012. 

     

  • Partner & Team Joins Dentons in Moscow

    Dentons announced today that Philipp Windemuth has joined the firm, bringing his Russia/Germany/U.S. Corporate/M&A practice and team with him from Orrick.

    Windemuth specializes particularly in M&A, Real Estate, and Financing transactions. H will be based in Dentons’ Moscow and Berlin offices, and joins together with Of Counsels Olga Sandler and Joachim Homeister and Associate Elena Homeister.

    After working at Cleary Gottlieb in New York from 1987 and 1991, Windemuth became one of the founders of legacy Salans’ Moscow and St. Petersburg offices. He then left the firm in 2005 to work at White & Case, and moved to Orrick in 2010/2011.

    Windemuth is a member of the Russian Venture Capital Association Working Group on Russian Legal Improvement, a member of the US/Russia Legal Innovation Working Group and a member of the Board of the East and Central Europe Association (Germany). He is a native bilingual English and German speaker and is also fluent in Russian.

    Florian Schneider, Dentons’ Moscow Office Managing Partner, said of the acquisition that: “We are very enthusiastic about Philipp joining our team. He is a well-known lawyer with prodigious expertise in Russian M&A and financing transactions. The fact that one of our former partners—one of our founders in Russia—is back with the firm, is another positive sign of the impact of Dentons’ combination on our practice.”

    Andreas Ziegenhagen, Managing Partner of Dentons Germany, is also pleased: “It couldn’t be better. We are always happy to welcome new arrivals, and in this case, we are already familiar with Philipp’s exceptional work as an advisor; this makes the cooperation within the teams easy and safe.”

     

  • Ince & Co Named Exclusive Winners in Shipping/Transport for Greece and China

    The Ince & Co law firm has been named exclusive winners for Shipping/Transport for both Greece and China in the 2014 Client Choice awards, in which law firms and partners are nominated by corporate counsel.

    Shipping and Trade lawyer Paul Ho, who heads Ince & Co’s Shanghai office, was named exclusive winner of the Shipping/Transport category for Shanghai; and Piraeus-based Partner, dry-shipping specialist Evangelos Catsambas, was named exclusive winner of the Shipping/Transport category for Greece.

    Ho said of the award that: “I am proud on behalf of the Shanghai office to have won this exclusive Shipping/Transport award for China. This award provides us with valuable feedback from clients who represent a range of companies, both international and China-based.”

    Nick Shepherd, the Head of Ince & Co’s Piraeus office, commented that: “We are delighted that Evangelos has been named exclusive winner of the Shipping/Transport category for Greece, for the second consecutive year. This award, based on client reviews, demonstrates the exceptional commitment and commerciality that Evangelos, together with an excellent team here, brings to the Greek shipping community.”

    In 2013, Ince & Co won the Client Choice award for law firm in Greece, and Piraeus-based Partner Evangelos Catsambas was named individual winner for Shipping and Transport in Greece. 

     

  • Magnusson Expands Polish Real Estate Team

    The Magnusson law firm has expanded its Real Estate practice in Poland with the arrival of Partner Michal Siwek, who joins with two Associates. Siwek’s experience in Real Estate matters includes planning, construction, and corporate.

    He has advised on transactions and development projects, as well as on commercialization and asset management of various types of assets, including office, retail, hotel, and warehouse. He also focuses on real estate restructuring and real estate finance.

    From 2006-2010 Siwek was a Partner in the Real Estate department and head of the German desk at Clifford Chance in Warsaw. Before that, he was associated for eight years with CMS Cameron McKenna, where he became a Partner in 2004. He comes to Magnusson after having spent the past few years in his own private Real Estate law practice. 

    Siwek bring Associates Norbert Gawor and Piotr Dziwniel with him. Andrzej Tokaj, the Managing Partner of Magnusson in Poland, released a statement saying that: “With Michal Siwek and his team on board, we will further strengthen our real estate practice and broaden services provided to German and French speaking investors.”