CEE Legal Matters

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  • CEE Attorneys Advises Michal Kristof on Representation Agreement

    CEE Attorneys has advised Slovak hockey forward Michal Kristof on the termination of his representation agreement with his agent.

    Kristof is currently playing in the Swiss top league for SCL Tigers. According to CEE Attorneys, he has “has gained full freedom to make decisions about his career while safeguarding his finances” by seeing the resolution of “a complex situation involving his agent’s contract, which had been automatically renewing for nearly 10 years and included obligations that did not align with his professional interests.” Moreover, the firm reports that Kristof “successfully negotiated a reduction in demands and signed a termination agreement” and is now “legally released from the contract and ready to fully focus on his career.”

    The CEE Attorneys team included Partner Zdenek Tomicek.

  • Wolf Theiss and CMS Advise on Erste Group Bank’s EUR 750 Million Notes Issuance

    Wolf Theiss has advised Erste Group Bank on the successful issuance of EUR 750 million fixed to floating rate green preferred senior notes due 2033. CMS, working with Linklaters, advised the international banking syndicate working on the issuance including Danske Bank, Erste Group, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen, Societe Generale, and TD Global Finance.

    According to Wolf Theiss, “the notes have a maturity of eight years and were placed with institutional investors and eligible counterparties, offering an initial coupon of 3.25% per annum. They are listed on the Official Market of the Vienna Stock Exchange.”

    The Wolf Theiss team included Partner Claus Schneider, Counsel Eva Stadler, Senior Associate Sebastian Prakljacic, Associates Rainer Holweg and Magdalena Bertsch, and Legal Trainee Negar Hashemi.

    The CMS team included Partner Walter Gapp and Associate Lucas Dummer.

  • Andrej Jelenkovic Makes Partner at Karanovic & Partners

    Andrej Jelenkovic has been promoted to Partner at Karanovic & Partners.

    Jelenkovic has been with the firm since 2015, when he joined as an Attorney at Law. Earlier, he was with Drazic, Beatovic & Stojic as an Attorney at Law between 2009 and 2015.

    According to the firm, “since 2015, Andrej has been an integral member of the Dispute Resolution Practice Group, contributing significantly to its growth and success. He has developed an outstanding expertise in a wide range of areas, including commercial disputes, bankruptcy, tax litigation, white-collar crime, and maritime law, among others.”

  • Dawid Krakowiak Joins Deloitte Legal as Partner

    Former DLA Piper Senior Associate Dawid Krakowiak has joined Deloitte Legal as Partner and Head of Energy and Environment.

    Before the move, Krakowiak was with DLA Piper as a Senior Associate between 2021 and 2024. Earlier, he was with Dentons as a Senior Associate between 2014 and 2021.

  • Anna Partyka-Opiela Becomes Head of ESG Practice at Rymarz Zdort Maruta

    Partner Anna Partyka-Opiela has become the new Head of the ESG practice at Rymarz Zdort Maruta.

    Partyka-Opiela has been with Rymarz Zdort Maruta since 2023 when she joined from DZP alongside Partners Michal Czarnuch, Marcin Pieklak, and Tomasz Kaczynski (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 10, 2023). Since then, she has also headed the Compliance and Forensic practices. Partyka-Opiela first joined DZP in 2012 as an Associate. In 2014 she was promoted to Senior Associate and made Partner in 2018. Before DZP, she was the Legal and Corporate Affairs Director of Jelfa SA/Sanitas Group between 2010 and 2012. Earlier, she was a Tax Advisor with Teva Pharmaceuticals Polska between 2007 and 2010.

    “I am looking forward to leading the ESG practice at our law firm in addition to the Compliance and Forensic practices,” Partyka-Opiela commented. “ESG risks are now recognized as material risks, so it is difficult to imagine compliance there with not being connected with sustainable business development. ESG strategy sets the direction for business development, thus making the long-term achievement of set goals realistic. I believe that, with our help and expertise, our clients will be able to achieve their goals, and that they will benefit from an even more comprehensive offer in this area.”

    “Placing the Compliance and ESG practices under the supervision of one individual was an obvious and natural choice,” added Managing Partner Pawel Zdort. “The two areas intersect and allow us to provide a coherent range of advice to our clients. This will certainly be another practice of which Anna will take excellent care.”

  • Freshfields Advises RELX on Divestment of Austrian Exhibition Business

    Freshfields has advised RELX Group on its exit from Austria’s exhibition market to Messezentrum Salzburg, WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung, and Mac. Brand Spaces.

    According to Freshfields, following an internal review of RX Global’s Austrian activities, three RX entities have been sold off.

    The Freshfields team included Partners Farid Sigari-Majd, Maria Dreher-Lorje, and Katharina Kubik, Counsels Michal Dobrowolski, Felix Neuwirther, and Gernot Fritz, Principal Associates Leonhard Prasser, Benedikt Sprinzl, Anna Binder-Gutwinski, and Christoph Wanek, and Associates Martin Zankl, Lisbeth Zimmermann, Daniel Grimmer, Michael Holzmannhofer, Yasemin Hoebek, Elisabeth Pferschy, and Christina Hinterschweiger.

    Freshfields could not provide additional information on the matter.

  • KSB Advises Bakalari Software on Educleus Group Changes

    Kocian, Solc, Balastik has advised Bakalari Software on changes within the Educleus Group following Vanda Seidelova’s sale of a stake in it.

    The Educleus Group primarily focuses on the development and provision of school information systems that connect schools, parents, and students.

    Vanda Seidelova is the founder of Twigsee, a Czech kindergarten management application. In 2023, KSB advised on Sandberg Capital’s investment in Twigse (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 10, 2023).

    The KSB team included Partner Drahomir Tomasuk and Lawyer Jan Beres.

    KSB did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

  • A&O Shearman and Clifford Chance Advise on Solaris Bus & Coach EUR 700 Million Financing

    Clifford Chance has advised Solaris Bus & Coach on EUR 700 million syndicated financing in the form of credit and guarantee lines granted in order to fuel the company’s further development. Allen & Overy Shearman Sterling advised the banking consortium.

    The club of financing banks included Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Erste Group AG, HSBC Continental Europe, mBank, Pekao, PKO Bank Polski, and Societe Generale Polish Branch. 

    Solaris Bus & Coach is a European bus producer. The company focuses its operations on the development of zero-emission and low-emission vehicles. It is a part of Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Group, a designer and supplier of transportation systems.

    The Clifford Chance team included Partner Milosz Golab, Senior Associate Bartosz Zielinski, and Associates Mateusz Leleno and Gabriela Kobak.

    The A&O Shearman team included Partner Tomasz Kawczynski, Associates Maciej Szalak and Maria Korba, and Consultant Bartosz Jagodzinski.

  • Walless Advises KJK Fund III and GS Invest on Acquisition of Metalas ir Mediena

    Walless has advised KJK Fund III and GS Invest on the acquisition of Metalas ir Mediena from Rosizeil Importing. Sorainen reportedly advised the sellers.

    Metalas ir Mediena is a provider of shopfitting solutions. 

    KJK Fund II SICAV-SIF Balkan is an equity fund incorporated in Luxembourg.

    GS Invest is a vendor of data collection and storage platforms.

    The Walless team included Lithuania-based Managing Partner Dovile Burgiene, Associate Partner Domas Sileika, and Associate Aura Rimonyte.

  • Dentons Advises on Sale of Photoneo to Zebra Technologies

    Dentons has advised Photoneo on the sale of its business to the Chicago-based Zebra Technologies. A&O Shearman’s London office reportedly advised Zebra.

    Slovakia-based Photoneo is a provider of industrial 3D vision, AI-powered automation solutions, and robotic intelligence software.

    Zebra Technologies is a NASDAQ-listed smart data capture technology company.

    According to Dentons, “based on a patented 3D technology, Photoneo has developed the world’s highest-resolution and highest-accuracy 3D camera, thus unlocking the full potential of powerful, reliable, and fast machine learning and also reducing training and deployment time. Following the acquisition, the Photoneo Brightpick Group will be renamed Brightpick and continue operating as an independent entity. The proceeds from this deal will enable Brightpick to accelerate its growth, develop new products, and bring its AI robots to even more customers around the world.”

    The Dentons team included Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving, Counsel Kamran Pirani, Senior Associate Sebastian Ishiguro, Associates Brigitta Kovacs and Aliz Wulcz, and Trainees Abbey Varns and Alen Gavric, Bratislava-based Partners Juraj Gyarfas and Stanislav Durica, Senior Associates Drahomir Siroky, Michal Zathurecky, and Tomas Pavelka, and Associate Erik Kozurik, as well as furhter team members in Washington, DC, and Munich.