CEE Legal Matters

Category: Law Firms

  • Michal Pekala Joins Maruta Wachta as Head of Gaming

    Former Linklaters Senior Associate Michal Pekala has become Head of Gaming at Maruta Wachta in Warsaw.

    Pekala, who joins as Counsel, specializes in computer game rights and intellectual property.

    Pekala holds a Master’s degree in law from the Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej University and an LL.M. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Prior to joining Maruta Wachta, he spent over two years with Baker McKenzie, almost three years with DLA Piper, and two years with Linklaters.

    “We warmly welcome Michael on board and believe that we will build the best gaming team in Poland and even in this part of Europe,” added Maruta Wachta.

  • Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co Advise on Acquisition of Baltic Classifieds Group by Apax

    Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co Advise on Acquisition of Baltic Classifieds Group by Apax

    Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co has advised Apax Partners and Media Investments & Holding OU on the acquisition of the Baltic Classifieds Group, a portfolio of online classified advertising platforms in the Baltics. The transaction is expected to close by July 2019.

    The Baltic Classifieds Group operates the Autoplius.lt, Aruodas.lt, Skelbiu.lt, CVBankas.lt, KV.ee, City24.ee, City24.lv, Osta.ee, and Soov.ee online classifieds platforms for automotive, real estate, jobs, and general merchandise. The company operates in Lithuania through Diginet LTU and its portals generate more than 50 million monthly visits.

    Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co’s team included Managing Partner Maivi Ots, Partner Risto Ruutel, Counsel Marten Amjarv, and Lawyers Erika Tuvike and Maarja Junti.

    Eversheds Sutherland Ots & Co did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

    Editor’s Note: After this article was published Cobalt announced that it had also advised Apax Partners on the deal. According to the firm, “the client was advised by Cobalt’s pan-Baltic team on all aspects of the transaction, including carrying out the legal due diligence, help with the transaction documents, as well as assisting the client in getting a merger clearance for the acquisition.” 

    The Cobalt team was led, in Estonia, by Partner Martin Simovart and Specialist Counsel Ott Aava, supported by Associate Liina Saaremets. They were assisted by Latvia-based Partner Guntars Zīle and Senior Associate Elīna Locmele and Managing Partner Irmantas Norkus and Senior Associates Inga Mazvilaite and Justinas Kondratas from Lithuania. According to the firm, “the project also required a significant contribution by our Competition Team’s Partner Elo Tamm, Specialist Counsel Elena Hansov, and Associate Marit Martens, all in Estonia, and Partner Rasa Zasciurinskaite and Senior Associate Paulius Bartkus in Lithuania.”.

  • Van Campen Liem Advises Turkcell on Acquisition of Euroasia Telecommunications Holding

    Van Campen Liem Advises Turkcell on Acquisition of Euroasia Telecommunications Holding

    Van Campen Liem has assisted Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. with its acquisition of the remaining 44.96% stake in Euroasia Telecommunications Holding B.V. (Euroasia) from System Capital Management. Turkcell already held 55.04% in Euroasia, which owns 100% of LLC Astelit (a company operating under the “life:)” brand in the Ukrainian mobile market).  

    Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated: “As Turkcell, we had declared that we would be evaluating both organic and inorganic growth opportunities to strengthen our position in the countries where we operate. In this context, we have taken the first major step in Ukraine. We believe that Ukraine will be a success story for Turkcell’s international operations and a pilot country as we transfer our experience to the region. Our belief is supported as life:), making the highest investment in 3G tender held in Ukraine, started providing 3G services to 2.3 million customers in a very short period of time following the launch on June 4th. With this acquisition, we pave the way towards boosting this momentum and increasing life:)’s contribution to Turkcell Group as a stronger player in the market.”  

    The Van Campen Liem team consisted of Partners Gesina van de Wetering, Edwin Liem, and Cees Kersten, and Associate Huseyin Koca.

    Van Campen Liem did not respond to an inquiry from CEE Legal Matters regarding the identity of counsel for System Capital Management.

  • Van Campen Liem, YKK, and BASEAK Advise on Stryker Acquisition of Muka Metal

    Van Campen Liem, YKK, and BASEAK Advise on Stryker Acquisition of Muka Metal

    Van Campen Liem and YukselKarkinKucuk assisted the Stryker Corporation with the acquisition of all the shares in Muka Metal A.S. Balcioglu Selcuk Akman Keki (BASEAK), the Turkish arm of Dentons, advised Murat Kantarci and other shareholders of Muka Metal on the deal, as well as on post-closing service arrangements between some of the shareholders and Muka Metal.

    Established in 1966 and headquartered in Kayseri, Turkey, Muka sells hospital beds, stretchers, and related patient room furniture and accessories that serve markets across Turkey and other regions globally.  

    The Stryker Corporation is a medical technology company that offers a range of products and services in orthopaedics, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine. Stryker shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which has more than 26,000 employees, announced a USD 1.1 billion net profit in 2014.

    “The acquisition of Muka aligns with our strategy to expand our global presence through existing channels with an established and trusted brand,” said Timothy Scannell, Stryker Group President, MedSurg and Neurotechnology. “This acquisition will bolster Stryker Medical’s bed and stretcher offerings, and is a compelling opportunity to drive growth in Turkey and other regions around the world.”  

    The Van Campen Liem team consisted of Cees Kersten, Wouter Casteleijn and Gert-Jan Smit.

    The YKK team was led by Cuneyt Yuksel, the firm’s Co-Managing Partner, and included Associates Elifcan Argun, Ozlem Altay, and Betul Tugce Kaya.

    The BASEAK team was led by Partner Dogan Eymirlioglu, assisted by Senior Associate Tulu Harsa and Associate Ali Can Goren.

  • Baker & McKenzie, Dentons, and Van Campen Liem Advise on Olgar Group Stake Sale

    Lawyers from Esin Attorney Partnership, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, and Baker & McKenzie’s Amsterdam office have advised the Olgar Group on a stake share to Global Investment House, which was advised by Balcioglu Selcuk Akman Keki (BASEAK) — the firm associated with Dentons in Turkey — and Van Campen Liem.

    As a result of the deal, Orkun Olgar, Ozhun Olgar and Bekir Guven Olgar, shareholders of Olgarlar Spor Malzemeleri Turizm Ilan Reklam Ajansligi Yayincilik ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi (Olgar Group), sold 70% of their shares in Olgar Group to Global Capital Management LTD, the alternative asset management arm of Global Investment House, a Kuwait-based private equity investor. The deal was signed January 30, 2015 and closed March 17, 2015.

    Established in 1989 as a sporting goods retailer, Olgar Group has grown to become Turkey’s leading sports clothing and equipment retailer. Its well-known brand, Sport Point Extreme (SPX), specializes in extreme sportswear, lifestyle and outdoor products and also distributes global sportswear brands such as Quiksilver, Merrell, Burton and Billabong. With 22 stores across Turkey, six shoe retailer outlets, and one Quiksilver store, SPX offers a large range of high-quality sportswear and sporting goods in the Turkish market.

    Established in 1998, Global Investment House is a regional investment company headquartered in Kuwait. Global Investment House plays an important role in promoting investment opportunities in the MENA region. It is currently one of the most active private equity investors in Turkey. This transaction marks the fourth agreement Global has signed in Turkey.

    On the seller side, the deal was led by Istanbul-based Managing Partner Ismail Esin and Partner Duygu Turgut and Amsterdam-based Partner Kuif Klein Wassink. The team also included Istanbul-based Ali Selim Demirel, Orcun Solak, and Asli Caglar, and Amsterdam-based Laurens Linnewiel and Aad Bos.

    The buyer was advised on Turkish matters by the BASEAK team led by Senior Partner and Head of Corporate and M&A Galip Selcuk, which also included Partner Dogan Eymirlioglu, Senior Associates Tulu Harsa, Ozge Akman and Belit Polat, and Associates Yasemin Hotan, Ceren Ustunel, Ajda Gencsoy, Nilsu Yildiz, Ali Goren, Hande Yilmaz, Cemre Demirkaya, Emre Ozkan, Naz Hocaoglu, and Ceren Ucar. The Van Campen Liem team included Partners Marc van Campen, Arjen Mulderije, and Nicole van Smaalen, and Associate Svetlana Baraban.

    Image source: www.spx.com.tr

     

  • Clifford Chance Confirms Role in Mercator Group Restructuring

    Clifford Chance has confirmed its role in and elaborated on the recent EUR 1.1 billion restructuring of the Mercator Group, reported on by CEE Legal Matters on June 18, 2014.

    According to Clifford Chance, “Mercator’s financial restructuring is one of the most extensive, complex and challenging financial restructurings ever seen in the region. The capital structure previously consisted of over 150 predominantly bilateral facilities and finance leases with well over 50 financial creditors. Mercator, together with its financial creditors have taken the major step of moving to consolidated sets of financing terms and common decision making platforms, documented in line with international best practices.”

    Clifford Chance Partner Loren Richards, who led the firm’s team on the deal, spoke about its complexity: “Many regional corporates have historically financed themselves with a large number of bilateral financings. This certainly has merits. However, if co-ordinated discussions are required with creditors, this dynamic can also create strategic and operational headaches at the best of times, let alone in a restructuring context.” According to Clifford Chance, “even though macro-economic circumstances remain challenging, this landmark financial restructuring is already being referred to as a defining moment for restructurings (as well as the broader investment landscape) in the region.” And Richards added that: “Management and their creditors have achieved something truly great and simultaneously demonstrated the regional market’s willingness and ability to address issues and to pursue solutions that adopt international best practices.”  

    The Clifford Chance team was led out of Frankfurt by Richards, assisted by London-based Partner John MacLennan and Frankfurt-based Associate Lauren von Dernberg. 

     

     

  • Watson, Farley & Williams Advises on Financing Agreement with Metric Capital Partners

    Watson, Farley & Williams has advised Leobersdorfer Maschinenfabrik (LMF), a portfolio company of the Equita private equity company, on a new financing agreement with European private capital fund manager Metric Capital Partners.

    The financing by Metric is expected to support further international growth to reinforce LMF’s positioning as a global provider of premium compressor systems. 

    Leobersdorfer Maschinenfabrik is headquartered in Leobersdorf, Austria, and is a leading manufacturer of made-to-order high-pressure piston compressors for natural gases, process gases and air. LMF’s compression solutions are provided for a range of niche applications in the oil and gas industry. Equita is an independent private equity company unaffiliated to banks, acquiring majority stakes in medium-sized companies in the German-speaking markets.

    The WFW team advising EQUITA and LMF on the facility and related documentation was led by WFW Partner Stefan Kilgus, with support from Simon Preisenberger and Associates Alexander Wojtek and Marcus Mutzelburg.

  • BDK Advises on Acquisition of Serbian Insurance Brokerage Company

    Serbia’s BDK Advokati has advised the French Gras Savoye insurance brokerage company on the acquisition of 51% of the shares in the Serbian REIB insurance brokerage company.

    The firm’s team was headed by BDK Partners Vladimir Dasic and Mirjana Mladenovic.