PRK Partners has advised Barcelo on the sale of a five-star hotel in Brno to the Czech Inn Hotels Group.
Barcelo is a hotel chain.
Czech Inn Hotels Group operates 26 hotels in the Czech Republic.
The PRK Partners team was led by Partner Roman Pecenka.
PRK Partners did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
CMS has advised EGLS Founders Holding on its partnership arrangements with Kamco Invest centering on European Green Logistics Space. Taylor Wessing advised Kamco Invest.
Kamco Invest is an asset manager in the MENA region.
EGLS is a new company established for this joint venture.
According to CMS, EGLS intends to develop modern, sustainable big box, and urban logistics facilities by both upgrading existing properties and undertaking ground-up developments. Working with Kamco Invest and a small number of other large investors, EGLS already has a pipeline of sites and standing assets for acquisition.
The CMS team included Partners Helen Rodwell and David Cranfield and Senior Associate Eliska Copland.
The Taylor Wessing team included Czech Republic-based Partner Thomas Rechberger and Senior Associate David Volek and London-based Partner Leona Ahmed, Consultant Peter Jackson, Senior Associate Lacy Gratton, and Associate Sam Tee.
Kinstellar has advised the BHM Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in Prague Port Group from HD&PB. Glatzova & Co reportedly advised the sellers.
BHM Group is a European investment firm.
According to Kinstellar, the transaction strengthened BHM Group’s position in the market and facilitated the consolidation of the ownership structure of this key company operating aparthotels and hotels in central Prague.
In 2023, Kinstellar advised on BHM Group’s acquisition of the Trencin Industrial Park (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 24, 2023).
The Kinstellar team included Managing Partner Jan Juroska, Managing Associates Matej Vecera and Vaclav Kment, and Junior Associates Dominik Ctvrtnicek, Lucie Kunclova, and Zuzana Konecna.
Glatzova & Co has advised Rouvy on its acquisition of FulGaz and on establishing a partnership with Ironman Group.
Rouvy is a Czech Republic-based virtual cycling platform.
FulGaz is an Australian virtual cycling platform.
The Ironman Group is an operator of mass participation sports.
According to Glatzova & Co, the move “expands Rouvy’s market share in the virtual cycling space, positioning it more competitively against leading players such as Zwift.”
The Glatzova & Co team included Partner Jiri Sixta and Senior Associate Jindrich Pastrnak.
Glatzova & Co could not provide additional information on the deal.
Clifford Chance has advised Allwyn on its acquisition of a majority controlling interest in Logflex MT Holdings Limited.
Allwyn is a multinational lottery operator.
Logflex MT Holdings Limited is the parent company of subsidiaries operating under the Novibet brand. Novibet is an online operator with a technology platform spanning multiple jurisdictions.
According to Clifford Chance, the transaction further enhances Allwyn’s presence in online sports betting and gaming, building on the company’s focus on selective acquisitions that strengthen product offerings and technological capabilities. Allwyn will integrate Novibet to continue innovating in casual gaming entertainment and expand its portfolio of gaming services.
The Clifford Chance team included Prague-based Managing Partner Milos Felgr, Counsels Michal Jasek and Dominik Vojta, Senior Associates Tomas Prochazka, Hana Cekalova, Veronika Kinclova, and Stanislav Holec, and Associates Tomas Kubala and Nikola Svobodova as well as further team members in Munich and London.
Clifford Chance could not provide additional information on the matter.
On December 6, 2024, the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic approved the Act on Digitalisation of the Financial Market (ZDFT), which represents an important step in adapting the Czech legal framework to European regulations in the area of digital financial markets.
The Act responds to the challenges associated with the application of Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament, the Council on the Digital Operational Resilience of the Financial Sector (DORA), Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament, and of the Council on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA). The aim of the ZDFT is to create a solid foundation for the application of these regulations in the Czech context, and thus ensure the stability and security of digital financial transactions.
Here, we present the main features of the new law, its practical implications, and the specifics of Czech regulation in the area of digital finance and crypto assets – including the role of the Czech National Bank (CNB) as a key regulator in this rapidly developing sector.
Position of the Czech National Bank on sanctions
One of the key aspects of this legislation is the role of the CNB, which will become the sole and common authority under both regulations. The CNB will not only oversee compliance with the new rules, but also supervise service providers in the field of crypto-assets and other digital finance. Further, all incidents under DORA are to be reported to the CNB, as the Czech Republic did not make use of the discretion to create Computer Security Incident Response (CSIRT) teams.
Czech legislators ensured that the CNB is equipped with relevant powers (such as those based on Articles 94 and 111 MiCA) by either specifically listing them in the ZDFT, or relying on the powers that CNB has already been granted. The legislature grants additional powers to the CNB, including:
Furthermore, the CNB is authorized to impose a range of sanctions for offences, which may consist of violations of DORA or MiCA, as well as violations of the ZDFT. The Czech legislation has not used the possibility of imposing criminal sanctions for violations of the regulation either in the case of DORA (Article 52) or MiCA (Article 111(1)). At the same time, however, the addressees of these regulations may still commit offences generally related to their activities, eg, the offence of unauthorized business.
The obligation to sanction offences by a financial entity consisting of a breach of DORA derives directly from this regulation, but the level of sanctions has been left to the individual states. While the standard fines in EU financial services legislation are often millions of euros, the amounts in the case of the ZDFT are of lower magnitude, particularly due to the fact that DORA also applies to much smaller entities, such as banks. The maximum fine for breaches of DORA is up to CZK 50,000,000 (approximately EUR 2,000,000 as of January 2025), which may be imposed for failure to comply with the risk management framework, failure to implement an information and communication technology business continuity policy, failure to comply with the notification obligation under Article 19 of DORA, or failure to comply with the digital resilience testing obligation.
With respect to the offenses and penalties for MiCA violations, the legislature was required to follow the requirements set forth in the MiCA. In all cases, the ZDFT provides for the lowest possible penalties allowed by the regulation. The penalties have been expressed in CZK in the Czech law, based on the exchange rates from December 29, 2023. However, it is worth noting that due to the movement of the exchange rate between CZK and EUR from June 29, 2023 to January 2025, when the Czech koruna appreciated against the EUR, the penalties as of January 2025, when converted into EUR, are even lower than the EUR amounts otherwise provided for in the MiCA Regulation.
For natural persons, the maximum penalty is CZK 118,475,000 (approximately EUR 4,700,000 as of January 2025) or three times the amount of the undue benefit. For legal persons, the maximum penalty is CZK 355,425,000 (approximately EUR 14,100,000 as of January 2025), or 15 percent of the total annual turnover of the offender, or three times the amount of the undue benefit.
Provision of services related to crypto-assets
The Czech Republic has not exercised its discretion to shorten or exclude this grandfather clause (143(3) MiCA), but specified that it would only apply to providers who operated on the basis of the free trade “provision of services related to virtual assets” under Act No. 455/1991 Coll, Trade Licensing Act, as of December 30, 2024.
In terms of the specifics of the performance of activities related to crypto-assets markets, the ZDFT first specifies the application of the requirements arising from MiCA in the Czech legal order, in particular its connection to other applicable Czech acts, such as Act No. 370/2017 Coll. on payment transactions (Payment Transactions Act) regarding stablecoins, or Act No. 182/2006 Coll., the Insolvency Act, regarding the protection of asset reserves at stablecoins and any funds collected from holders.
The obligation of service providers to periodically inform the competent supervisory authority (ie, the CNB) of the facts listed in Article 67 MiCA will be fulfilled in the Czech legal environment by submitting officially audited financial statements four months prior to the end of the accounting period.
Further, individual Member States have been given the power to set requirements for the competence of service providers under MiCA (81(7) MiCA). In the context of the ZDFT, this includes knowledge of the regulation and provision of services related to crypto-assets, as well as the ability to properly explain the nature of crypto-assets and information relating to crypto-assets or crypto-related services to the customer, and to provide recommendations. The legislator further states that as the crypto-asset market has a large variability of assets, a basic understanding of the structure, entities, and functioning of this market is required. They state that the provider should have a sufficient overview of the basic investment and payment assets offered in the market, particularly in the EU market.
In addition to MiCA, the ZDFT introduces an obligation for service providers to have the adequacy of the measures taken to protect assets, in particular entrusted funds, verified by the law governing auditing activities, with a report on this verification to be provided to the CNB without delay.
By Tomas Scerba, Partner, and Jan Metelka, Senior Associate, DLA Piper
CMS has advised AEW on the sale of the Myslbek office and retail project to Max Realitni Fond SICAV.
AEW is a capital management company.
Max Realitni Fond is a real estate fund focusing on retail and office space.
The CMS team included Partner Lukas Hejduk, Associate Sarka Hrda, and Lawyer Matous Jan Kadlecek.
CMS did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
Havel & Partners has advised Komercni Banka’s Investment platform Upvest and the RSJ investment group on acquiring a 25% stake (with a call option of up to 49%) in Centrum Cerny Most from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. Dentons advised the sellers.
According to Havel & Partners, Centrum Cerny Most is the owner and operator of the Centrum Cerny Most shopping center in Prague. The majority stake remains with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
According to Dentons, “the transaction was achieved at an implied offer price of EUR 553 million (at 100%). As part of the transaction, the asset has been financed with a green mortgage loan of up to EUR 268 million that will be partly used to finance the ongoing shopping mall extension.”
The Havel & Partners team included Partners Petr Dohnal and Josef Zaloudek, Counsel David Smida, Managing Associates Josef Bouchal and Adam Karban, Senior Associate Patrik Chrast, and Junior Associates Dominika Hrebackova and Anna Gloserova.
The Dentons team included the Czech Republic Co-Managing Partner Jiri Strzinek, Partners Marketa Tvrda and Ondrej Barton, Associates Samuel Bodik, Jan Sedlak, and Martin Supak, and Junior Associate Jan Mozol.
As we step into the new year, we often look forward rather than back. However, to ensure you don’t miss anything important, we’d like to remind you of significant updates.
For instance, on December 30, 2024, an amendment to the AML Act came into effect, introducing changes to the rules for reporting a contact person. This refers to an employee or a member of the statutory body through whom obligated entities report suspicious transactions to the Financial Analytical Office (FAÚ) and communicate with it.
Under the amendment, all obligated entities (with exceptions for certain specific entities, such as attorneys, notaries, or specific art dealers — a list of affected entities is available here) must now notify the FAÚ of their designated contact person, including those that had already fulfilled this obligation previously. Obligated entities must also provide new information on the hours during which the contact person can be reached, ensuring this timeframe aligns with the hours during which the entity conducts transactions. Furthermore, the timeframe for notifying the FAÚ has been significantly shortened: 30 days for initial notifications of new obliged entities and 15 days for changes to previously reported information, compared to the previous deadlines of 60 and 30 days, respectively.
The contact person’s details must be reported using a specialized form, which will be available on the FAÚ website starting February 1, 2025. According to the amendment, this form must be submitted to the FAÚ exclusively via the data mailbox system.
The obligation to notify the FAÚ of the contact person under the new regime will apply from February 1, 2025, when the Ministry of Finance decree specifying the format and structure of submissions to the FAÚ takes effect. Existing obliged entities must comply with this obligation within 30 days of the Decree coming into force, by 3 March 2025 at the latest.
By Michaela Smotkova, Associate, JSK , PONTES
Kocian, Solc, Balastik has represented REMA in a long-running compensation claim against the Czech state, securing a final court ruling confirming that the Ministry of the Environment erred in a 2005 licensing procedure.
According to KSB, “the Court of Appeal finally confirmed that in 2005 the operator of the collective system REMA should have been selected as the sole administrator of funds for the management of historical electrical equipment in group 3. This breakthrough verdict brings the plaintiff operator of the collective system compensation for the loss of a major electrical equipment manufacturer due to the state’s errors and opens the door to further claims.”
In 2024, KSB represented REMA before the European Commission regarding this same matter (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 18, 2024).
The KSB team included Partner Tomas Sequens and Counsel Petra Mirovska.