Category: Estonia

The Tallinn office of Cobalt has successfully represented the Havas marketing communications agency in a dispute with Alfa-Omega Communications regarding the results of a public procurement process organized by Enterprise Estonia.

According to Cobalt, the declaration that Havas’s bid had won the tender was challenged by Alfa-Omega Communications. According to the firm, the Public Procurement Review Committee, the Administrative Court, the Circuit Court, and the Supreme Court all rejected Alfa-Omega Communications’ claims.

Cobalt’s team included Specialist Counsel Kadri Matteus and Senior Associate Artur Knjazev.

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised Estonian vehicle rental company Mobire Group OU on the sale of a 53% stake to Inbank.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Inbank is a consumer finance-focused digital bank active in the Baltics and Poland with additional deposits accepted in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Inbank has over 3,200 active partners and 600,000 active contracts. Inbank bonds are listed on the Nasdaq Baltic Stock Exchange.

According to Inbank, “the purpose of the transaction is to strengthen Inbank’s position in the car financing market and enter into an innovative subscription-based business model. The acquisition of a stake in the Mobire Group will not have a significant impact on the economic activities of Inbank. Following the transaction, Mobire will continue to operate under its current name.”

Pohla & Hallmagi’s team was led by Partner Toivo Viilup.

Pohla & Hallmagi could not provide more information on the deal.

Ellec Raidla has helped the Council of the University of Tartu establish UniTartu Ventures — a way to direct the intellectual property created by UT researchers to research-and-technology-intensive companies.

According to Ellex, “one objective of the University of Tartu is to be the accelerator of smart economy in Estonia. This also means that the university is more actively participating in the creation of new high-tech companies. The need for a new company mainly resulted from the success and rapid development of the Institute of Genomics, institutes of the Faculty of Science and Technology, the university’s Feasibility Fund, and the university’s spin-off program in recent years.” According to the firm, “the university-owned intellectual property to be invested in growing enterprises via UniTartu Ventures may include, for instance, data, research findings, or patents. In addition to emerging companies stemming from the university, UniTartu Ventures can also cooperate with other Estonian or international technology companies that are in the early stage and need the intellectual property created at the university to develop.”

Ellex Raidla’s team included Managing Partner Ants Nomper and Counsels Antti Perli and Dmitri Rozenblat.

Cobalt has advised Estonian fintech company Modularbank on raising EUR 4 million of late seed funding. The round was led by Karma Ventures and BlackFin Capital Partners, with additional support from Plug and Play Ventures, Siena Capital, and angel investor Ott Kaukver. 

Cobalt describes Modularbank, which was founded in 2019 in Estonia, as “a next-generation core banking platform.” According to the firm, “it underpins the aims of both regulated banks and other businesses in meeting customer needs and aspirations by enabling the rapid rollout of new financial services.”

Cobalt’s team included Counsel Ott Aava and Associate Kerli Paasoja.

Cobalt did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Ellex announced that it had advised Karma Ventures and BlackFin Capital partners on the transaction. The firm’s team included Counsel Antti Perli, Senior Associate Hanna Pahk, and Associate Merlin Liis.

Pohla & Hallmagi has helped the E-Governance Academy establish a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting.

According to EGA, the joint venture was established to “provide digital transformation services for governments in Japan and [the] Asian region. The name of the new enterprise is Digital Governance Academy Asia-Pacific or D-GAP.” According to EGA, D-GAP will “use the knowledge accumulated in the Republic of Estonia, one of the world’s most advanced digital societies, to provide high-quality training, survey, and consulting services to meet the diverse needs related to the digital government in Japan and overseas. The knowledge transfer will be focused on supporting Japanese and Asian governments in the implementation of the one-stop shop and once-only approaches in public administration.”

D-GAP is registered as a Japanese corporation with a 60% stake owned by MURC and a 40% stake owned by eGA.

“The collaboration with our Japanese partner will result in the most efficient knowledge transfer to Japan and Asia,” said EGA Executive Director Hannes Astok. “EGA is keen to share 25 years of Estonian experience in developing digital societies and lessons learnt, to make digital transformation happen in Japan and Asia.”

“The importance of promoting digital government in Japan has been widely reaffirmed,” commented Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting President Satoshi Murabayashi. “D-GAP will share the Estonian philosophy and experience on how digital transformation can benefit a whole society and economy, not only by improving the efficiency of administration.”

Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting is a think tank consulting firm of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Based in Tokyo, Nagoyam and Osaka, its activities include research and recommendations on national and local government policies, consulting private companies, providing management information services, supporting human resource development, and conducting economic research.

The E-Governance Academy is a non-profit consulting organization founded in 2002 as a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Program, the Open Society Institute, and the Government of Estonia to create and transfer knowledge and best practices in the area of public sector digital transformation. 

Pohla & Hallmagi’s team was led by Partner Juri Ploom.

Cobalt has advised the shareholders of MCF Group Estonia OU on the sale of the company to Greenergy Data Centers.

According to Cobalt, following the transaction, Greenergy Data Centers now owns the “largest data center in the Baltics being established near Tallinn.” The data center, which will open in 2021, will have a maximum capacity of up to 20 megawatts.

Greenergy Data Centers is an Estonian data center design company, 95% of which belongs to the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund S.A. SICAV-RAIF, a fund established under the Three Seas Initiative. 3SIIF is a fund for infrastructure investment planning in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on the energy, transport, and digital infrastructure sectors.

Cobalt’s team included Partner Martin Simovart, Counsel Ott Aava, and Associate Kerli Paasoja.

Cobalt did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Sorainen’s Tallinn office has advised Sunly Land on the issuance of its EUR 14 million bonds, which are to be invested in by Estonia’s LHV pension funds. Ellex Raidla advised LHV on the deal.

According to Sorainen, the investment will be made in the form of bonds with an interest rate of 8%. Sunly’s bonds will be redeemed after five years. The firm reported that “with the investment, Sunly plans to grow its renewable energy portfolio by expanding the business in Poland, with a focus on building solar power plants.”

“Sunly will have solar power plants with a nominal capacity of 37 megawatts in Poland and 3.2 megawatts in Estonia by the end of 2020,” Priit Lepasepp, CEO of Sunly, commented on the deal. “We will be using the investment … made by LHV to fully develop and construct an additional 100 megawatts of solar capacity.”

Sunly Land is a part of Sunly, a developer of renewable energy and cleantech innovation energy in the Baltics.

Sorainen’s team consisted of Senior Associates Katlin Krisak, Piret Lappert, and Jane Eespold.

Ellex Raidla’s team included Partners Ermo Kosk and Gerli Kivisoo and Counsels Toomas Kasesalu and Rain Raa.

Cobalt has advised  AS Ekspress Grupp, a Baltic media group listed on the Tallinn Stock Exchange, on the conclusion of the employees share option program and the setting up of a new option program. LHV Pank was involved as the arranger in carrying out the issue.

For the realization of the current option program, AS Ekspress Grupp increased its share capital by issuing one million new ordinary shares with a nominal value of EUR 0.6 euros per share. 

Cobalt’s team included Partners Marina Kotkas and Karina Paatsi and Senior Associates Heili Haabu, Tonu Kolts, and Mattias Tammeaid.

Former Nove Founding Partner Partner Urmas Volens has left that Estonian law firm to become a new member of the Civil Chamber of the Riigikohus — Estonia’s Supreme Court — replacing retiring Judge Henn Joks.

From 1998 to 2009, Volens held various positions in the Estonian Ministry of Justice, the last four years as Deputy Secretary General and Head of Legal Policy Department.

From 2010 to 2016, he practiced in the Tallinn office of Sorainen, before co-founding Nove in March of 2016.  Since 2015, he has also been an Associate Professor of Civil Proceedings at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tartu. 

“Volens is one of the best experts in private law in Estonia and thus an excellent addition to the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court,” said Villu Kove, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, adding “it is important to me that different views are represented in the Supreme Court and Volens helps to bring an external view here.”

“Being appointed to the Supreme Court is a great honor for me,” Volens commented, “and I hope to be able to contribute to the development of Estonian Civil Law. I also hope to use my experience and knowledge to help resolve civil disputes in the most efficient and fair manner.”

Volens’ candidacy was supported by 68 members of the Riigikogu — the Estonian Parliament —with 19 voting against and two abstentions. It is a lifetime appointment. There are 19 judges in the Supreme Court.

The Estonian office of Sorainen and Sweden’s Vinge Law Firm have advised Swedish industrial group Hexatronic on the acquisition of Estonia-based Baltronic and Canada-based Toronics.

According to Sorainen, “Baltronic and Toronics supply and assembly fiber optic products with a focus on wireless and FTTH solutions. The production unit was established in Estonia in 2001 and is the largest fiber optic termination house in the Baltics where standard and customized products are assembled.” The firm also reports that the selling shareholder of Baltronic Group and Toronics is “the founder and chairman who will continue in the Hexatronic Group with a continued focus on developing the business in Canada.”

“Baltronic Group and Toronics have been trusted partners for many years and we are very pleased to welcome the team to the Hexatronic Group,” says Hexatronic Group CEO Henrik Larsson. “This acquisition will bring us a strong presence in the Baltics [and] skills and expertise in wireless network solutions where they have long experience, and [will] gain us a footprint in the Canadian FTTH-market as part of our North American growth strategy. Baltronic’s production facility will also increase our production capacity in Europe and bring us closer to a number of important markets and thereby increase our competitiveness.”

Sorainen’s team included Partners Piret Jesse, Paul Kunnap, Algirdas Peksys, and Janis Taukacs, Counsels Norman Aas, Andis Burkevics, and Darius Raulusaitis, Senior Associates Kaido Kunnapas, Piret Lappert, Lise-Lotte Laane, Renate Purvinska, Britta Retel, Agita Sprude, Natalija Sestakova, and Robin Teever, and Associates Liva Aleksejeva, Juliana Pavilovska, and Nele Suurmets.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.