Cobalt has analyzed the compliance of activities of AS Eesti Teed with the rules on state aid in Estonia.
Eesti Teed, which specializes in road maintenance, was founded by the Government of the Republic of Estonia as a result of the merger of five companies: AS Parnumaa Teed, AS Tartumaa Teed, AS Vorumaa Teed, AS Virumaa Teed, and AS Saaremaa Teed. The company was entered into the commercial register on March 15, 2012.
The Cobalt team consisted of Partner Elo Tamm and Associate Mart Blondal.
Cobalt has advised Tallinna Linnatranspordi AS, a public transportation company owned by the City of Tallinn, on the addition of bus routes.
The City of Tallinn decided to increase the volume of its contract with Tallinna Linnatranspordi by 11 routes, following the cease of operations of former public transportation operator MRP Liinid OUs.
Cobalt’s team was led by Counsel Kadri Matteus and included Partner Peeter Kutman and Senior Associate Heili Haabu.
Cobalt is advising its long-term client AS Ragn-Sells on an agreement it entered into with Eesti Energia to to research the possibility of recycling and increasing the value of oil shale ash.
The new technology being considered would help to reduce the ecological footprint of the Estonian energy industry and provide raw materials for other industries.
The Cobalt team is led by Partner Elo Tamm and Specialist Counsel Kadri Matteus, supported by Partner Peeter Kutman, Specialist Counsel Ott Aava, Senior Associates Heili Haabu and Liina Jets, Associates Mart Blondal and Mattias Tammeaid, and Assistant Lawyer Tiit-Gregor Mets.
Cobalt did not reply to our inquiries about the deal.
Leadell Pilv has announced that it is discontinuing the activities of its Tartu office and will be operating exclusively out of its main office in Tallinn going forward.
In a statement that appeared on the firm website, Leadell Pilv insisted that it “is still a full-service law firm,” and reported that, “although the firm has its permanent place of business in Tallinn, legal services are provided all over Estonia and with [the firm’s] Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts in other countries as well.”
According to that statement, “according to the decision of the partners of the office, the activities of the Tartu office were terminated as a result of long-term and thorough analysis and developments and changes in the legal services market. Above all, questions arose regarding practical considerations and the need for continuing the department, as well as of economic expediency.”
“Over the past 10-15 years, significant developments in society and in the economic environment, especially in the field of information technology, have also dramatically changed people’s past behavior,” explains Managing Partner Aivar Pilv. “For a long time now, it has been clearly noticeable that the client’s choice of lawyer will no longer be substantially affected by the location of the service provider …. This is especially true with regard to the size and distances of Estonia and people’s mobility.”
Instead, Pilv insists, “the choice of law areas offered by the law firm and related skills and experience, as well as specialization, are the decisive factors in making choices for clients by a law firm or a particular lawyer. Today, there are a number of convenient technical options for dealing with a lawyer, discussing the necessary actions and positions, which do not require a lawyer-client meeting every time during the work process. The necessary questions and solutions are handled promptly between the lawyer and the client, regardless of the distance and the location of someone. Therefore, the existence of a law office department in Estonia is no longer as important as some time ago or in 1996 when the Tartu office in question was opened.”
TGS Baltic has advised Chaga, an Estonian producer of organic food supplements, on its investment round on Funderbeam, a funding and trading platform which enables small investors to buy and sell equity stakes in private companies.
TGS Baltic aided in drafting and negotiating the shareholders’ agreement which included the full range of terms regulating the control over the company and possible scenarios for exit.
TGS Baltic’s team consisted of Partner Kadri Kallas and Associate Kart Raud.
Ellex Raidla has advised AbeStock AS, a wholesale company that is part of the ABC Group, on the acquisition of AS Sales-Star. The transaction is contingent on the permission of Estonia’s Competition Authority.
AbeStock AS offers services related to sales and distribution of food and consumer goods.
Ellex Raidla did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.
Ellex Raidla has advised the European Investment Bank on the signing of a EUR 20 million framework loan agreement with the Estonian City of Tartu that will support the city’s development plan and investments in education.
The loan will be the first EIB loan for an Estonian municipality outside Tallinn.
The Ellex Raidla team consisted of Partner Ermo Kosk and Counsel Toomas Kasesalu.
Sorainen has helped Holm Bank become the first credit institution in Estonia to obtain a credit institution license from the European Central Bank under the new European Union Single Supervision Mechanism framework.
Holm Bank will primarily offer lending and deposit services.
Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Reimo Hammerberg, Senior Associate Jane Eespold, and Associate Anneli Krunks.
Cobalt has advised the BaltCap Growth Fund on investing almost EUR 3 million of growth capital in Viru Haigla AS to expand the Pihlakodu chain of elderly care homes. As a result of the transaction, BaltCap will acquire a minority shareholding in Viru Haigla AS.
BaltCap established BaltCap Growth Fund in cooperation with the Baltic Innovation Fund for investment purposes. The Baltic Innovation Fund was created by the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian governments, and the European Investment Fund to boost equity investments into Baltic companies.
Pihlakodu is a chain of elderly care homes in Estonia. It operates close to 500 elderly nursing homes.
Cobalt’s team consisted of Partner Peeter Kutman, Senior Associate Karl Kull, and Assistant Lawyer Tiit-Gregor Mets.
TGS Baltic advised Royal Vopak N.V and Global Ports Investments PLC on the sale of the shares of Vopak E.O.S., an independent oil terminal operator in the Baltics, to Abu Dhabi-based Liwathon. The new name of the logistics company will be Liwathon E.O.S.
Liwathon E.O.S. is an independent terminal operator of oil products in the Baltic region, operating the Termoil, Trendgate, Pakterminal, and Stivterminal terminals. Liwathon E.O.S. terminals, which are directly connected to the international railway infrastructure, are located in the port of Muuga, Estonia, within the Port of Tallinn.
TGS Baltic’s team was led by Partner Kadri Kallas. The firm did not reply to our inquiry on this matter.
Editor’s Note: After this article was published Sorainen informed CEE Legal Matters that it had advised Liwathon on the deal. According to Sorainen, Vopak will be renamed Liwathon E.O.S. The firm’s team consisted of Partners Paul Kunnap and Toomas Prangli and Associate Mirjam Vichmann.