Category: Estonia

Estonian firm Jesse & Kalaus has announced that it has dissolved after three years, with Partner Piret Jesse bringing two members of her team to Sorainen as of June 1 and Tanel Kalaus bringing a separate team to Triniti.

According to Kalaus, “the decision was made jointly by all parties concerned to provide better legal services to our clients in the future. ”

Jesse will join Sorainen’s Corporate/M&A team, led by Partners Toomas Prangli and Karin Madisson. Commenting on joining Sorainen, she said: “The M&A market is developing well and regional market growth is expected to continue. I’m proud to be joining the top M&A team with the aim of ensuring the best-aligned highest quality services to our clients. I am sure that together we can handle complex, large-scale transactions even better and our clients will benefit from the joint long-term experience of the team.”

“I want to deliver the best service with the best team,” she added. “Sorainen values its people and has created a working environment that supports teamwork and personal development.” Former Jesse & Kalaus lawyers Robin Teever and Mirell Prosa will also join Sorainen.

“Our views with Piret are aligned,” said Prangli. “We soon realized how synergy of effort would help our clients succeed in business and our people succeed in their careers.”

Piret believes in a strong integrated international firm which invests in people and where the partners are hands on with client work and business development,” added Partner Karin Madisson.

Sorainen Senior Partner Aku Sorainen claimed he was “delighted at the opportunity to strengthen our partnership with an outstanding M&A professional and I am much looking forward to the synergy she will bring. Piret is ambitious and driven and I believe her skill-set will bring further diversity to our leadership team.”

Before co-founding Jesse & Kalaus in February 2015 she spent ten years with Tark Grunte Sutkiene.

Tanel Kalaus, who will join Triniti’s Bureau of Competition and Disputes, has been practicing competition law for over 17 years, advising both private and public clients on matters relating to competition law, including transactions, merger control both in Estonia and across borders, risk analyzes, relations with the Competition Authority and the European Commission, state aid and disputes, including representation in civil, administrative, misdemeanor and criminal proceedings.

“I am sincerely pleased to join Triniti with a very experienced and ambitious team, built on exactly the values ​​that I think have to be in one modern office,” he said. “This is the environment in which I want to contribute in the future.”

Before co-founding Jesse & Kalaus, Kalaus spent 15 years with the Estonian office of Raidla Lejins & Norcous (which in May 2015, shortly after he left, transformed into Ellex Raidla).

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised Hansapost on its merger with Finnish company Hobby Hall. HPP Attorneys advised Hobby Hall Oy and its Finnish shareholders SGN Group Oy (which acquired Hobby Hall early in 2007) and Four P&P Consulting Oy on the merger.

The turnover of the merged companies is valued at approximately EUR 80 million.  

“We started the renewal of the online store in the beginning of 2017 and the combination is a major step forward for Hobby Hall,” said Sam Nieminen, SGN Group Managing Director.

The Pohla & Hallmagi team was led by Partner Toivo Viilup and included Counsel Madli Astok.

Cobalt has advised Estonian venture capital firm Karma Ventures on its investment in Realeyes, a tech company that uses A.I. and computer vision to help computers read people’s emotions.

Cobalt describes Karma Ventures as “an early-stage venture capital firm, specializing in late seed and A-round investments in Europe’s most promising tech startups.” The firm has previously advised Karma Ventures on investments in AppGyver, Plumbr, SpectX, Adaptive Simulations, Minut, Sonarworks, and CGTrader.

This investment will be used to help the martech (marketing technology) firm expand into other sectors, including healthcare and education.

The Cobalt team included Partner Kristel Raidla-Talur and Associate Greete-Kristiine Kuru.

Ellex Raidla has advised Endover Kinnisvara on a EUR 7.5 million bond issuance.

The bonds — the second issued by the company — will allow for the development of the Fabrik residential and E, which forms part of the former Baltic Manufactory complex.

The purpose of the development is to create a prominent city district in the former production building in the north of Tallinn.

“The issuance of the Fabrik development bonds is planned in two parts and its total volume is 10 million euros,” said Endovers’ CEO Robert Laud. “In the first part, the goal was to raise 5.5 million euros but the investors’ interest was very high and there were significantly more subscription applications – more than 7 million euros.”

Ellex Raidla’s team included Partner Raino Paron and Senior Associate Helen Ratso. 

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised the Norwegian hotel operator Citybox on its agreement with Estonian company Porto Franco OU to establish a Citybox hotel in Tallin. Cobalt advised Porto Franco on the deal.

According to Pohla & Hallmagi, the Citybox hotel will be in the first building of the Porto Franco commercial and office complex in Tallinn that is currently under construction. Expected to be completed by June 2019, the hotel will have a total of 8,575 square meters of leasable space.

Founded in 2006, Citybox AS opened its first hotel in Bergen, Norway’s second largest city.

The manager of Citybox, Eivind Hjulstad, says the Citybox hotel — the the first opened by Citybox outside Norway — will launch the company’s strategy to open hotels in major European capitals.

Editor’s Note: After the article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Pohla & Hallmagi advised Citybox in cooperation with Norwegian law firm Thommessen Bergen. The Pohla & Hallmagi team consisted of Partner Juri Ploom and Senior Associates Teele Viilup and Taimar Ehrlich. The Thommessen Bergen team was led by Ivar Strandenes. Partner Aivar Taro led the Cobalt team.

Mari Matjus, a former Partner at Jesse & Kalaus, has joined Nove as an Associate Partner to head the firm’s Data Protection, Competition, and Pharmaceuticals practice group.

According to Nove, Matjus “conducts data protection audits and drafts impact assessments and privacy policies, helps keep record of processing activities and conclude data processing agreements between data controllers and processors, compiles and communicates internal data protection rules in companies, and supplements employment and service provision agreements.”

As a result of her addition, the firm reports, Nove “will significantly strengthen [its] team in regulatory and compliance matters, and Mari’s timely and accurate … advice could prevent long and exhausting disputes for clients.”

According to Nove, “Matjus has over ten years of experience in EU and Estonian competition law, advising clients in merger control, supply, sales and cooperation agreements, and on business restrictions of dominant undertakings. She holds a Master’s degree in law from University of Oxford, in addition to Master’s degree from Tartu University. At Oxford, Mari focused on medical, competition and EU law.”

Matjus joined Jesse & Kalaus in September 2015 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 18, 2015). Before that she spent five and a half years at Sorainen, where she was the Head of Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences.

Nove Partner Urmas Volens commented: “We are confident that the addition of the legal practice, areas of expertise and personal qualities of esteemed colleague Mari Matjus will create synergy with Nove’s current team. Both Nove’s and Mari’s client portfolios will benefit, as Nove will grow stronger in Mari’s areas of expertise, including in GDPR-related auditing and consulting, and Mari’s clientele will benefit from the top quality advice in Nove’s key practice areas – dispute resolution and complex M&A transactions.“

“We share similar values and goals,” added Matjus. “I wish to contribute to the development of a new generation law firm with an experienced team, which actively shapes Estonian legal practice in courts. I am confident that my clients will benefit from the knowledge, skills, and experience of Nove’s present team.”

Image source: epl.delfi.ee 

Cobalt has advised Estonian software company Helmes AS on its launch of an option program that will enable 70 of its employees to become shareholders of the company. Within the framework of the option program, 12 percent of the company’s shares will be distributed among employees on favorable conditions.

Andres Kaljo, Helmes’ Partner and CFO, says “employees are the most important asset of a software company and stock options are an additional means for giving momentum to cooperation between individuals and the company.”

Helmes is an international software house headquartered in Tallinn, with clients across Europe and development centers in Estonia and Belarus.

The Cobalt team consisted of Partner Egon Talur and Senior Associate Tonu Kolts.  

Cobalt has advised AS Alexela Varahaldus on an unspecified investment by the Wartsila Corporation into the Hamina LNG terminal.

Hamina LNG Oy is a joint venture of AS Alexela Varahaldus — an Estonian-based member of the Alexela Group — and Hemina Energia Oy. Wartsila focuses on smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. The company is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and operates globally.

The Cobalt team was led by Partner Peeter Kutman and Senior Associate Kristjan Kotkas.

Cobalt did not reply to our request for more information, including counsel for Hemina Energia or Wartsila.

TGS Baltic has advised EstateGuru, an Estonian property p2p lending marketplace, on the establishment of its first institutional credit line with Germany’s Varengold Bank AG. The bank was represented by Eversheds Sutherland.

EstateGuru, a cross-border marketplace for short-term property loans, has secured its first institutional credit line to be invested into loans originated in the Baltic market. The company currently has offices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the UK.

Varengold Bank AG is a German private bank that is headquartered in Hamburg that was founded in 1995 as an asset management boutique seeking to offer individual and high-performing financial products for private and institutional clients. In 2013, Varengold was granted a commercial banking license when it transformed into a full-fledged commercial bank.

“Establishing the cooperation is proof of having found a mutually beneficial cooperation model between a traditional financial institution and a fintech company,” commented EstateGuru CEO and Co-Founder Marek Partel. “The cooperation with Varengold Bank and other institutional investors enables EstateGuru to grow faster by offering a wider variety of property backed loans to our entire investor base and raise the flexibility of loan terms to our borrowers. It is an important milestone for EstateGuru in moving closer to our goal of becoming the leading provider of flexible property backed finance solutions in Europe.”

TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Marko Kairjak and Associate Elina Varendi.

The Eversheds Sutherland team was led by Senior Associate Lauri Liivat.

Cobalt has advised Estonian-based asset management service provider AS Kawe Kapital on obtaining an activity license to operate as an investment firm from the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority. The license gives AS Kawe Kapital the right to manage securities portfolios and to provide investment advisory services and certain ancillary services.

AS Kawe Kapital, founded in 1996, is a privately-owned investment manager. It manages separate client-focused portfolios.

The Cobalt team was led by Partner Kristel Raidla-Talur.