Category: Lithuania

Cobalt has advised the Baltic Horizon Fund on its agreement with ECRE IV (Lux) for the full sale of BH Duetto – the owner of the Duetto I and II office buildings in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Closing is expected in June 2023, pending regulatory approval.

“The sale price of the assets is approximately EUR 37 million, which is close to the latest valuation,” Cobalt informed. “The exact sale price will be calculated on the closing date, however, the price may be subject to post-closing adjustments. The transaction proceeds will be used mainly to partially redeem the new bond and invest in the centrally located assets of the fund.”

The Baltic Horizon Fund is a registered contractual public closed-end real estate fund managed by Alternative Investment Fund Manager license holder Northern Horizon Capital.

“We continue to implement the investment strategy of Baltic Horizon Fund,” Baltic Horizon Fund Manager Tarmo Karotam commented. “Taking into account economic cycles, financial markets, and the opportunities provided by the development of capital cities, we shall reduce the financial obligations of the fund and redirect investment flows towards the upgrade of the unique properties in the fund’s portfolio. The changes implemented in our central properties in recent years, including the Europa Center in Vilnius and the Galerija Centrs in Riga, along with the approved future strategies, ensure the achievement of long-term goals for the assets and for the fund.”

The Cobalt team included Partner Simona Oliskeviciute-Ciceniene, Of Counsel Andrius Kazlauskas, Managing Associate Rasa Mikutiene, and Senior Associate Elena Venckiene.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Fort Legal announced it had advised the East Capital Real Estate Fund IV on the acquisition. The firm’s team included Partner Ruta Radzeviciute-Meizeraite, Attorney-at-Law Agne Meceliene, Senior Associate Aurelija Grigoraviciute, and Associate Gabriele Mickeviciute.

Motieka & Audzevicius has announced that the firm is changing its brand for visual communication to Motieka, while keeping its team and legal structure intact.

“The new visual identity will be used in communication, but the name of the legal entity will remain unchanged – the professional law partnership will be called Motieka & Audzevicius,” the firm announced.

“The transformation aims to honor the memory of Kazimieras Motieka, the founder of the firm, who passed away in August 2021,” Motieka’s press release stated.

“Kazimieras Motieka, who founded the law firm in 1959 and was highly respected in the legal profession, was and remains the standard for excellence in the legal field,” Motieka Partner Ramunas Audzevicius commented. “Therefore, having his name in the firm’s brand represents not only a specific person but also a set of qualities that are most suitable for a lawyer.”

“We have great ambitions for resolving legal disputes in the region, and long names that are hard to pronounce in foreign markets are definitely not helpful – we have encountered this problem more than once,” Audzevicius added.

Former Senior Associates Audrius Slazinskas, Evaldas Petraitis, and Ruslan Boiko have been promoted to Associate Partners at Noor.

Slazinskas, who will also lead Noor’s Acquisitions and Mergers and Private Equity subgroup, first joined Noor’s predecessor, SPC Legal, in 2018 as a Senior Associate and later rejoined the firm in 2022. Between 2021 and 2022, he served as a Legal Counsel at Vinted, while in 2020 he worked as a Head of Legal at the Akso Fund. Between 2017 and 2018, he was a Head of Legal at Atlantis Games and Safein, while in 2017 Slazinskas headed Helis’ legal department. Earlier still, Slazinskas was an Associate at Cobalt from 2014 to 2017, Head of Legal at GoldmanHill from 2013 to 2014, and Legal Assistant at Tark Grunte Sutkiene from 2011 to 2012.

Petraitis specializes in corporate and M&A and private equity and will lead Noor’s Risk Capital subgroup. Petraitis joined Noor legacy firm SPC Legal in 2020 as a Senior Associate. Earlier, he was a Senior Associate with the ZRG Law Firm from 2018 to 2020, and an Associate at Cobalt from 2015 to 2018. Petraitis was also an Associate at Kruckauskas Blaskevicius & Partners, from 2013 to 2015, and at Varul from 2012 to 2013.

Boiko has expertise in white-collar crime and compliance. Earlier, he spent over 20 years with the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office. He holds a Master’s degree in law from Mykolas Romeris University.

“With the successful development of our corporate and transactional practice, we are gaining more and more expertise in specialized areas,” Noor Partner Mindaugas Rimkus commented. “Thus, with this step, we are consolidating the naturally formed practices of the office. Team members who become managers are the best in their fields. Such refinement of subgroups will help to better organize the firm’s internal processes, deepen knowledge in a purposeful way, and therefore clients will receive even better professional assistance.”

Walless has successfully represented KC Projektai before the Supreme Court of Lithuania in a state land lease agreement-related dispute.

“The company had bought buildings and roads, and leased over 17 hectares of state land from the National Land Office in Lithuania, planning to modernize and operate a building complex,” Walless informed. “Unfortunately, their plans stalled as they encountered major unforeseen obstacles. When the National Land Office conducted the site inspection and found no buildings on the premise, they concluded this to be a valid reason for terminating the land lease.”

According to the firm, the Supreme Court found that KC Projektai had acted proactively during the lease term. “The Court restored the rights to develop the land, stating that one of the essential principles of contract law is the principle of cooperation between the parties, which is also relevant in assessing the existence of a contract breach,” Walless reported.

The Walless team included Associate Partners Mantas Lideika and Jovita Gabniene.

Sorainen has advised Bagfactory on its investment from Livonia Partners. TGS Baltic advised Livonia Partners.

The transaction, which would see Livonia Partners acquire 48% of Bagfactory’s shares, is contingent on regulatory approval.

Bagfactory is a Baltics manufacturer of non-woven and paper bags. Livonia Partners is a private equity fund focused on buyout and growth capital investments in small to mid-sized companies in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

According to Sorainen, “the new investment will allow Bagfactory to accelerate the already fast growth of the company. Special attention will be given to closed-loop processes including the collection, recycling, and manufacturing of materials and final products. The company will also consider the acquisition of other manufacturing and sales companies in the European Union and the United States and the opening of new sales offices abroad.”

According to the firm, “since the establishment of the company in 2015, the team has invested heavily in developing technologies for making environmentally-friendly carrier bags. In 2022, Bagfactory‘s turnover reached EUR 10.4 million, more than double that of 2021. This year Bagfactory will begin to manufacture R-PET carrier bags in an automated manner, from 100% recycled PET bottles. With this innovation and built machinery, Bagfactory claims to be the first company in the world to have replaced the needle-and-thread method used in Asia.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Mantas Petkevicius and Senior Associate Mindaugas Dominykas Baniulis.

TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Marius Matonis, Senior Associates Indre Vickaite-Liatuke, Jonas Salna, Ruta Tikuisyte, and Rokas Kazakevicius, Associates Auguste Linauskaite and Violeta Maciulyte, and Junior Associate Paulius Baronas.

Ellex has advised the EBRD on its EUR 38.23 million secured loan to Vilnius city municipality-owned public transport company Vilniaus Viesasis Transportas for the renewal of Vilnius public transport.

“The proceeds of the financing will be used to finance the renewal of the trolleybuses fleet of the city, notably the purchase of battery/electricity-powered trolleybuses to replace the aging fleet of 159 trolleybuses currently in use,” Ellex informed. “It will be one of the most extensive renewals in Vilnius Municipality%u2019s history. By improving the quality and reliability of trolleybuses, the project is expected to enhance the attractiveness, increase the ridership of Vilnius’ public transport, and encourage a modal shift towards low-emission, electric transport modes. The project is expected to result in reduced emissions and enhanced energy efficiency.”

“The fleet renewal project is part of a broader city program to achieve sustainable mobility in Vilnius, which aims to make public transport the backbone of Vilnius by ensuring quick and safe transport within the city and increasing connectivity between the city and peripheral areas through public transport service,” the firm added.

The Ellex team was led by Partner Giedrius Stasevicius and Associate Partner Egle Neverbickiene.

Former Rail Baltica Head of Litigation Karolis Gudas has returned to private practice to launch his eponymous Karolis Gudas Law Firm.

Gudas had been with Rail Baltica since March 2021. Before that, he was the Head of Legal of Ignitis Group between 2016 and 2022. Earlier still, he was a Legal Advisor at IFE Eriksen.

Before moving in-house Gudas was a Lawyer with Motieka & Audzevicius between 2011 and 2014.

“As someone who has spent almost a decade working in legal executive positions within the investment, energy, and infrastructure industries, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in the legal field,” commented Gudas. “However, I have recently decided to transition to an attorney at law. This shift will allow me to work more closely with clients, providing them with valuable legal guidance as they navigate complex issues. As an attorney at law, I will have the opportunity to expand my practice areas and focus on the subject matters where I can bring the most value to my clients, with a particular emphasis on dispute resolution, energy and infrastructure, and finance. I am excited about this new chapter in my career and look forward to utilizing my skills and expertise to help clients achieve their legal goals.”

Adon Legal has advised the Galio Group on obtaining EUR 11 million in financing from the Citadele Bank for the development of a residential project in Vilnius.

The Galio Group is a Lithuanian capital real estate development company, operating since 2006.

According to Adon Legal, “Revingis2, one of the Galio Group companies, will use the EUR 11 million loan for the first phase of the ReVingis project, River Space. The funding is allocated for the construction and development of 10,000 square meters of A+ energy efficiency class residential buildings.”

According to the firm, “the project is being implemented on the bank of the Neris River, next to the largest city park, Vingis Park. As part of the project, a massive industrial area is planned to be transformed into leisure, recreation, and residential space, by installing four multi-apartment blocks with more than 600 apartments. The Neris embankment is set to be renewed: modern bike and pedestrian paths will be laid, connecting the project’s homes with Vingis Park, and recreational alleys will be installed. The completion of the first phase of construction is planned for the first quarter of 2024.”

Back in 2022, Adon Legal had also advised the Galio Group on a EUR 26 million loan from Citadele Bank, set to be used for the development of several residential projects (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 4, 2022).

Adon Legal’s team was led by Partner Marius Matiukas.

Adon Legal was unable to disclose further information on the deal.

Sorainen has represented Belor in a dispute with Arvi Fertis administrator Aurimas Valaitis – the Marijampole fertilizer company being in bankruptcy – for compensation of damages amounting to almost EUR 1.2 million.

Belor is a subsidiary of German-based Belor Eurofert and is a Lithuanian fertilizer trading company.

According to Sorainen, “the administrator is alleged to have caused damage to the creditors of Arvi Fertis when the company’s assets were illegally transferred to Marijampole’s NPK company, which used Arvi Fertis production and other facilities free of charge for approximately two years, although for the use of valuable assets the company in bankruptcy had an opportunity to earn a real income. A part of Arvi Fertis assets used for fertilizer production was acquired by Marijampole NPK in February 2021, for EUR 7.5 million, but the Court of Appeal declared this transaction as invalid in October last year, as it was concluded as a result of a malicious agreement with the other party to the transaction.”

According to the firm, “Belor argued to the court that the fact that one other prospective buyer was offering to pay EUR 8.3 million for the assets may have been hidden from the creditors. The Vilnius Regional Court initiated bankruptcy proceedings for Arvi Fertis in May 2019, when the company‘s liabilities to creditors were in excess of EUR 18 million, while the value of its assets amounted to EUR 5.3 million.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Laurynas Lukosiunas, Senior Associate Greta Kubiliunaite, and Assistant Lawyer Vincas Sniute.

Soraienen has advised Vsquared Ventures on participating in the EUR 4.5 million seed investment round into Droplet Genomics.

Practica Capital and Meta Planet participated in the round as well.

According to Sorainen, the Droplet Genomics start-up will from now on “be known under the name Atrandi Biosciences. Established in 2016, the Lithuanian start-up intends to accelerate development by setting up a team in the United States and continuing the commercialization of droplet microfluidics and single-cell research technologies. Micro-droplet technology replaces test-tube research with droplets and can be applied in basic research or the search for new drugs.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Mantas Petkevicius, Senior Associates Matas Maciuslaitis, Aurelija Daubaraite, and Sidas Sokolovas, and Associates Goda Jakubauskaite, Izabele Petrikaite, and Simonas Slitas.

Sorainen did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.