Category: Lithuania

Sorainen has advised the Lords LB Baltic Fund III on the share-deal sale of a shopping center in Klaipeda to the Union RE Core Fund I. Cobalt advised the buyer.

According to Sorainen, the shopping center has a total area of 17,000 square meters and is fully leased, with tenants including retail chains Rimi, Topo Centers, and Jysk.

The Lords LB Baltic Fund III is a real estate investment fund managed by Lithuania-headquartered company Lords LB Asset Management.

Launched in 2021, the Union Re Core Fund I investment fund is managed by Union Asset Management. The fund invests in commercial real estate leased by food retail chains.

The Sorainen team included Partner Kestutis Adamonis and Senior Associate Julija Kirkiliene.

The Cobalt team included Partner Simona Oliskeviciute-Ciceniene and Senior Associate Kostas Grigaitis.

Sorainen has advised Siauliu Bankas on establishing the SB Modernisation Fund for renovating apartment buildings and signing loan agreements worth EUR 275 million with investors. TGS Baltic advised the European Investment Bank on granting a EUR 90 million loan – together with the Government of Lithuania – to Siauliu Bankas for the new fund.

The Council of Europe Development Bank, Swedbank, and the Nordic Investment Bank were among the investors.

“The fund administered by Siauliu Bankas will consist not only of investors’ funds but also of funds from the Lithuanian state and the European Structural and Investment Fund,” Sorainen informed. “It is planned that the funds will be utilized to renovate 600 old multi-apartment buildings improving the living conditions of 16,000 households. The project is expected to save 200 gigawatt-hours of heat and about 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.”

The Sorainen team included Partners Tomas Kontautas, Mantas Petkevicius, and Indre Sceponiene and Senior Associates Dalia Augaite, Agne Sovaite, Vitalija Impoleviciene, and Rasa Mikutiene.

The TGS Baltic team included Managing Partner Vilius Bernatonis and Senior Associate Sebastian Okinczyc.

TGS Baltic has advised I Asset Management on obtaining an alternative investment fund manager license under the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive, to operate throughout the EU.

According to the firm, “the management company license grants the right to manage alternative collective investment undertakings and to establish collective investment undertakings, across the European Union, and market investments in such undertakings under the pan-European marketing passport. This is the fifth alternative investment fund manager license in Lithuania.”

I Asset Management is a Vilnius-headquartered investment management company with assets under management amounting to around EUR 200 million.

The TGS Baltic team included Partner Agnius Pilipavicius, Senior Associate Karolina Lapinskaite, Associate Elvinas Kizys, and Junior Associate Kotryna Visockyte.

Motieka & Audzevicius has assisted AAA Capital with obtaining merger clearance from the Lithuanian Competition Council for its acquisition of Medicinos Bankas. TGS Baltic advised Medicinos Bankas and sellers Konstantinas Karosas and Western Petroleum Limited on the merger clearance process. 

Medicinos Bankas is a Lithuanian-based bank with more than 40 branches in the country.

“When investing in businesses, our team’s strategy is always focused on sustainable, long-term business growth and the creation of appropriate returns for shareholders,” AAA Capital Chairman Marius Jakulis Jason commented. “We will follow these principles when investing in Medicinos Bankas. We will present the business strategy in more detail after receiving the approval of the regulatory authorities.”

The Motieka & Audzevicius team included Partner Giedrius Kolesnikovas and Associate Laurynas Ramonas.

The TGS Baltic team included Partner Robertas Degesys, Senior Associate Indre Vickaite Liatuke, and Associate Edvinas Einoris.

Walless has advised the Taupa credit union on its seven-year subordinated bond issuance.

“The bonds were placed by way of a private placement to a limited number of investors,” Walless informed. “This is the first-ever debt securities issue in Lithuania by a credit union marking further development of the Lithuanian debt securities market. The subordinated bonds are included in Tier 2 capital and strengthen the capital base of Credit Union Taupa.”

Established in 1997, Taupa’s activities were transferred to Vilnius in 2014. As of December 31, 2021, Taupa had a total of 2,904 members.

The Walless team consisted of Associate Partner Laurynas Narvydas and Senior Associate Enrika Tamasauskaite.

Walless did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

TGS Baltic has successfully represented Klaipedos Nafta before the Siauliai Regional Court in a dispute regarding the award of company shares to its employees.

Klaipedos Nafta is an energy resource logistics company operating in the Baltic States.

According to the firm, “the plaintiff, defending the public interest, requested that the rules and agreements on granting shares of Klaipedos Nafta – a state-owned company – be declared invalid on the basis that state-owned companies cannot grant shares to their employees.”

“The Siauliai Regional Court that settled the claim stated that Klaipedos Nafta had used exclusively its own (company’s) and not state property when paying a part of the annual bonus to employees in the form of shares,” TGS Baltic informed. “Therefore, the legal acts regulating management, use, and disposal of state property cannot be applied to such share granting and, therefore, dismissed the claim and awarded Klaipedos Nafta its litigation costs.”

TGS Baltic previously represented Klaipedos Nafta before the Lithuanian Court of Appeal in a case worth EUR 6 million in damages (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 1, 2020).

The TGS Baltic team included Partner Agnius Pilipavicius, Chief Expert Vytautas Zelianka, Senior Associate Tadas Varapnickas, and Associates Audinga Liekyte and Berta Kasetaite.

Former Utenos Trikotazas Chief Commercial Officer Marijus Krisciunas has joined TGS Baltic as a Partner.

Specializing in tax law, Krisciunas was a Chief Commercial Officer at Utenos Trikotazas from 2020 to 2021. Previously, he was a Chief Executive Officer at Ermi Group and a Chair of the Supervisory Board at Bauhof Group between 2018 and 2019. Before that, Krisciunas spent over 15 years at Vilniaus Prekyba Group companies as a Board Member from 2004 to 2019.

Prior to moving in-house, Krisciunas spent over seven years at PwC, first as a Lawyer from 1997 to 2000, later as an Attorney-at-Law from 2000 to 2003, and as a Tax Lawyer from 2003 to 2004.

“I am coming to the law firm from business and I believe that my knowledge will help clients’ businesses,” Krisciunas commented. “My experience in various areas – retail, wholesale and e-commerce, management of the real estate and securities portfolios, production, management of a family office – has allowed me to find non-standard solutions in a number of cases. TGS Baltic is constantly looking for exceptional solutions for its clients and new business models, which is why I joined this law firm, one of the leaders in the market. I am sure that combining different practices will allow for the development of top-quality services and response to business needs.”

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

The record year for M&A transactions, the emergence of new startups, and a new draft on company law get lawyers talking in Lithuania, according to TGS Baltic Partner Dalia Tamasauskaite-Ziliene.

“Last year, in terms of general M&A, has been very busy,” says Tamasauskaite-Ziliene. “In 2021, there was a significant increase both in numbers and the size of the transactions, making 2021 a record year. Overall, the beginning of this year also looked very optimistic, however, the war in Ukraine has made the business sector more cautious.” According to her, while transactions have not stopped entirely and the market remains quite active, the upcoming months may not look as promising.

“In addition to traditional M&A, for the past few years we have also seen significant growth in the number of startups,” she adds. “There are new unicorns in the market across the entire Baltic region, including Lithuania. We hope investors remain interested in our market, despite the war.”

As for the legislative updates, Tamasauskaite-Ziliene points out that Lithuania’s major upcoming reform is related to company law. “The current legal framework does not meet the market requirements anymore,” she explains. “The existing companies, as well as startups, have been pointing out certain issues related to it for several years already. Accordingly, we have a draft law aiming at making the corporate regulations more flexible and attractive, for instance, by enabling using different classes of shares. The introduced changes will hopefully contribute to attracting foreign investors.” The draft law is being discussed, she says. “We still have to see if the changes are sufficient or if further updates are needed, based on their effect on the market.”

Another major change in Lithuania, according to Tamasauskaite-Ziliene, is related to implementing ultimate beneficial owner regulations. “We have finally implemented the EU directive on UBO disclosure in practice,” she says.

“In terms of the economy, some sectors are a bit more concerned than others,” Tamasauskaite-Ziliene points out. “The year already started with significant inflation in Lithuania. The geopolitical situation and sanctions had, and will definitely continue to have, an impact on the economy. We already see that projects are taken more cautiously, calculating the potential impact of the war, sanctions, and their effect on supply chains.” According to her, some investors – private equity, for example – remain active. However, “when it comes to construction or similar other projects that are about to start, they are a bit more hesitant. On top of that, certain other sectors, such as transportation, will definitely be more deeply affected.”

Finally, Tamasauskaite-Ziliene says that market developments in the infrastructure and green energy sectors look very positive. “Deals related to green energy, wind, and solar parks were already very common, and will be active further, owing to the need to refocus the whole energy market and be independent of Russian energy supplies,” she concludes.

Former Glimstedt Partner Andrius Ivanauskas has joined Walless.

According to the firm, Ivanauskas will join the Mergers and Acquisitions practice group, with the main focus on private equity and venture capital.

Before joining Walless, Ivanauskas spent almost 18 years with Glimstedt, having made Partner in 2017. He has an LL.M. from Vilnius University as well as from the University of Amsterdam.

“I am excited to join the Walless team which is deeply specialized in all business law topics, highly energized and enthusiastic,” commented Ivanauskas. 

“I welcome Andrius and trust he will become an invaluable part of our team and strong support for our clients’ M&A projects,” added Managing Partner Dovile Burgiene.

TGS Baltic has provided pro bono assistance to Vilnius Jesuit High School in establishing a school-based untouchable capital sponsorship fund.

According to TGS Baltic, “on the initiative of two graduates of the Vilnius Jesuit High School, over fifty sponsors were found and more than EUR 120,000 was collected over the period of 9 months. The main purpose of the established untouchable capital fund is to invest into the high school community and future innovations.”

TGS Baltic’s team included Managing Partner Vilius Bernatonis, Partner Agnius Pilipavicius, and Junior Associate Kotryna Visockyte.