Category: Lithuania

Triniti Jurex’ Giedre Ciuladiene and Arturas Vaisvila have become Partners, while Raminta Vilcinskaite and Olga Siomina have been promoted to Associate Partners with the firm.

Ciuladiene works primarily on M&A transactions. She joined the firm in 2016 as an Associate Partner. Before that, she spent five years in-house with the Neries investicijos group, between 2011 and 2016, and another nine with Hermis Capital, from 2003 to 2012. According to the firm, Ciuladiene specializes in advising start-ups, with a focus on artificial intelligence start-ups.

According to the firm, Vaisvila, who has “more than 20 years of experience in dispute resolution in the fields of transport and insurance, helps clients to develop innovative management products in this area.” He has been with the firm since 2018 when he first joined as an Associate Partner. He previously spent over eleven years at Advokatu Kontora Vaisvila ir Partneriai, as an Attorney-at-Law.

Vilcinskaite specializes in real estate development and regulation, having worked “extensively on green and environmentally friendly projects in recent years.” Vilcinskaite joined the firm as a Senior Associate in 2016. Before that, she was an Associate Attorney with Balticlaw Pranckevicius, Valiulis and Partners, from 2014 to 2016, the Meskauskiene Law Firm, between 2011 and 2014, and Rhetor R&R, from 2004 to 2011.

“With more than 15 years of experience, [Siomina] has an exceptional track record in advising clients on migration and recruitment of expatriate and temporary workers, thus helping clients to ensure diversity in employment conditions,” according to the firm. She joined Jurex as a Senior Associate in 2017, before the firm’s 2020 merger with Triniti. Before that, she spent four years as an Attorney-at-Law with Pavlov & Partners, between 2014 and 2017.

“We are particularly excited about growing from within. It proves that our firm is a good place to work and grow and that our clients have the best talent for their business,” Triniti Jurex Managing Partner Vilija Viesunaite commented. “The new partners have made a significant contribution to the firm’s performance during this difficult period when we had to face not only the challenges of the pandemic but also to arrange the process of merging two equal firms.”

Sorainen has advised Nosto on its acquisition of Lithuanian e-commerce startup SearchNode. Magnusson advised the seller. Bird & Bird reportedly advised Nosto.

“The strategic acquisition of SearchNode’s award-winning search technology will allow Nosto clients to implement site-wide personalization, merchandising, segmentation, and testing strategies natively to optimize the entire shopping journey,” Nosto announced.

SearchNode search engine designed for e-stores is used by more than 100 customers worldwide, including Decathlon, Euronics, and Douglas.

Established in Finland in 2011, Nosto offers consumer behavior analysis, enabling e-merchants to provide automated and personalized recommendations. Nosto has around 150 employees and offices in Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, and Helsinki.

“In joining Nosto, we’ll be able to pair SearchNode’s natural language processing search technology with Nosto’s market-leading personalization and merchandising capabilities to deliver not only the most relevant search results but also a unique and most advanced out of the box offering to optimize site-wide experiences,” SearchNode CEO Antanas Baksys commented.

The Sorainen team was led by Partner Mantas Petkevicius and Senior Associate Matas Maciulaitis and included Partner Algirdas Peksys, Associates Sidas Sokolovas, Giedre Citaviciute, and Gabriele Raizyte, and Legal Assistant Goda Jakubauskaite.

The Magnusson team was led by Lithuania-based Partner Ligita Ramanauskaite and Senior Associate Kestutis Baranauskas and included Senior Associates Giedre Burdulyte and Indra Burneikaite, Associates Roma Morkunaite and Viktorija Dubovskiene, and Finland-based Senior Partner Ville Salonen.

A booming economy – with some legislative updates hampering the smooth sailing of corporate operations – and frictions with China and Belarus are the key updates for Lithuania, according to Glimstedt Partner Andrius Ivanauskas.

“There are two major topics that dominate the political discourse in Lithuania right now,” begins Ivanauskas. “The first one is the strained trade relation status with China.” Recently, Ivanauskas reports, Taiwan opened a representative office in Lithuania, irking the People’s Republic of China. “The representative office uses the word ‘Taiwan’ in its official name, which incurred China’s anger and led to some friction for Lithuanian companies that do business with the Asian giant,” he reports. “I expect that some of the trade relation hurdles might even end up being solved with the help of the European Union.”

Furthermore, Ivanauskas points to the current status of Belarus. “With the sanctions firmly in place, Belarus apparently organized swaths of migrants flowing over into Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland – a lot of them from Iraq,” he says. “With Lithuania being a close neighbor, and the sanctions being a political constant, there has been blowback in terms of doing business as well.” Ivanauskas points to a recent example where the CEO of Lithuanian Railways had to step down due to having continued transportation of Belaruskali production. “The CEO was most efficient in his work, alas the political ramifications would have been too big and he had to be relieved.” 

Following these political implications, there are two areas of consequence when it comes to legislation. “Firstly, speaking of the sanctions – it is difficult for the Lithuanian government to implement international sanctions in a way that the international partners to most of our businesses are happy and not suffering much.” He believes that the Lithuanian parliament will, in the end, introduce sanctions into the broader legal framework, but that it might lead to some blowback, business-wise.

“Secondly, there is the matter of the EU-wide push for introducing legislative mechanisms towards scrutinizing FDI more,” Ivanauskas reports. “Lithuania has passed a law to this end some while back, but the implementation has ushered in some difficulties.” He provides the example of a Spanish railway construction company: “The company in question was denied their investment because some of their ultimate owners were a Chinese company. You can offer, from this example, that businesses might face problems while operating freely due to this law being implemented.”

However, despite such obstacles, the Lithuanian economy is booming. “Our GDP numbers were great, even with the pandemic,” Ivanauskas says. “Our pre-pandemic momentum was that of such growth that COVID-19 only made a small dent – but we kept right on going.” And, building on a 2021 that saw “a record number of M&A transactions,” Ivanauskas highlights which sectors are booming. 

“Obviously, healthcare is quite active,” he says. “Closing is expected to occur soon on the merger of two of the largest private healthcare clinics in the country.” In addition, he mentions that the IT sector has been a star performer, with “many startups getting their Series A and Series B – to the tune of millions of dollars.”

Finally and somewhat surprisingly, Ivanauskas reports that the entertainment sector was in the top three most active ones. “Despite the pandemic, there has been a lot of activity in this area, most notably with the attempted merger of some of the largest cinema chains in the Baltics,” which was blocked in Lithuania on competition grounds. Overall, Ivanauskas describes a vibrant economy, with active business sectors poised on an upwards trajectory.

Walless has advised Vilniaus Baldai on its EUR 6 million issuance of six-year bonds. TGS Baltic advised the State Aid Fund for Business on purchasing all the bonds. 

The State Aid Fund for Business is managed by Lithuania’s State Investment Management Agency (VIVA).

According to Walless, “the received funds will significantly contribute to the strengthening of the company’s liquidity and ensuring the continuity of planned investments.”

Vilniaus Baldai specializes in the production of light storage flat-pack furniture from honeycomb panels. The company has recently completed the first 73,000-square-meter stage of its project involving its new production facility in the Trakai District. Vilniaus Baldai’s products are sold in Europe, Asia, the US, and Australia.

The Walless team included Senior Associate Enrika Tamasauskaite.

The TGS Baltic team consisted of Partners Dalia Tamasauskaite-Ziliene and Zygimantas Stankevicius and Legal Assistant Paulius Baronas.

Ruta Armone, Migle Petkeviciene, and Dovile Stancikaite have been promoted to Partner at Ellex in Lithuania. 

According to Ellex, “Armone, who has been with the firm for ten years now, is a Co-Head of the Corporate and M&A practice, and in recent years has been working mainly on M&A, start-ups, and capital market projects. Moreover, she acts actively in the development of the venture capital and start-up ecosystem.” Prior to joining Ellex, Armone has spent a year with Glimstedt and almost two in-house with Ziavalda.

According to the firm, “Petkeviciene is a data protection law expert who started her career at Ellex Valiunas 14 years ago. She has made a significant contribution to the implementation of the GDPR in Lithuania” and also focuses on technologies and digital products law issues and the implementation of ESG projects. Petkeviciene holds a master’s degree in Law from Vilnius University.

According to the firm, Stancikaite is a real estate lawyer with “20 years of legal experience and has been a member of the Ellex Valiunas team for 15 years already.” She specializes in complex commercial real estate lease transactions. Stancikaite holds an LLB degree from Concordia International University and an LLM degree from Mykolas Romeris University.

“Professional career for lawyers, especially those working in top-tier law firms, is an obvious aspiration and goal,” Managing Partner Rolandas Valiunas said. “Of course, this goal would be unattainable without hard and successful work. Ellex, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its presence in the market this year, has always grown and fostered lawyers whose prospects of becoming partners are perceived very early. R. Armone, M. Petkeviciene, and D. Stancikaite are role models to all of us in the firm and to the whole community of lawyers.”

Head of Public Procurement specialization group Karolis Smaliukas and Head of Energy Industry group Paulius Zapolskis have been promoted to Partner at TGS Baltic in Lithuania, as of January 1, 2022.

Smaliukas has over 15 years of experience in the area of public procurement and PPP. He joined TGS Baltic in 2018 as an Associate Partner. Prior to joining the firm, he was a Senior Associate with Cobalt Legal, between 2016 and 2018, with Glimstedt, between 2014 and 2016, and with the Maqs Law Firm, from 2006 to 2014. According to the firm, Smaliukas “actively contributed to the preparation and adoption of the currently effective legal regulation of public procurement.”

According to the firm, Zapolskis’ practice areas include energy, arbitration, and commercial law, with more than 15 years of legal experience. He focuses on project development regulatory issues, renewable energy projects, and representing clients in infrastructure and energy-related disputes. He joined TGS Baltic as a Senior Associate in 2014 and was promoted to Associate Partner in 2017. Before joining the firm, he spent over eight years with Baltic Legal Solutions.

“Our firm has always sought to allow for growth of team members, therefore, we are particularly delighted that this year even two of our colleagues that we have worked with for a number of years are becoming partners of the firm,” TGS Baltic Managing Partner Vilius Bernatonis commented. “Karolis Smaliukas and Paulius Zapolskis are market leaders in their respective fields, who, together with the entire TGS Baltic team, keep ensuring top-level support for our clients’ businesses.”

Rokas Jankus and Edvinas Lenkauskas have been promoted to Partner at Motieka & Audzevicius, as of January 1, 2022.

According to the firm, “Jankus has been working in the corporate law practice group since 2012. He currently leads the deals team and advises on issues of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and venture capital investments.” Jankus, a former Senior Associate, has a master’s degree in Law from Vilnius University.

According to Motieka & Audzevicius, Lenkauskas started working at the firm in 2009. “He has dedicated his entire professional career to the tax law specialty and is currently one of the leaders of the tax law practice group. [He has] achieved significant victories in extremely difficult tax disputes not only at the national level but also before the Court of Justice of the European Union.” Lenkauskas, also a former Senior Associate, holds an LLB degree from Mykolas Romeris University and an LLM degree from Maastricht University.

“Such career growth gives additional motivation to continue further pursuing ambitious goals in a competitive legal services market,” Jankus said. “I am pleased with the assessment and the opportunity to become a partner in one of the leading law firms in Lithuania, which has a long history and clear values,” added Lenkauskas.

“This is a message that loyalty is still in vogue,” Partner Ramunas Audzevicius commented. “We are especially pleased that Edvinas and Rokas started their professional career in our law firm while still law students, and today they have grown up to become partners. We will continue growing our team of partners in the future. In this way, not only do we aim to motivate employees, but of course, we strengthen the front lines and increase the speed of the business.”

Sorainen has advised investment company Atsinaujinancios Energetikos Investicijoscon on a non-public four-year green bond issue, with a total value of EUR 25 million at a 5% annual coupon. 

Atsinaujinancios Energetikos Investicijos is managed by Lords LB Asset Management. The main distributor of the bond issue was Luminor bank.

According to Sorainen, ”the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and eight other institutional investors were among the bond buyers. Private investors also purchased bonds for more than EUR 6.5 million.”

According to the firm, “under the terms of the issue, funds received will be used in accordance with Atsinaujinancios energetikos investicijos’ public Green Bond Framework. Investments will be mainly used for solar and wind energy projects in the Baltics and Poland.”

Soraienen’s team included Partner Augustas Klezys and Senior Associate Dalia Augaite.

Sorainen has advised INVL Asset Management’s Baltic Forests Fund I on the sale of its 1,300-hectare forest portfolio in Lithuania to the Latvian Forest Company.

According to Sorainen, “launched in 2017, the INVL Baltic Forests Fund I invested in forests suitable for forestry activities in the Baltics, mainly in Lithuania. It focused heavily on developing a sustainable forest market in Lithuania and locked in an average annual rate of return (IRR) for investors of 27%. INVL Asset Management will continue its activity in the area of sustainable alternative investments, focusing on the INVL Sustainable Timberland and Farmland Fund II (STAFF II) established a year ago.”

“It was the INVL group’s first fund to apply sustainable forestry management principles,” Sigita Bizuliene, the manager of the INVL Baltic Forests Fund I, said. “We successfully realized the fund’s ambitions and now its lifecycle of nearly five years is ending with a return that exceeds the target rate several times over.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Mantas Petkevicius and Associate Laura Matuizaite.

Sorainen did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Primus has advised the Lithuanian Business Angels Fund on leading the EUR 1 million seed funding round of Vilnius-based open data platform Okredo.

According to Primus, Okredo is a SaaS platform that helps SMBs assess the credibility, financial strength, and sales potential of new and existing business partners and customers. The funds will be used to expand into new European markets outside Lithuania, by taking advantage of the EU’s passing of the Open Data Directive. Currently, Okredo is forecast to report annual revenue growth of 80 percent in 2021, having 2,700 corporate clients.

The Primus team was led by Partner Giedre Dailidenaite and included Senior Associates Greta Vozbutaite, Sarene Prankonyte-Segen, and Vilma Rakleviciene, and Associates Karolis Diska and Monika Murauske.

Primus stated it cannot provide information on other advisors.