Category: Lithuania

TGS Baltic has successfully represented LTG Infra in a dispute with a consortium consisting of Leonhard Weiss RTE, Hidrostatyba, and Autokausta over a delay in the implementation of a EUR 54.8 million contract for the construction of the Kaunas-Palemonas railway.

LTG Infra is a subsidiary of Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai, a railway group operating in the Baltics.

According to TGS Baltic, the Kaunas Regional Court upheld LTG Infra’s claim, based on which the consortium must pay a fine of EUR 0.5 million to LTG Infra.

TGS Baltic recently defended LTG Infra against Hydrostatyba’s damages claim (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 12, 2021).

TGS Baltic’s team consisted of Associate Partners Karolis Smaliukas and Zydrune Stuglyte and Associates Jonas Jastremskas and Berta Kasetaite.

Cobalt has advised Danish renewable energy producer European Energy on its acquisition and development of wind and solar farms in Lithuania.

According to Cobalt, “European Energy will install wind farms with a total electricity generation capacity of 49.5 megawatts in the Dejunai village, Anyksciai district,” with the park planned to begin commercial operations in the first quarter of 2022 and generate approximately 150 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. Cobalt also reported that European Energy plans to invest EUR 1.5 billion in wind and solar power farms in Lithuania by 2024.

Cobalt’s team consisted of Partner Paulius Markovas, Associate Partner Vydmantas Grigoravicius, Senior Associate Julija Aleska, and Associate Ignas Jurkynas.

Sorainen has advised video game developer and publisher Wargaming on its lease of 5000 square meters of office space spread over five floors in the East building of the Quadrum Business Center in Vilnius. 

According to Sorainen, “the office in Vilnius will serve as a base for teams handling new projects. It will also house a division of Wargaming MS-1, developer of the World of Tanks Blitz game for smart devices, which has had 140 million downloads globally.” According to the firm, “the hub in Vilnius is expected to house several hundred employees within 3-4 years, bringing in new staff and transferring employees from other countries.”

Sorainen’s team included Partner Kestutis Adamonis and Senior Associate Lina Barniskiene.

On March 26, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius, working with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, had advised Lithuanian start-up Turing College on its relocation to the United States in order to participate in Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Benas Sidlauskas, Co-founder & CBDO at Turing College, to learn more about the matter.

CEEIHM: Could you please remind our readers about what Turing College is and what its goals are?

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

TGS Baltic and Clifford Chance have advised Baltic shopping and entertainment developer Akropolis Group on a EUR 300 million Eurobond issuance. Walless and Linklaters advised global coordinators and joint book-runners BNP Paribas and J.P. Morgan.

According to TGS Baltic, the “Akropolis Group became the first issuer in the real estate sector in the Baltic States to successfully raise funds in the international Eurobond format. The bonds will be listed on Euronext Dublin as well as on Nasdaq Vilnius stock exchanges.” According to the firm, “more than 50 investors participated in the placement of bonds, and the final list of investors included asset managers from all over continental Europe and the United Kingdom. The proceeds from the issue will be used to refinance existing loans and the company’s general needs, including group development.”

TGS Baltic’s Lithuanian team included Partners Vidmantas Drizga, Robertas Degesys, Andra Rubene, and Nauris Grigals, Associate Partner Mantas Gofmanas, Senior Associate Karolina Lapinskaite, Associate Anna Vaivade, and Legal Advisor Kotryna Visockyte.

Walless’s team included Partners Joana Baublyte Kulviete, Mindaugas Lukas, Inguna Abele, and Zane Eglite Fogele, Associate Partner Laurynas Narvydas, and Senior Associates Enrika Tamasauskaite and Kristine Sakarne.

Triniti Jurex has successfully represented Lietuvos Pastas in a trademark dispute with Deutsche Post before the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

According to Triniti Jurex, “the Opposition Division of the European Union Intellectual Property Office rejected the oppositions of … Deutsche Post AG, in which [Deutsche Post] referred to the national trademark consisting of a single yellow color, and the European Union trade mark depicting a stylized image of a postal horn on a yellow background. EUIPO noted that the stylized postal horn has been used since the 18th–19th century, and means that the postal courier has arrived to deliver the mail. Many post offices and/or companies use the image of the postal horn as part of their logos to mark postal services. For these reasons, EUIPO found that the image of a postal horn as such has a very limited distinctive feature for the designation of postal services.”

According to Triniti Jurex, “EUIPO also noted, inter alia, that various companies in the European Union have been using [the] yellow color as such for more than two centuries to mark postal services. This is a common element in the postal market. EUIPO also added that based on the case-law of the Court of Justice color as such is not commonly used as an indication of the source of origin of services/goods in current commercial practice. Thus, the trademarks of Lietuvos Pastas, AB, which depict a stylized postal horn on a yellow background with the inscriptions LPEXPRESS and BALTIC POST, may coexist with the trademarks of Deutsche Post AG, which also depict a stylized horn on a yellow background and/or in yellow color.”

Triniti Jurex’s team included Managing Partner Vilija Viesunaite and Associate Karolina Zemaityte.

Sorainen, working with lead counsel DLA Piper Sweden, has advised Storskogen on its acquisition of a majority stake in Scandia Steel.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Scandia Steel is a supplier of steel pipe piles in foundation and foundation reinforcements. The company employs around 94 people and has reported a turnover of nearly EUR 40 million.

Sorainen’s Lithuanian team included Partners Algirdas Peksys and Asta Augutyte-Rapkeviciene, Counsels Evaldas Dudonis and Monika Malisauskaite-Vaupsiene, Senior Associate Indre Peledaite, Associates Juliana Pavilovska and Lukas Vaisvila, and Legal Assistant Lukrecija Urneviciute.

The firm did not reply to our request for more information.

Fort has advised the Eika Real Estate Fund on its entrance into an agreement with Tamro UAB to develop a built-to-suit type logistics and business center and its lease in the Kaunas district of Lithuania. Walless advised Tamro on the deal.

The Eika Real Estate Fund is managed by Eika Asset Management. According to Fort, the fund invests in commercial real estate (developed or under development) and primarily targets informed investors.

Fort’s Lithuanian team included Managing Partner Andrius Mamontovas and Partner Ruta Radzeviciute-Meizeraite.

Walless’s team was led by Partner Indre Jonaityte-Grice.

Orrick, working with the Lithuanian office of Cobalt, has advised Interactio, a Lithuania-based remote interpretation platform, on its recent USD 30 million Series A funding round, which was co-led by Eight Roads Ventures and Storm Ventures included Notion Capital and Practica Capital and angel investors such as Jaan Tallinn, the co-founder of Skype, and Young Sohn, ex-chief strategy officer of Samsung. Withersworldwide advised the investors.

According to Cobalt, the Series A funding round was the largest ever in Lithuania.

Interactio offers digital tools to connect meetings with certified interpreters who carry out real-time interpretation to bridge language-divides between participants. Its customers include institutions like the United Nations and the European Commission, along with corporates such as BMW, JP Morgan, and Microsoft. Interactio reportedly grew 12 times between 2019 and 2020 as demand for online meeting platforms surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

Orrick’s team consisted of Partner Shawn Atkinson and Associate Nicholas Hayes.

Cobalt’s team was led by Partner Eva Suduiko and included Partner Akvile Bosaite and Associates Lukas Pultarazinskas, Milda Vaznelyte, and Viktorija Melnik.

Withers’ team was led by Partner James Shaw and included Associate Charlotte Berendt, Data Protection Specialist Yancho Yanchev, and Paralegal Sophia Mitropoulos.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matter learned that Sorainen worked alongside Withers in advising the investors on the funding round, which the firm described as “the largest Series A round in Lithuania and one of the largest in the Baltics to date.”

The firm’s team was led by Partner Laimonas Skibarka and Counsel Jonas Kiauleikis and included Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas, Senior Associates Almina Ivanauskaite, Aurelija Daubaraite, and Irma Kirklyte, Associates Jurgita Tekoriene, Lukas Vaisvila, and Sidas Sokolovas, and Legal Assistant Barbora Bernatonyte. 

Averus has advised newly established Lithuania-headquartered Heston Airlines on its launch. The company was granted an air operators certificate from the Lithuanian Transport Competence Agency and intends to initiate its charter and wet-lease operations this summer.

Heston Aviation Group engages in aviation asset trading, leasing, maintenance, and now ACMI –aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance – and charter operations. Averus also advised Heston on its agreement with strategic partner Genesis, a Dublin-based aircraft leasing company.

According to Averus, “by entering the airline market in the post-Covid-19 world, Heston Airlines will operate at the industry’s best cost base, offering competitive and flexible solutions to customers during the recovery phase of the travel markets.”

Averus’ team was led by Managing Partner Laura Cereskaite-Kinciuviene and included Associate Partner Lina Taletaviciute-Misiuniene and Associate Saulene Barauskaite.