Cobalt has advised real estate developer Reefo on its EUR 6 million acquisition of the Nidos Banga hotel in Lithuania.
According to Cobalt, the hotel consists of nearly 5,000 square meters of space across four buildings, with around 100 rooms and a roof-top restaurant. The hotel is scheduled to open on June 1, 2021.
Cobalt’s team consisted of Partner Arturas Kojala and Expert Andrius Kazlauskas. The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.
The Lithuanian office of Sorainen has advised the Council of Europe Development Bank on its provision of funding to Kauno Autobusai for the purchase of 100 new solo hybrid buses.
The Council of Europe Development Bank is the oldest European multilateral development bank with an exclusively social mandate. According to Sorainen, “the project is expected to have a significant social impact by making public transport fast, modern, comfortable, simple and easy to understand. This will help to improve everyday life for the city’s inhabitants and improve their access to safe and high-quality public transport.” According to the firm, “the 100 hybrid buses will change the face of the city and protect the environment. Their modern engines with integrated hybrid systems will not only reduce fuel costs, but also ensure relatively low CO2 emissions. Kaunas will be the first city in Europe to run such a large number of advanced hybrid buses.”
Sorainen’s team included Partner Augustas Klezys and Associate Goda Drasute.
Sorainen, working alongside Delphi, has advised Sweden’s Addnode Group on the acquisition of S-Group Solutions, a software company specializing in business-related GIS solutions for municipalities, water, and sewage organizations.
The Addnode Group, which is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, is a European supplier of software and services for design, construction, and product data, and a supplier of document and case management systems to public sector clients in Sweden.
Sorainen’s team was led by Partner Algirdas Peksys and Counsel Evaldas Dudonis and included Senior Associate Aurelija Daubaraite, Associate Sidas Sokolovas, and Legal Assistants Barbora Bernatonyte and Goda Jakubauskaite.
Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.
TGS Baltic has advised the unidentified founders of Strive on the EUR 5.4 million sale of the shares in its Strive Platform to Sweden’s Betsson Group.
Strive offers management training and leadership development programs to companies such as Pinterest, Intuit, Slack, and Airbnb, among others. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is backed by international iGaming developer TG Lab.
Betsson is a provider of casino, sportsbook, and other games via gaming licenses in 11 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, with operational headquarters located in Ta’ Xbiex, Malta.
According to TGS Baltic, “the sale comes as part of a wider partnership with Betsson Group, agreed in the fourth quarter of 2020, [which] grants Betsson access to TG Lab’s player account management system to support its launch in the US market.”
TGS Baltic’s team consisted of Executive Partner Marius Matonis and Senior Associate Indre Vickaite-Liatuke. The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.
Sorainen has advised the shareholders of the Salavijas clinic in Utena on the sale of 100% of their shares in Aksanas and Dilina, companies operating under the Salavijas brand, to InMedica. TGS Baltic reportedly advised the buyer.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The InMedica Group operates eight clinics in Vilnius, seven in Kaunas, and eleven in other Lithuanian cities. The group employs over 750 people and has reported EUR 12.7 million in revenue in 2019.
The Salavijas clinic is a provider of primary and secondary-level healthcare services and it currently employs 75 people. According to Sorainen, Salavijas has joined InMedica’s network of 25 other clinics in Lithuania.
Sorainen’s team consisted of Counsel Evaldas Dudonis, Associate Lukas Vaisvila, and Legal Assistant Barbora Bernatonyte.
TGS Baltic has advised the Evernord Real Estate Fund III, managed by Vilnius-based investment firm Evernord Asset Management, on its acquisition of a 65% stake in Riga’s Novira Plaza business center.
According to TGS Baltic, Novira Capital, the developer of the project, holds the remaining 35% of the shares. The total planned value of the project is estimated at EUR 55 million.
TGS Baltic’s Vilnius-based team consisted of Partners Agnius Pilipavicius and Aurimas Pauliukevicius, Senior Associate Karolina Lapinskaite, Junior Associate Elvinas Kizys, and Legal Assistant Kotryna Visockyte. The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.
Sorainen has successfully represented a Lithuanian company owned by the W. P. Carey fund in its claim that Kesko Senukai Lithuania had wrongly failed to pay it rent for its use of a logistics center in the Kaunas district of Lithuania.
The Kaunas Regional Court ordered Kesko Senukai Lithuania to pay back rent of EUR 537,517 plus 6% procedural interest. In doing so, Sorainen reports, “the court found that the logistics center was fit for use during the disputed period, March-May 2020, and ruled that the landlord was not responsible for the tenant’s inability to use the leased premises.”
Sorainen Partner Kestutis Adamonis, who co-led the firm’s team representing the claimant, explained the verdict: “The court ruled that the tenant’s right to request a rent reduction can be exercised only if the site is defective, not when tenant’s activity in the site is restricted. This interpretation is important in assessing the responsibilities of a landlord and a tenant in a commercial property leasing relationship. During quarantine, the physical properties of the real estate sites did not change; they could and in many cases were used for their intended purpose. The fact that the tenant’s activities were restricted or limited by the Government did not affect the properties of the real estate, so the obligation to pay the rent did not change.”
In addition to Adamonis, the firm’s team included Partner Kestutis Svirinas and Senior Associates Ausra Gauryte and Ieva Rimaviciene.
Editor’s Note: On February 22, 2023, Sorainen announced it had obtained a favorable decision for the W.P. Carey-owned company before The Lithuanian Supreme Court. The firm’s updated team included Partners Kestutis Adamonis and Kestutis Svirinas, Senior Associates Ausra Gauryte and Ieva Rimaviciene, and Associate Domante Lunyte.
Cobalt has advised Prosperus Asset Management on its acquisition of a shopping center in Klaipeda, Lithuania, from Raseiniu Pletra.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
According to Cobalt, the center covers over 5,100 square meters and its anchor tenant, one of the current 15, is the retail chain Rimi.
Cobalt’s team consisted of Partner Simona Oliskeviciute-Ciceniene, Managing Associate Ausrys Sliavas, Associate Partner Vydmantas Grigoravicius, and Expert Andrius Kazlauskas. The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.
Ellex Valiunas has represented AMC Capital IV, advised by Accession Capital Partners (formerly Mezzanine Management), on the acquisition of a minority stake in the Plasta Group. Sorainen advised Plasta Group shareholders Hillary Denmark ApS, It is Future, and Vytas Poderis.
Sorainen describes the Plasta Group as “one of the largest polyethylene waste recycling and plastic production groups in Europe, consisting of the Lithuanian company Plasta, the Swedish company Rullpack and companies in Germany and Great Britain.” According to the firm, AMC Capital IV “has indirectly become a significant minority shareholder of Plasta Group and is prepared to invest at least EUR 20–30 million in new acquisitions in the coming years. It also plans to invest in increasing the capacity of the Plasta Group plants in Lithuania and Sweden.
Ellex’s team consisted of Partner Robertas Ciocys, Associate lawyer Mantas Juska, and lawyer Jomile Zabole.
Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Sergej Butov, Counsel Evaldas Dudonis, Senior Associate Simona Stanciukaite, and Legal Assistant Barbora Bernatonyte.
Motieka & Audzevicius has successfully represented Vilniaus Prekyba, UAB, in its claim for EUR 81.25 million in damages from defendant M. Marcinkevicius arising from Marcinkevicius’ unjustified efforts to pause the acquisition of entities controlling the Akropolis shopping centers in Vilnius, Klaipeda, and Siauliai.
According to Motieka & Audzevicius, in 2015, Vilniaus Prekyba participated in negotiations regarding the potential acquisition of Akropolis shopping centers in Vilnius, Klaipeda, and Siauliai from Malta’s Relvit Ltd. Marcinkevicius, a shareholder of Relvit, asked both Maltese and Lithuanian courts to impose provisional safeguards and freeze the transaction, claiming a violation of his shareholder rights.
During the application of the provisional safeguards, the market value of the entities that Vilnius Prekyba sought to purchase increased significantly, and when the transaction finally was allowed to close, Vilniaus Prekyba demanded that Marcinkevicius compensate them for the interim loss. The Vilnius Regional Court granted the claim in full.
“It is an important court judgment for the business community of our region,” commented Motieka & Audzevicius Partner Ramunas Audzevicius, who represented Vilnius Prekyba’s interests in the case. “While working with commercial disputes, we face cases where litigants ask for interim measures with a view to pursue ulterior motives, unrelated to their violated rights.
“This judgment sends an important message that damages caused by such actions must be compensated,” added M&A Partner Justinas Jarusevicius.