Category: Lithuania

Gintas Andruska and Jonas Povilionis have been promoted to Associate Partner at SPC Legal.

Gintas Andruska, who is a member of SPC Legal’s Dispute Resolution team, spent six years at Cobalt before moving to the firm in 2015. According to SPC Legal, “Andruska has over ten years of professional experience in dispute resolution. Currently, he is representing clients in dispute resolution cases of combined value in excess of EUR 5 million. The clients greatly appreciate Mr. Andruska’s ability to develop and formulate an effective dispute resolution strategy and to apply it in the pre-trial or court proceedings.” He received his Master’s degree in Civil Law from the Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania.

Jonas Povilionis spent eight years at Motieka & Audzevicius before joining SPC Legal in 2017. He has also been the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Magnus Kredito Unija since 2018. According to SPC Legal, “Povilionis has been providing effective legal advice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate law and contract law, banking, financial and real estate law.” He obtained his Master’s degree in 2012 from Vilnius University in Lithuania.​

Sorainen has advised Inion LT on a EUR 500,000 investment in the company by venture capital funds Koinvesticinis Fondas and Contrarian Ventures and startup accelerator 70 Ventures.

Inion LT is a Lithuanian startup developing solutions for solar power plant-generated electrical energy optimization and monitoring that allow for a more efficient use of solar power.

This is the second investment in Inion LT that Sorainen has advised on, following a EUR 50,000 investment by Contrarian Ventures in 2019 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 27, 2019).

Sorainen’s team included Partner Mantas Petkevicius and Senior Associate Vytautas Sabalys.

The Lithuania office of Deloitte Legal has advised Maskinhandler Indkobsringen A/S, a Danish farm equipment company, on the sale of a majority stake of shares in MI Agrotinklas UAB to one of MI Agrotinklas’s founders.

Andersen Partners advised Maskinhandler Indkobsringen on Danish law matters.

Deloitte Legal’s team included Partner Tomas Davidonis and Managing Associate Tomas Mieliauskas.

Cobalt has advised UAB Sonex Consulting on the sale of a 6,948 square meter business center in Vilnius to EfTen Real Estate Fund III, which is managed by EfTEN Capital. Fort Legal advised EfTen on the deal.

The business center, constructed in 2014, houses IT company ATEA as the main tenant with a long-term lease. 

Cobalt’s team included Partner Simona Oliskeviciute-Ciceniene, Managing Associate Ausrys Sliavas, and Associate Liucija Bitinaite.

Fort Legal’s team included Managing Partner Andrius Mamontovas, Partner Ruta Radzeviciute-Meizeraite, and Associates Aurelija Grigoraviciute-Rimeisiene and Vadimas Maksimenka.

The pan-Baltics Triniti law firm has announced that it has merged with Lithuania’s Jurex law firm, which bills itself as “the first and the only Lithuanian law firm specialized in business dispute resolution.” The firm will continue to operate as Triniti in Estonia and Latvia, but rebrand as Triniti Jurex in Lithuania.

According to a Triniti press release, as Triniti Jurex, “a team of more than 40 legal professionals in Lithuania working across 13 specialized practice groups as from now is for your service. At Triniti Jurex we will use a new approach – we will offer innovative solutions to manage business dispute risk in addition to usual legal services on the market. We will pay more attention to the strategic assessment of the business situation and the provision of safeguards to prevent business risks.”

According to the firm, “the first stage of the merger of Triniti Jurex will be completed by the beginning of October this year, when the entire team will move under one roof in Vilnius Old Town at Vilniaus St. 31.”

“Our clients and our team are the main catalysts for this merger,” commented Triniti Jurex Managing Partner Vilija Viesunaite. “It is the timely answer both to the growing market demanded for innovative, comprehensive, and practical legal solutions as well as the opportunity to pursue professional ambitions for our associates and colleagues. Therefore, becoming one of the largest business law firms in Lithuania, we will have a select portfolio of competencies and services through which we can respond to the growing needs of our local and international clients. Meanwhile, we will reveal more opportunities for colleagues to realize their professional ambitions and confirm the deserved good name of business lawyers.”

“We are an energetic team of professionals, and we offer innovative business dispute risk management solutions in addition to the usual legal services on the market,” said former Jurex Founding and Managing Partner Jurgita Judickiene. “Today, we are the first in the market to provide a dispute success index service that allows our clients to pragmatically assess the likelihood of success, potential benefits and losses. I can assure you that we are planning to surprise you once again by being the first to introduce new solutions in this area, which has a very clear and tangible value for business.”

Motieka & Audzevicius has helped CommonSign obtain a payment institution license for account information services.

According to Motieka & Audzevicius, “the AIS, which allows customers to see their payment accounts information in one app, is launched as a new type of payment service under PSD2. Instantor, the first authorized AIS provider in Sweden, is the most well-known player in this area. While the … license issued to CommonSign is just the second license of such type issued by the Bank of Lithuania. CommonSign will employ artificial intelligence and machine learning in their business model and will offer account information services across the EU. The end-user will give to CommonSign an explicit consent to obtain and process his or her raw transactional account data through the CommonSign engine and receive a limited view on a selection of the calculated aggregated information indicators.”

Motieka & Audzevicius’ team included Senior Associate Sigita Adomaityte and Associate Evelina Tuakova-Kuzmic.

The Lithuanian office of Sorainen has advised Koinveticinis Fondas on its investment in Ligence, a Lithuanian startup developing an automated cardiac ultrasound diagnostic solution based on artificial intelligence.

According to Sorainen, “the product, developed by a team of eight doctors, performs heart measurements and helps diagnose heart changes. Both developers and investors are confident that the tool, which facilitates the examination of cardiac ultrasound, will contribute to the fight against COVID-19.”

Koinvesticinis Fondas, Vladas Lasas, and other members of the LitBan business network invested EUR 360,000 in the startup.

Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Mantas Petkevicius and Senior Associate Vytautas Sabalys.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Sorainen has advised the Darnu Group on a construction work agreement with UAB Naresta for the sixth stage of the Paupys district of Vilnius, in Lituania. UAB Naresta was reportedly advised by the Iustum law firm.

According to Sorainen, “Paupys is being developed in Vilnius Old Town over an area of 7 hectares. Darnu Group is investing over EUR 150 million in the conversion project. The sixth block of Paupys was designed by Kanco Studija architects Guste Kancaite and Kestutis Kajokas. Most of it (over 11,200 square meters) will be a residential area, while over 1,600 square meters will be dedicated to commercial premises located on the first floors of the buildings.”

Sorainen was represented by Counsel Simonas Skukauskas.

The Iustum team was led by Partner Nedas Silaika.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Iustum informed CEE Legal Matters that Partner Laimonas Pivoras had worked on the deal as well.

The Vilnius office of Sorainen has advised dealers BNP Paribas, Citi, and Erste Group on Lithuania’s raising of EUR 1.75 billion by means of a 30-year Eurobond issue.

According to Sorainen,”these funds will finance this year’s borrowing needs, including next year’s planned USD 1.35 billion redemption of the Eurobond issue. Previously, Lithuania has issued bonds of the same duration in 2017 and 2019 when the annual interest rates were 2.1% and 1.625%, respectively. In contrast, interest on the just recently issued EUR 1.75 billion nominal value 30-year Eurobond issue is only 0.5%. The Eurobonds were distributed at a yield of 0.637% and the issue price was 96.27% of their nominal value.”

Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Tomas Kontautas, Senior Associates Dalia Augaite and Agne Sovaite, and Associate Rimantas Bendorius.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that TGS Baltic, working with Dentons’ offices in the UK and Middle East, advised the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania on the issuance. The TGS Baltic team consisted of Partner Vidmantas Drizga, Associate Partner Mantas Gofmanas, and Legal Assistant Kotryna Visockyte.

Sorainen has advised Alfa Bank on debt recovery efforts against Lithuanian businessman Vidmantas Kucinskas, as well as identifying possibly illegal acts by Kucinskas, who is suspected of financial fraud and was detained when crossing the border between Slovenia and Croatia on July 15, 2020.

According to Sorainen, “Alfa Bank, together with other Lithuanian and foreign creditors, has been actively disputing unfair transactions by Kucinskas’ asset transfers and seeking more than EUR 40 million in debt recovery as well as an assessment of possible criminality.”

Sorainen Partner Laurynas Lukosiunas, who is leading the firm’s team, said that “in 2019 Kucinskas was prosecuted for large-scale fraud in Russia and could receive up to ten years in prison and a fine of millions of euros. Kucinskas’ detention and potential transfer to the law enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation may lead to prompt investigation and prevention of new offenses. This detention sends an important message to the international business community.”

Apart from Lukosiunas, Sorianen’s team included Associate Greta Kubiliunaite.

In 2018, Sorainen successfully represented Alfa Bank in the Lithuanian Court of Appeal in a related matter, concerning a decision involving guarantor’s liability issued by the London Court of International Arbitration for the recovery of EUR 20 million from Kucinskas (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 18, 2018).