Category: Lithuania

On April 30, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius had advised the founders of Lithuania’s In Balance Grid on the investment of EUR 950,000 into the company by Koinvesticinis Fondas, Contrarian Ventures, and several angel investors. We spoke with Simonas Stankus, Co-Founder & CEO of In Balance Grid, to learn more about the investment round.

CEELM: To start, please tell our readers about In Balance Grid and its mission. 

Simonas: In Balance Grid is working as a charging infrastructure service provider, where everything from hardware implementation, installation, administration, and maintenance is the responsibility of the company.

Implementation of the latest hardware and software solutions and the creation of new technologies allowed us to develop a new generation of charging stations that ensures smooth communication with every power main in a specific place. Communication between users, showing the actual consumption and demand within a specific time, helps us develop a more efficient grid model. In this model, there would be no necessity to increase the strain on the power main. This communication creates an opportunity to build charging stations in places where it was impossible before. At the same time, these achievements help people living in apartments to charge their electronic vehicles without investments in stronger power mains and prevent possible “blackouts.” The ability to charge electronic vehicles in residential areas without big investments makes electric cars even more attractive and helps reduce the number of cars with internal combustion engines, ultimately reducing CO2 emissions.

We believe that in a near future there will not be any “if’s” whether to buy an electric vehicle or not, there will be only one good solution both for people and the planet – to buy an electronic vehicle and forget about internal combustion engine cars.

CEELM: How did you identify and approach the investors – what was your “sales pitch” for this investment round?

Simonas: According to EU statistics, internal combustion engine cars are responsible for nearly 30% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions. Since transportation is one of the biggest polluters in the Union, the EU has set a goal of reducing emissions from transportation by 60% by 2050 from 1990 levels. The expansion of the electronic vehicle category is mentioned as one of the main measures to achieve this goal. In Balance – with its state-of-the-art charging solutions that ensure charging of significantly greater numbers of electronic vehicles – follows the same path, therefore it has attracted investors. 

Our solution mitigates climate change because it helps to ensure the smooth and quick transition from standard cars ran by petrol or diesel to electrical vehicles. Electronic vehicles are responsible for lower emissions over their lifetime than internal combustion engine vehicles across Europe. The reduction of conventional cars ensures lower CO2 level and, at the same time, it helps prevent such painful consequences of CO2 emissions as climate warming, sea-level rise, acid rain, and human health impacts.

CEELM: What is the capital raised – EUR 950,000 – intended for?

Simonas: This investment is mainly focused on three fields: 1. The finalization of the new hardware architecture and the preparation for mass production; 2. The finalization of smart cloud (software) functionality; and 3. Business development – to provide the most effective model to expand into the market.  

CEELM: What was Motieka & Audzevicius’ mandate on this investment? What specific legal areas did they advise you on?

Simonas: The Motieka & Audzevicius law firm helped us to review the investment agreements, prepare for kick-off meetings, and negotiate main clauses.

CEELM: Why did you reach out to Motieka & Audzevicius for advice on this matter?

Simonas: The Motieka & Audzevicius law firm is categorized as one of the best not only in Lithuania but also in the region, especially because of their deep knowledge in the field of commercial law. From the first stage, we wanted to have great professionals as our advisors to ensure the best agreements for the In Balance Grid company.

Marius Embrektas has made partner at Glimstedt in Lithuania — the firm’s ninth.

Embrektas joined Glimsted in 2006. According to the firm, he “specializes in Public-Private Partnership, Infrastructure, and Legal Regulation areas. He has been rendering advice on some major PPP and infrastructure projects in Lithuania and abroad and has extensive experience in dealing with commercial disputes and representing his clients in corporate, contract, insurance, bankruptcy, restructuring, and other matters. He is also advising the largest Lithuanian fishing companies engaged in fishing and shipping activities in the Baltic Sea and distant fishing waters.” He holds a Master’s degree from Mykolo Romerio Universitetas.

“Marius Embrektas is a highly acclaimed expert in their fields whose competence, foresight and experience are particularly valued among their clients and colleges,” says Solveiga Paleviciene, Managing Partner of Glimstedt.”

“I am highly inspired and motivated by the credit given to me by the firm,” said Partner Marius Embrektas. “Apart from the difficulties, the situation in which the world finds itself today gives thousands of opportunities, in particular as regards PPP and infrastructure projects. During the economic downturn, a partnership between the government and business becomes especially relevant because the implementation of large infrastructure projects has been among the most important economic stimulus measures at all times. Taking advantage of new opportunities in a new reality demands an extremely creative approach, elegant decisions, and new energy. I have no doubt that keeping to the above principles I will be able to proceed successfully with the projects already started and to develop the areas under my supervision. I am pleased that [as] a partner, I will not only be able to go deeper into the issues that are complicated from a professional point of view and encourage professional development but will also be able to contribute to the implementation of nationally and publicly useful projects.”

Sorainen has advised Orkela on the conversion of the former Sv. Jokubo hospital in the Vilnius city center into a hotel.

Orkela is part of Lords LB Asset Management. The Vasario 16 complex at the former Sv. Jokubo hospital, which spreads across 16,000 square meters, will house a hotel, conference center, restaurants, cafes, shops, and administrative buildings. Orkela plans to invest approximately EUR 45 million in the Clarion Hotel and conference center project.

According to Sorainen “This was among the first project proposals to be successfully publicized during the quarantine by [means of] a public online meeting via live audio and video streaming. Over 100 representatives of the public participated in the online meeting.”

Sorainen’s team consisted of Partner Ausra Mudenaite, Counsel Simonas Skukauskas, and Associate Julius Raskauskas.

Sorainen has advised Nitin Shelke, the founder and chairman of Growmore Group, on its acquisition of Medicinos Bankas, a retail bank in Lithuania with USD 395 million in assets, from Konstantinas Karosas and Western Petroleum Limited. The sellers were advised by TGS Baltic.

According to Sorainen, “the Growmore Group is a global investment and financial services conglomerate with businesses across the UAE, UK, Switzerland, India, and the Caribbean. The acquisition will mark the expansion of its banking sector investments into the European Union. The operations of Medicinos Bankas, including its 51 branches in the country, will continue as normal, and with a primary focus on lending for small and medium businesses, personal banking services, and agricultural lending.”

Sorainen’s team included Partners Mantas Petkevicius, Augustas Klezys, and Saule Dagilyte, Senior Associates Inga Macijauskaite, Agne Sovaite, and Rasa Mikutiene, and Associates Jurgita Tekoriene, Auguste Bucyte, Kamile Kukaityte, Goda Drasute, Dobile Minkute, and Sidas Sokolovas.

TGS Baltic’s team included Partners Robertas Degesys and Aurimas Pauliukevicius, Senior Associate Indre Vicakite-Liatuke, and Associate Karolina Lapinskaite.

After 23 years away, Valentinas Mikelenas has rejoined Ellex Valiunas’s Dispute Resolution team in Lithuania.

Mikelenas, who is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Lithuania, has over 30 years’ legal experience. According to Ellex Valiunas, “he is a prominent legal theorist and scholar in Lithuania, an expert in arbitration disputes (he is an ICSID arbitrator), and was the head of the drafting group of the Civil Code. As well as being a founding member in the European Law Institute, he is also a member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the European Civil Code study group, the European Family Law Commission, the International Association of Procedural Law, the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, and the International Arbitration Institute. Mikelenas also has expertise in contract, tort and family law, civil procedure, arbitration and private international law, and works on several legal projects of state importance.”

“Valentinas Mikelenas’ experience and competence in dispute resolution is extremely solid in Lithuanian and international case law,” said Rolandas Valiunas, Managing Partner of Ellex Valiunas.” We are glad that the professor will work in the Ellex team again. And we can rightly say that we are the highest-quality and largest center of excellence for dispute resolution practice in Lithuania.” 

Mikelenas described it as “an honor for me to join the leading business law firm not only in Lithuania but also in all three Baltic countries. I indirectly contributed to the birth of this firm in 1992 and worked at it in 1995-1997. It can therefore be said that I am back home after 23 years.”

 

 

TGS Baltic has advised Siauliu Bankas on the issuance of EUR 20 million subordinated bonds and their listing on Nasdaq Vilnius’s Debt Securities List. The bonds will soon be admitted to trading on the regulated market.

According to TGS Baltic, “Siauliu Bankas is a Lithuanian capital bank which provides loans to SMEs, funded by the European Regional Development Funds. Siauliu Bankas actively participates in apartment building renovation projects, finances the implementation of energy-saving programs in L and is the leader in renovation financing in Lithuania.”

TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Vidmantas Drizga, Associate Partner Mantas Gofmanas, and Associate Karloina Lapinskaite.

TGS Baltic did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

On April 7, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Motieka & Audzevicius had represented big data company Oxylabs in its successful appeal of a dismissal of an IP rights infringement dispute for lack of jurisdiction in Lithuania. We spoke with Urte Karkliene, Legal Counsel at Oxylabs, to learn more about the case.

CEELM: To give our readers a bit of background, tell us a few words about Oxylabs.  

Urte: Oxylabs is a leading global provider of premium proxies and data scraping solutions for large-scale web data extraction. The company’s mission is clear: To give every business – whether big or small – the right to access big data. 

With unmatched hands-on experience in web data harvesting, Oxylabs is in trusted partnerships with dozens of Fortune 500 companies and global businesses, helping them unearth hidden gems of business intelligence data through state-of-the-art products and technological expertise.

CEELM: What exactly does the claim consist of — what IP rights of Oxylabs are you claiming have been infringed?

Urte: One of Oxylabs’ products is Data Center IP services, which since 2015 had been provided to Luminati Network LTD — the defendant. In 2017, [Lumintati] stopped buying the services from Oxylabs and contractual legal relations between the parties ceased. 

After some time, we noticed that Luminati started providing its own identical solution to the market. What is more, Luminati openly suggested to our customers that they discontinue their cooperation with us and that we were infringing on their patents. Our clients received threats that they might be sued if they continued to use Oxylabs’ services. Luminati pressured our clients to start using their services.

This communication was false and undermined our business reputation. 

We believe that, according to Lithuanian law, Luminati infringed a number of legal norms, especially Oxylabs’ sui generis rights to its databases and rights to its commercial secret, and by using unfair competition tactics breached our rights of business reputation, etc. 

Therefore, Oxylabs filed a complaint against Luminati in Lithuania regarding the reproduction of Oxylabs Data Center’s IP services, usage, and distribution of the reproduced technology. 

Oxylabs requested that the court prohibit Luminati from reproducing, using, disseminating, or making publicly accessible the technology owned by Oxylabs or similar to it in its technical properties. 

In addition, Oxylabs claimed compensation for the infringement of the holder of sui generis rights to the databases, non-material damage for the damages of business reputation, and compensation for the cost of litigation. 

As the parties are in different countries the question arose whether Lithuanian courts had jurisdiction over the claim for an alleged infringement of Oxylabs’ intellectual property rights. We are pleased that after all the procedures we finally have a court decision, which allows us to continue the litigation process in Lithuania. 

CEELM: If the appeal had been unsuccessful, were you planning on filing a claim in Israel — or are you doing that anyway?

Urte: The protection of our rights is a strategic decision of the company. We are determined to use all possible means to show the market and those who attempt to use unfair tactics that we do not tolerate this kind of misuse. We are prepared to use all possible means to protect our rights.

CEELM: We understand this was an appeal to a dismissal due to a lack of jurisdiction of Lithuanian courts. Now that the appeal is won, what are the next steps?

Urte: There is still a long way to go to a final court decision. We understand that we need a lot of effort, energy, and persistence to continue our legal actions. For the moment we are concentrated on providing all necessary information to the court and to prove our case.

CEELM: Why did you choose Motieka & Audzevicius for representation on this appeal? Will they be representing you in the case in Lithuania as well?

Urte: Motieka & Audzevicius is a leading litigation firm in Lithuania and there is no doubt that such a partner is a valuable asset in legal procedures. Our continuous successful partnership in other legal matters allowed us to make an easy decision to cooperate in this case as well. Their experience, endurance, deep understanding of business needs, and other positive skills allow us to believe we will be successful in this litigation by working hand in hand.

 

Sorainen has advised joint lead managers BNP Paribas, Citi, and Erste Group on a dual-tranche Eurobond issue by the Republic of Lithuania – a 5-year Eurobond of EUR 750 million face value and a 10-year Eurobond of EUR 1 billion 250 million face value. The issuance is aimed at improving the liquidity of Lithuania’s treasury.

According to Sorainen, “a coupon of 0.25% annual interest will be paid for the 5-year Eurobond of EUR 750 million face value. The Bonds have been issued at a yield of 0.345% and an issue price equal to 99.530% of face value. Lithuania will pay 0.750% annual interest for the 10-year issue (EUR 1.25 billion face value). The bonds have been issued at a yield of 0.829% and an issue price equal to 99.245% of face value.”

Sorainen’s team included 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 Dentons and TGS Baltic had advised the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania.

Dentons’ team included Partner Nick Hayday, Associates Moeen Qayum and Kathryn Finch, and Trainee Gemma Dreelan, while TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Vidmantas Drizga, Associate Partner Mantas Gofmanas, and Junior Associate Kotryna Visockyte.

Triniti has helped Eddy Travels, a Lithuanian startup developing an artificial-intelligence-based digital travel planning assistant, to raise an additional EUR 600,000 to complete an approximately EUR 1.1 million early-stage funding round. Lead investor KUB Open Circle Capital was advised by Sorainen.

According to Triniti, the funds raised by Eddy Travels “will be used to develop features to help travelers during the coronavirus crisis.”

Triniti’s team consisted of Associate Partner Giedre Ciuladiene, Managing Partner Linas Sabaliauskas, and Senior Associates Violeta Kavaliauskaite and Kamila Ratkevic.

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

Triniti has advised the Groa Real Estate Fund I, a fund managed by Groa Capital, on the acquisition of the Rimi Hypermarket shopping center in Vilnius from UAB Sun Invest.

After the transaction, Triniti reports, the portfolio of Groa Real Estate Fund I is valued at over EUR 27 million.

Triniti’s team included Partner Vytautas Kalmatavicius, Associate Partner Giedre Ciuladiene, and Associate Gytis Savickas.