Category: Lithuania

TGS Baltic has advised Akropolis Group, UAB in negotiations with UAB Mitnija on the renovation of the  Akropolis shopping and entertainment center in Vilnius.

Although financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, TGS Baltic reports that “Akropolis intends to invest EUR 14 million in the renovation. It is expected that around 13,000 square meters of common and 36,000 square meters of commercial areas of the center – in total almost a half of the area of the building – will be renovated by November, 2019.”

Akropolis Group, UAB manages companies developing real estate projects and provision of lease services in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Bulgaria. Akropolis Group, UAB is part of the Vilniaus Prekyba holding company, which controls retail and pharmacy chains and companies developing real estate projects and providing lease services in the Baltic States, Sweden, Poland, and Bulgaria.

Former Glimstedt lawyer Jolanta Liukaityte-Stoniene has joined Ellex Valiunas as an Associate Partner. 

Ellex Valiunas also announced that its Real Estate and Environment Practice will now be led by real estate law expert Audrius Petkevicius and Partner Andrius Smaliukas. 

Liukaityte-Stoniene, who joined Glimstedt in 2007, specializes in Real Estate and Construction law, Corporate/M&A, and Competition law. She received her law degree from Vilnius University in 2005 and obtained an LL.M. from the University of Edinburgh in 2015.

Cobalt has advised Lithuanian invoice financing company UAB Debitum Fori, operating under the trade name Debifo, on the sale of the company to Dutch factoring company Factris. TGS Baltic advised Factris on the acquisition.

This acquisition was financed by Speedinvest and Optima Investments.

According to Cobalt, “Factris focuses on simplifying the business finance process, ensures the stability and reliability of funding, and continuously expands its partner network in Europe.” The firm reports that in December 2018, Factris signed a EUR 100 million credit line agreement with Swiss investment company Ruvercap. These funds will be used to finance the working capital of European small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Cobalt team was led by Partner Juozas Rimas and included Partner Rokas Daugela and Associate Lawyer Justinas Kondratas.

TGS Baltic’s team consisted of Partner Dalia Tamasauskaite – Ziliene, Junior Associate Goda Drasute and Trainee Paulius Dabulskis.

Sorainen has advised SBA group company Urban Inventors on the acquisition of a part of the former Kauno Grudai site in Kaunas, Lithuania, from Omina Bona, Antra Kryptis, and Emea Rei Limited. Solo practitioner Donatas Venslavicius reportedly advised the sellers on the deal.

According to Sorainen, Urban Inventors intends to build an office complex on the 2.5 hectare site, located on the river shore in front of Nemunas Island.

Sorainen reports that Kaunas city municipality is currently preparing a detailed city plan. According to the plan, the intended designation of land will be changed from industrial to commercial.

The Sorainen team was consisted by Partner Ausra Mudenaite and Associate Julius Raskauskas.

Cobalt, working with Linklaters in Poland, Homburger in Switzerland, and Arendt & Medernach in Luxembourg, is representing SEB Bank in allocating EUR 80 million financing for the development of Lithuania’s joint-stock stevedoring company Klaipedos Smelte. Allen & Overy is reportedly advising Klaipedos Smelte.

This is the third stage of the Klaipedos Smelte investments financed by SEB Bank since 2012.

According to Cobalt, “these investments will focus on two large STS (Ship-to-Shore) cranes for loading and unloading of container vessels, also on 10 RTG (Rubber-Tyred Gantry) cranes for loading/unloading of containers on/from trucks at the terminal, and on the development of the company‘s leased port area infrastructure. The development work has already started, [and] the company [is investing] its own funds as well.”

“We have noticed that for over the last ten years container handling in the Baltic region has been growing faster than in Europe, but it was not typical for the Klaipeda Seaport,” says Vilius Juzikis, member of the Board of SEB Bank, and Director of Business Banking. “The port of our country was characterized in Europe by the growth of bulk cargo flows. With the investment by Klaipedos Smelte in container handling, Klaipeda port should catch up where it has lost its position. Furthermore, the financing of Klaipedos Smelte will help to increase the company’s competitiveness in the region and make a positive impact not only on the entire Klaipeda port, but also on Lithuania’s economy.” 

The Cobalt team preparing and reviewing contracts and other related documents, preparing a legal opinion, and providing general advice on funding includes Partner Elijus Burgis and Associate Partner Eva Suduiko.

The Linklaters team included Warsaw-based Counsel Adrian Horne and Associate Piotr Hurkała.

Rokas Daugela and Mindaugas Bliuvas have been promoted to Partner and Eva Suduiko and Arturas Kojala have been promoted to Associate Partner at Cobalt in Lithuania.

Daugela, who serves as Head of the firm’s Tax Law practice group, has been with Cobalt since September 2013, when he joined from Sorainen as a Senior Associate. Prior to his four years with Sorainen, he worked as a Trainee with Loyens & Loeff. 

Bliuvas, who heads the firm’s Prevention and Criminal Law practice group, has been with Cobalt for four years. Prior to that he worked for six years as a Prosecutor with the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Division. Earlier still, he spent seven years with the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office. 

Suduiko, who specializes in Banking, Finance, Capital Markets, and M&A, joined Cobalt 15 years ago. Before that she worked for two years as a lawyer for NASDAQ OMX Vilnius. 

Kojala has been with the firm for two years, having joined, like Daugela, from Sorainen. His past experience includes working as a partner at the Freidenzon, Kojala & Partners law firm, as a lawyer for Maxima LT, and for the Law Firm of J. Aleksaite. He specializes in real estate, logistics, business development and waste management matters.

“As market leaders, we are growing and expanding organically – by responding to the demands of increasing market and different business sectors and to the constantly multiplying workload in the law firm,” commented Cobalt Lithuania Managing Partner Irmantas Norkus. :”In 2018, Cobalt’s income climbed up by 13%, our team was joined by seven lawyers and the number of projects handled by our firm is constantly increasing.” In addition, he added, “the development of partnership and reinforcement of the team is a natural process.”

Glimstedt has advised Business Angels Fund I on launching Business Angels Fund II with UAB Investiciju Ir Verslo Garantijos.

The EUR 10.49 million Business Angels Fund II will be investing, together with Business Angels, in small and medium-sized innovative and export-oriented companies in Lithuania, Glimstedt reports.

The fund will assign up to EUR 0.6 million to each investment, with Business Angels expected to invest at least the same amount.

According to Glimstedt, Business Angels Fund I and Business Angels have invested over EUR 20 million in 29 enterprises. The firm reports that the managers of Business Angels Fund II “are going to invest funds provided under the European Regional Development Fund Programme (2014 – 2020) as well as their own personal funds. This measure will be implemented through the Business Financing Fund, an umbrella fund set up in April 2016. The Business Financing Fund is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is managed by (Investiciju Ir Verslo Garantijos) Invega.”

“Entrepreneurs will now be able to raise funds for their business development and benefit at the same time from experience imparted by Business Angels and Fund Managers, thus being helped to develop their business successfully”, said Kestutis Motiejanas, General Manager of Invega.

According to Glimstedt, the fund managers will focus their attention on advanced companies operating in different business sectors that are expanding their sales markets internationally.  The fund management consists of Arvydas Strumskis, Daiva Rakauskaite, and Jacek Blonski. UAB Verslo Angelu Fondo Valdymas has been set up to manage Business Angels Fund II. The fund’s activities are supervised by the Bank of Lithuania.

The Glimstedt team consisted of Partners Andrius Ivanauskas and Arturas Baksys, Senior Associate Michailas Molis, and Associate Domantas Gudonis.

TGS Baltic has promoted Lauras Butkevicius and Aurimas Pauliukevicius to partner in Lithuania, bringing the number of partners in that country to 14.

Butkevicius, whose promotion became effective in October, heads the firm’s Regulatory Law group as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 30, 2018, specializes in Competition Law, and according to TGS Baltic he “deals with various issues concerning supervision of concentrations and representation of clients during investigations and at lawsuits regarding arrangements that restrict competition and abuse of dominating position.” He started his career with two years in Swedbank Lithuania, then in 2003 moved to Raidla, Lejins & Norcous (now Cobalt, in Lithuania), and in 2007 to Sorainen. From 2012-2017 he was a named partner at Civilka Butkevicius Svedas, and he joined TGS Baltic in October of 2017.

Pauliukevicius joined TGS Baltic in 2005 after graduating from the University of Brussels. According to the firm, “he specializes in mergers and acquisitions and has been helping companies to successfully complete the mergers of various scopes and complexity for over 13 years.” 

“Our team is rapidly expanding,” said Vilius Bernatonis, Managing Partner of TGS Baltic. “Presently, we have 25 partners managing TSG Baltic in the Baltic States. We are ready to entrust our young and talented colleagues with more duties and responsibilities. Both Lauras and Aurimas are highly qualified specialists in their respective fields of law. They are proficient, take a customer-focused approach and stay up to date on the latest news and releases in their areas of competence, thus, creating more value for their customers than it is usually expected from local lawyers. Such wonderful partners obligate us to provide only premium quality services.”

Former Averus Partner Povilas Karlonas has joined SPC Legal in Lithuania as a partner and the leader of the firm’s Real Estate practice.

Senior Associate Egle Valiuliene and Associates Sandra Narmontaite and Juste Adomaityte move to SPC Legal from Averus as well.

Karlonas has more than 12 years of experience in real estate and construction. He advises real estate developers and investors on real estate transactions, lease agreements, construction and territory planning issues. He also specializes in free economic zone regulation and advises industrial parks and free economic zones operators and investors on regulatory issues and green-field investment transactions in Lithuania.

In addition, Karlonas assists public sector clients and municipalities on territory planning and infrastructure development issues, and represents clients in a variety of real estate related disputes.

Karlonas joined Averus in 2012 (and made partner in 2015), after spending six years at Sorainen.

He studied law at the University College London in the UK, and at the Mykolas Romeris University in Lithuania.

CEE Attorneys has advised fabric manufacturer Agne Chomiciene and Malte Holding Aps on the division of UAB Baltijos Tekstile into two parts, and the consequent EUR 4 million sale of the remainder of the company to long-term business partner Gabriel A/S. KPMG Denmark represented Gabriel A/S in the deal.

UAB Baltijos Tekstile (BTC), a textile company established in 1936 in Lithuania, was divided into Sesupes Turtas, which remains owned by Agne Chomiciene and Malte Holding Aps, and BTC, which was then sold to Gabriel. 

Established in 1851 in Denmark, Gabriel Holding develops, manufactures, and sells furniture fabrics of wool and micro fibers, and related textile products. The company’s product line includes fabrics for upholstered furniture, as well as for office, theater, hospital, and hotel furniture, and furnishing fabrics for trains, ships, cars, and buses.

Gabriel and BTC have worked together since 1999. 

The CEE Attorneys team consisted of Partner Daina Senapediene, Senior Associate Aleksandr Masaliov, Associate Agne Vaitkeviciute and Agne Jakstaite, and Junior Associate Agne Jakstaite.