Category: Lithuania

Valiunas Ellex has announced that Joana Baublyte-Kulviete, Dovile Greblikiene, Aiste Medeliene, and Laura Ziferman have been made partners at the firm.

Joana Baublyte-Kulviete is an expert in financial markets and regulation law and has over 14 years of experience working with different financing, acquisitions, securities, and corporate sales transactions and in other areas of regulated financial services. She offers advice to clients on matters of incorporating, licensing, restructuring banks and other financial institutions, and represents them in litigation. She joined Valiunas Ellex in 2002 and supervises the firm’s financial market and regulation practice.

Dovile Greblikiene is Head of the firm’s Regulatory Industries and Trade practice. She Greblikiene has work with projects in areas ranging from power, gas and heat, and hydrocarbon extraction. She has represented clients in energy-related cases in national courts and international arbitrations. She also works in other regulated industries such as transport and telecommunications, among others.

Aiste Medeliene is Head of Valiunas Ellex’s Tax practice. Before coming to work for Valiunas Ellex in 2011, she was a member of Lithuania’s Commission on Tax Disputes and has spent ten years working at the Law Faculty of Vilnius University. According to Valiunas Ellex, “by combining her theoretical and practical knowledge and keeping a systematic approach, she has earned her clients’ trust in solving the most complicated tax-related issues.”

Laura Ziferman is Head of the firm’s Public Procurement and PPP practice at Valiunas Ellex. She has eleven years of experience in providing public procurement advice in complex infrastructure projects, and the firm describes her as “working on every major public and private partnership project currently underway in Lithuania.” In addition, according to Valiunas Ellex, “over her years of practice, Ziferman has represented her clients in many case-law proceedings involving termination of multi-million contracts due to violations of the public procurement procedure, imposition of huge fines, and presentation of interpretations of the most relevant public procurement matters.”

“Business has been undergoing significant changes over the recent years, with new products and services being developed (particularly in the e-space) and business consolidations taking place, which all leads to the diminishing of the traditional boundaries of cross-sector competition,” said Rolandas Valiunas, Managing Partner of Valiunas Ellex. “Clients are expecting a full range of integrated legal services. Therefore, we are positive that the four experts in different fields will strengthen the firm’s existing team of fifteen partners and will help us offer even more innovative solutions and premium legal services to our clients.”

Motieka & Audzevicius, working alongside Dentons, has successfully represented PAO Gazprom before the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania.

According to Motieka & Audzevicius, “in this case, the client contested a decision adopted by the National Competition Authority. For the first time in history, an undertaking’s obligation not to perform positive actions has been converted into an obligation to take positive actions, resulting, to put it mildly, in a significant fine. The delivery of the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania has been postponed several times. This and the length of the judgment itself are a clear indication of the complexity of the case.”

Moiteka & Audzevicius covered all issues under Lithuanian law, while Dentons supported PAO Gazprom on all aspects under EU and public international law. The Dentons team was led by Brussels Managing Partner Ed Borovikov, Partner Jorg Karenfort, Senior Counsel David O’Keeffe, and Josef Heinz. 

Motieka & Audzevicius has advised Lufthansa Technik AG, one of the world’s leading providers of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services, on tax issues in Lithuania.

According to the firm, its advice “covered the issues of corporate income tax, possibility to carry-forward losses, taxation on dividends, interest and royalties, transfer pricing issues, cross-border taxation of human capital and other relevant tax incentives, including taxation of free economic zones.”

Sorainen Lithuania has assisted International Fintech with the launch of its operations in Lithuania. International Fintech, backed by investors from Israel, is developing a system that provides e-money and e-wallet services to online customers.

Sorainen provided legal support in the process of obtaining an e-money license from the Bank of Lithuania which would authorize e-wallet and e-money services. International Fintech is the fifth of Lithuania’s 12 e-money institutions with foreign capital backing.

“It is a great pleasure to see so much work bear fruit,” says Sorainen Associate Arturas Asakavicius, who led the firm’s team on the matter along with Associate Vytautas Sabalys. “Just recently the licensing process in Lithuania has experienced some favorable attention from local regulatory bodies, yet International Fintech was one of the first FinTech companies in Lithuania to set pathways in the licensing process. International Fintech is sure to make waves in the local market and abroad.”

Sorainen has advised the shareholders of Palink, the operator of the IKI grocery retail chain, on the EUR 213 million cash sale of 100% of Palink shares to ICA Gruppen, the shareholder of the Rimi Baltic retail chain. Valiunas Ellex advised the buyers on the deal, which is reported to be the largest M&A transaction in Lithuania this year, and which makes Rimi Baltic the second largest player in the Lithuanian grocery retail market.

Subject to obtaining regulatory approvals the transaction is expected to complete not later than in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Palink is currently the second biggest grocery retailer in Lithuania, operating more than 230 stores. Established by three brothers from Belgium in 1991, Palink opened its first store, billed as Lithuania’s first self-service food shop, in July 1992. Today Palink is an EUR 630 million-turnover company with an EBITDA of EUR 35 million in the 12 months that ended September 2016. Rimi Baltic operates a grocery retail business in the three Baltic States with 262 stores in total, 56 of which are in Lithuania.

“This investment of the Swedish company ICA Gruppen is an excellent sign to Lithuania,” said Valiunas Ellex Partner Dovile Burgiene. “It bespeaks the confidence that global business has in Lithuanian retail market, its perspective, and its economy at large. It is natural that formally the transaction will be completed in the fourth quarter of the next year, as the merger of two competitors must be carefully assessed by the regulatory authorities in terms of its impact on the market.””

The Sorainen team was led by Partner Laimonas Skibarka and Specialist Counsel Liudas Ramanauskas.

In addition to Burgiene, the Valiunas Ellex team consisted of Inga Ciagiene, Julija Nikitaraviicene, Marius Juonys, and Aleksandr Asovskij.

Sorainen has advised CPA:17 – Global on the EUR 60 million acquisition of a modern Class A central logistics facility located in Kaunas from Baltic Retail Properties IISUTI UAB (BRP) and on the signing of a long-term lease agreement with Kesko Senukai, a prominent Do-It-Yourself retailer in Lithuania and the Baltic States. Valiunas Ellex advised the seller of the facility on the deal.

CPA:17 – Global is managed by affiliates of W. P. Carey Inc., a prominent internally-managed net-lease real estate investment trust based in the U.S. that provides real estate-based financing solutions primarily for companies in the U.S. and Europe. Baltic Retail Properties IISUTI UAB is a real estate investment company managed by Zabolis ir Partneriai Kapitalo Valdymas.  

Arvi Luoma, Executive Director of W. P. Carey Inc., commented: “We are pleased to have completed this transaction, which builds on our knowledge and expertise in Central and Eastern Europe. The acquisition of a critical asset leased to a strong tenant with leading market share and in a sector recognized as one of the most promising in the Baltic States is an attractive addition to CPA:17 – Global. This transaction is another example of how W. P. Carey is able to structure investments in existing net leased properties that meet our established criteria, while addressing the current financial objectives of the seller and the longer-term requirements of the tenant.”

The purpose-built facility is the primary central distribution warehouse for Kesko Senukai. The facility serves all of Kesko Senukai’s stores in Lithuania and the majority of its other Baltic retail sites. The net lease has a term of approximately 15 years.

The Sorainen team was led by Partner Kestutis Adamonis and Associate Karolis Kunigelis.

Valiunas Ellex did not reply to our inquiries on the matter.

Motieka & Audzevicius is announcing that it has begun cooperating with the Lithuanian basketball league.

According to the firm, “from now on, our lawyers are official LBL attorneys, who will take care of all legal issues of the basketball players and assist them in seeking victories.”

Glimstedt has advised UAB Glaveckaite Media on the investment into the company from UAB Nextury Ventures.

According to Glimstedt, “the transaction commenced in August 2016 and was completed in November 2016.”

Glimstedt lawyers structured the deal, drafted the transaction documents, and provided other legal support on transaction-related legal matters (including corporate, tax, intellectual property, etc.) The firm’s team was led by Associate Partner Ausra Maliauskaite-Embrekte, assisted by Senior Associates Edvard Gasperskij and Asta Macijauskiene.

Valiunas Ellex team has helped the city of Vilnius to prepare concession tender conditions for the country’s National Stadium.

According to Valiunas Ellex, “it has been agreed that there will be established a multifunctional facility by a private investor based on the concession agreement.” The firm describes itself as “honored to be a part of this nationally significant case,” as “this is the first time when concession will be provided by two institutions i. e. the municipality and the Department of Physical Education and Sports under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The concession is planned for 25 upcoming years; the first three years are intended for construction.”

According to Valiunas Ellex Partner Dovile Burgiene, assuming the tender takes place as planned and without any delays, construction should start within two years.