Category: Slovakia

Havel & Partners has advised the Slovak Investment Holding on its EUR 12 million investment in battery R&D and production specialist Inobat.

The Slovak Investment Holding is a Slovak state-owned joint stock company. Its main mission is to support strategic public and private investments in Slovakia in the areas of infrastructure, energy efficiency, waste management, social economy, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Inobat is a Slovakian company that specializes in the research, development, and manufacture of batteries and works in three industry verticals: electro-mobility, energy storage, and hydrogen. Back in 2020, it secured EUR 10 million in investment in a round led by the IPM Group and including the CEZ Group and Wildcat Discovery Technologies among others.

According to Havel & Partners, “SIH provided Inobat with an equity investment of EUR 12 million, or approximately CZK 303 million, as part of the Series C investment round. The investment will be fully utilized in Slovakia, specifically in the company’s development center and manufacturing plant in Voderady, in the Trnava district. Inobat, which focuses on the automotive, commercial vehicle, motorsport, and aerospace sectors, is expected to manufacture its first batteries in the first quarter of this year.”

The Havel & Partners team included Partners Ondrej Majer and Jaroslav Baier and Associate Kristina Saktorova.

Roman Vydra has been promoted to a Partner position with BBH in Bratislava.

According to BBH, Roman’s time with the firm has “seen him excel in high-profile acquisition projects across various industries. He’s also been instrumental in numerous real estate transactions and has consistently represented creditors in court proceedings, insolvency cases, and dispute resolution efforts.”

Vydra has been with the firm since 2013, when he joined as an Associate.

“I’m glad I can continue my career at BBH as a Partner,” Vydra said. “My focus will be on further developing and growing BBH’s Bratislava office, all while upholding BBH’s renowned commitment to delivering top-quality legal services to our clients.”

Dentons has advised HB Reavis on the sale of its in-house-developed technology platform Symbiosy to HqO.

HB Reavis is an international workspace provider.

HqO offers a real estate experience platform that assesses the health and performance of a customer’s experience within a physical space while providing the necessary tools for operators to manage and optimize it.

According to Dentons, “following the transaction, HqO will power HB Reavis’ portfolio of workspaces and support its growing global customer base through a strategic partnership. Symbiosy offers a portfolio of smart building solutions consisting of system integrations, IoT, and software interfaces. Symbiosy’s portfolio of cutting-edge smart office technology solutions provides employee experience, data management, and visualization tools that support an enhanced workplace experience for improved performance.”

The Dentons team included Brastislava-based Partner Juraj Gyarfas and Senior Associate Radoslav Palka, Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving, and New York-based Partner Ilan Katz and Associate Michael Liou.

Dentons could not provide additional information on the matter.

The Ministry of Economy has extended the eligible period for electricity and gas price compensations. In addition to 2023, it will also be possible to apply for compensation for the period up to 30 June 2024. Applications can be submitted until 15 June 2024.

The compensation amounts to 80 % of the difference between the price actually paid for gas and electricity and the set maximum limits of EUR 99 per MWh (gas) and EUR 199 per MWh (electricity) respectively. This is the net price of the commodity excluding distribution and network charges.

The maximum amount of the subsidy per month at the level of one economic unit is EUR 200.000. At the same time, the maximum cumulative amount of aid for all subsidies granted under Section 2.1 of the Temporary Crisis Framework per undertaking has been increased to EUR 2.250.000. If the amount requested exceeds EUR 100.000, the applicant must be entered in the Register of Public Sector Partners.

Eligible applicants are economic operators, i.e. those offering goods and/or services, irrespective of their legal status and method of financing, and irrespective of their size, i.e. small, medium-sized and large businesses, excluding credit and financial institutions. Businesses in difficulty are also eligible.

By Bernhard Hager, Managing Partner, Annamaria Tothova, Partner, and Jan Scerba, Associate, Eversheds Sutherland

Slovakia-headquartered GHS Legal has announced it is changing its name to FairSquare.

FairSquare has offices in Prague and Olomouc in the Czech Republic, Bratislava in Slovakia, Kyiv in Ukraine, as well as Vienna in Austria.

According to the firm, “the new name is based on the English phrase ‘fair & square,’ which conveys honesty and fairness. These are values that we have long held in relation to our clients.”

FairSquare is led by Partners Pavol Hornak, Erik Schwarcz, Sebastian Mach, and Zuzana Noetstaller and has a legal staff of over 35 professionals.

In January 2023, a new directive on measures to ensure a high common level of cybersecurity in the Union (the “NIS 2 Directive”) entered into force, and is to be transposed by 17 October 2024.

Newly, the cybersecurity regulations will apply to every entity that (i) provides one of the services listed in the NIS 2 Directive and at the same time (ii) employs 50 or more employee sand has an annual turnover and/or an annual balance sheet of more than EUR 10 million.

With the transposition of the NIS Directive 2, the range of obliged entities will be extended to include entities performing activities in the following sectors:

• waste management;
• wastewater;
• production, processing and distribution of food;
• production and distribution of chemical substances;
• production (of medical devices, computers, electronic and optical products, machines and defined devices, motor vehicles, semi-trailers, trailers and other means of transport);
• courier services;
• research;

We recommend entities affected by the new legislation to start preparing for the new legislation ahead of time, in particular by:

• performing an analysis of possible cybersecurity risks;
• adopting and adhering to a cybersecurity strategy (i.e. adopting internal documentation);
• implementing appropriate and adequate technical and operational security measures (e.g. backing up all data on a physical medium that is not connected to a network, regularly updating devices and antivirus programs, using cryptography and encryption);
• undergoing professional training (both governing bodies and employees).

By Martina Oveckova, Junior Associate, Eversheds Sutherland

The new law (Act No. 309/2023 Coll.) introduces a new comprehensive regulation of national and cross-border transformations of commercial companies and cooperatives in a special law. Most of the provisions will enter into force on 1 March 2024.

The law transposes Directive (EU) 2019/2121 of the European Parliament and of the Council and, among other things, introduces the following new institutes:

1. Spin-off – an institute corresponding to a partial division, when the divided company does not disappear and part of it is separated into another company (amalgamation spin-off) or into one or more newly founded companies (merger spin-off), or a combination of amalgamation and merger.

According to the current legislation, the division could only be carried out if the original company ceased to exist, which caused problems especially regarding the impossibility of transferring licences and permits. Now it will be possible to keep the divided company as an existing company with all permits, licences, etc., and part of the company will simply be spun off into a new or existing company.

2. Cross-border division – division of a company when the successor company is a newly incorporated company and at least one participating company is registered in another EU Member State.
3. Cross-border change of legal form – the company changes its registered office from one Member State to another and its legal form also changes in accordance with the law of the state in which the new registered office is located.

By Petra Markova, Counsel, Eversheds Sutherland

Kinstellar has advised Siemens Mobility on its acquisition of Slovak railway security solutions company HMH. Havel & Partners reportedly advised the seller.

With this acquisition, Siemens Mobility strengthened its position as a leading rail infrastructure provider in Europe, according to Kinstellar, and is now able to offer a complete train protection portfolio covering Eastern European rail corridors.

The Kinstellar team was led by Partners Viliam Mysicka and Adam Hodon and included Managing Associate Lukas Mrazik, Senior Associate Michal Hrusovsky, Associates Livia Miklencicova and Matus Kocisek, and Junior Associates Laura Bugajova and Martin Danco.

Greenwashing is an umbrella term for misleading environmental claims. A claim is any promotional communication that can be communicated in advertisements, marketing materials, product manuals, prospectuses for investors, recruitments ads, annual reports, on packaging or brands themselves.

A claim is misleading if it is inaccurate or omits or conceals information or creates the impression that activities or products are less harmful or more beneficial to the environment than they are.

Even today, it is possible to find a legal basis in the field of consumer protection and regulations governing advertising that prohibits misleading claims related to the environment. At the same time, two specific directives are being prepared at the EU level: the directive on claims related to the environment and the directive on strengthening the position of consumers in the framework of the green transformation, an agreement already having been reached on the final wording of the latter directive.

Businesses are exposed to many risks when using misleading claims: damage to reputation, criticism on social media, campaigns by non-governmental organisations, product boycotts. However, they can also lead to advertising bans, fines and other penalties, as well as claims for damages. Before publishing a claim, it is therefore advisable to check its veracity, completeness, scientific basis, credibility of the certification and its comparability (“green alternative”), and avoid general claims such as “green”, “sustainable” or “ethical”, as they are difficult to prove.

Former HKV Partner Lukas Michalik has opened up a new law firm in Slovakia: Ments. Joining Michalik at Ments is Partner Peter Makys, another former HKV lawyer.

While Ments’ immediate focus is M&A, life sciences, commercial leases, and compliance, Michalik commented that the firm’s “commitments go beyond that and we are ready to support any innovative business idea, whether from a multinational corporation or a startup.”

Before setting up Ments, Michalik spent almost 16 combined years with HKV – almost seven of which as a Partner.

Prior to joining forces with Michalik at Ments, Makys spent over eight years with HKV, joining as an Associate in 2015 and becoming a Senior Associate in 2021.