Sorainen Latvia is advising Storent on everyday employment matters, including employment termination and employment of management board members, as well as reviewing and updating Storent’s internal policies and regulations.
Storent is a leading construction and industrial equipment rental company in the Baltics with an extensive rental network throughout all three Baltic countries.
The Sorainen team consists of Partner Eva Berlaus and Senior Associate Andis Burkevics
Wilson & Partners has announced that it successfully completed the sale of the Kotva Shopping Centre in Prague for Markland Holdings Limited to the PSN Group. AK Dolecek advised the buyers on the deal.
Wilson & Partners describes the sale as “a landmark transaction,” and reports that it involves “one of the most famous buildings in the Czech Republic which was the first Czech department store when opened in the 1970’s.”
Commenting on the sale, Wilson & Partners Partner Bryan Wilson said, “I originally acquired Kotva for Markland in 2005 and have been responsible for much of the legal work throughout the last 11 years along with other team members and so to now sell it is an accomplishment but also a sad moment as it has been a part of our legal lives for many years. We wish the new owners well with their plans for the building.”
The firm’s team consisted of Bryan Wilson and Monika Kajankova.
AK Dolecek did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.
Image Source: prague.eu
Schoenherr has secured a win for Montenegro in the state’s second investment arbitration, this time against CEAC, a Cypriot Holding Company represented by King & Spalding International.
According to Schoenherr, in 2005, the Russian energy-related company En+ acquired a majority stake in KAP, an aluminum plant near Montenegro’s capital of Podgorica, through the Cypriot holding company CEAC. KAP was declared bankrupt in July 2013, and CEAC claimed “unlawful interference” by the Montenegrin government, which allegedly violated the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) protecting Cypriot investments in Montenegro. In March 2014, CEAC filed a claim against Montenegro with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under that treaty. In the ensuing arbitration, CEAC sought compensation for an alleged expropriation, and direct and consequential damages for Montenegro’s alleged unfair and inequitable treatment of CEAC’s investment.
On July 26, 2016, an ICSID tribunal composed of Bernard Hanotiau (President), Brigitte Stern (Montenegro’s appointee), and William Park (Claimant’s appointee) found that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. While at first dismissing Montenegro’s preliminary objections on the grounds of not having been briefed to its satisfaction on certain issues, in particular on jurisdiction, the Tribunal nevertheless decided to have a specific phase of the proceedings dedicated to determining whether CEAC had a “seat” in Cyprus as required under Article 1(3)(b) of the Cyprus-Montenegro BIT. After hearing the parties’ arguments, the Tribunal concluded that CEAC did not have a “seat” in Cyprus at the time of filing its request for arbitration, and was thus not a protected investor within the meaning of that BIT.
Schoenherr’s team, representing Montenegro, consisted of Vienna-based Partners Christoph Lindinger and Anne-Karin Grill and Belgrade-based Partners Slaven Moravcevic and Jelena Bezarevic Pajic, along with Vienna-based Associate Michael Stimakovits and Belgrade-based Associate Tanja Sumar.
The London-based King & Spalding International team consisted of Partners Egishe Dzhazoyan and Tom Sprange, Counsel Sarah Vasani, and Associates Grigori Lazarev and Benjamin Burnham.
BNT’s Lithuania office has supported Martin Mucha, the German insolvency administrator, on the sale of the business of the insolvent German Kurz group.
Lawyers from bnt’s M&A and insolvency practices advised and represented Mucha, from the German law firm Grub Brugger & Partner, and his team in the successful sale to the German Prettl group of the ongoing business of the insolvent German Kurz group.
According to bnt, “the cross-border asset and share deal rescued 200 jobs in Germany and the Lithuanian city of Alytus, one of the production sites of the well-known medium sized German producer of electronic control systems and components.” The firm’s lawyers worked “in close cooperation with German lawyers from the office of the insolvency administrator to prepare and implement the sale of the Lithuanian subsidiary of the insolvent Kurz group, and to fit this transaction into the German part of this distressed M&A deal.”
The bnt team was led by Partner Frank Heemann, supported by Associates Karolina Gasparke and Jolanta Zupkauskaite.
Wolf Theiss has advised Eurazeo Patrimoine on its acquisition of 85 hotels under the brands Ibis Budget, Ibis Styles, Mercure, Novotel, and Pulman, from AccorHotels and other investors. The volume of the transaction is more than half a billion euros. In the future, the hotels will join the newly created Grape Hospitality Group, a joint venture between Accor and Eurazeo.
Eurazeo Patrimoine is the real estate investment arm of Eurazeo, one of the leading European investment companies. Eurazeo is listed on the Euronext in Paris and has a diversified asset portfolio valued at more than EUR 5 billion. Eurazeo is the core shareholder of well-known companies such as Desigual, Europcar, and Moncler.
Wolf Theiss advised on the tax structuring of the transaction, the acquisition of the properties and the hotel operations, and the financing of the acquisition. For the portions of the hotel portfolio located in Austria, the Wolf Theiss team was led by Partners Niklas Schmidt, Karl Binder, and Michael Lind, along with Senior Associates Eva Stadler and Matthias Schimka and Associates Cynthia Pfister, Felix Breitwieser, Markus Reinfeld, Iris Riepan, and Nikolaus Dinhof.
Wolf Theiss did not respond to our inquiry about counsel for the sellers.
Z/C/H Legal has advised CEM VISION, a Czech investment company, on its acquisition of a 100% ownership interest in CEMOD-CZ s.r.o., the former home and fashion subsidiary of the 3SI Group in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The seller was advised by Kinstellar in the Czech Republic and Linklaters in France.
The 3SI Group is one of the largest distance selling companies in France and Europe. The business activities of the group, which has its headquarters in Croix, in northern France, include multi-channel retail and services to third-party business customers in 16 countries.
According to Z/C/H Legal, CEMOD-CZ — based in Pardubice, Czech Republic — was founded in 1967 and has since “become the leading website for home accessories and furnishings in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, operating under the banner of Magnet-3Pagen.” According to the firm, “it has also established a market position in these countries as a major online player in the fashion clothing sector, with the Modino.cz website and its distribution of Blancheporte and Venca products.”
Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Kinstellar informed CEE Legal Matters that its team consisted of Partner Jan Juroska and Associate Michal Kniz.
Asters has acted as local transaction counsel to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in connection with a USD 25 million working capital loan to Astarta, one of the largest agricultural producers in Ukraine.
According to Astarta, “this investment will help Astarta to purchase crops from local farmers during the harvest season, when the availability of crops is at a peak and the prices are normally the lowest, thus allowing Astarta to achieve sustainable supply of raw materials for processing and limit its margin volatility.”
Asters’ banking and finance team advising on the project consisted of Partner Iryna Pokanay, Counsel Gabriel Aslanian, and Associate Inna Bondarenko. The same team advised the IFC on a 2015 loan to Astarta as well (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 16, 2015).
Kunz Schima Wallentin (KSW) has advised the PremiQaMed Group on its acquisition of a majority interest in Goldenes Kreuz Privatklinik Betriebs GmbH from Osterreichische Gesellschaft vom Goldenen Kreuze. The sellers were advised by Freimuller/Obereder/Pilz, while the anti-trust procedure was managed by Schoenherr.
KSW Partner Peter Kunz commented on the successful effort of all firms working together towards a common goal: “We are happy to have been given the chance to support the PremiQaMed Group in this complex and important transaction. It is especially worth mentioning that all those involved in the transaction have worked together on solutions in a very constructive and targeted way, in order to enable the cooperation of the private hospital Goldenes Kreuz and the PremiQaMed Group as it was intended.”
In addition to Kunz, the KSW team consisted of Thomas Seeber and Daniel Liemberger, along with Associate Katrin Chladek
Georg Freimuller led the Freimuller/Obereder/Pilz team, while the anti-trust procedure was managed by Schoenherr Partner Hanno Wollmann, working closely with Counsel Stefanie Stegbauer.
PremiQaMed Group Head of Legal Edith Lachinger was involved as in-house counsel.
RTPR Allen & Overy has advised Elefant Online and its shareholders, Millennium Gold Resources and the Catalyst Romania private equity fund, on the investment into Elefant Online by the Emerging Europe Accession Fund advised by Axxess Capital and a supplementary investment from its minority shareholder Catalyst Romania. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii and sole practitioner Gabriela Assoum Predescu advised Axxess Capital on the transaction, which remains contingent on the approval of the Romanian Competition Council.
Elefant Online is a well-known online retailer in Romania.
The RTPR Allen & Overy team consisted of Counsel Alina Stavaru, Associate Laurentiu Tisescu, and Junior Associate Evelin Grigore on the transaction itself, with Counsel Roxana Ionescu, Associate Andrei Mihul, and Junior Associate Andrei Lupu advising on competition clearance matters. Alina Stavaru declared: “We are happy to have once again advised our clients on this transaction and we would like to thank them for their trust. At the end of 2014 we assisted Catalyst Romania in relation to their initial investment in Elefant, and now we had the chance to advise the shareholders and the company on this new investment. As previously stated, such a transaction represents the recognition of the success of a local business and we are looking forward to seeing its success at international level.”
Catalyst Romania has been active in Romania in the last two years, and RTPR Allen & Overy has previously advised it in relation to several investments in the IT and technology sector, such as Intelligent IT and Marketizator Friends (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 7, 2016), Vector Watch, 123ContactForm, and Green Horse Games.
The Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii team was coordinated by Partner Dragos Apostol, supported by Associate Veronica Aman, and included Senior Associate Roxana Pana and Ciprian Sararu and Associate Gabriela Dinu.
Allen & Overy advised HB Reavis (HB Reavis Group and HB Reavis CE REIF), on the EUR 79 million sale of its four logistics centers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Macquarie Group. As previously reported by CEE Legal Matters, White & Case advised the Macquarie Group on the deal.
The transaction marks the first disposal made by HB Reavis CE REIF, a EUR 175 million commercial property fund managed on behalf of institutional and high-net worth investors by HB Reavis Investment management, the investment management arm of HB Reavis Group.
The A&O team was led by Senior Associate Juraj Gyarfas. Partner Hugh Owen provided English law advice on the transaction documents and Senior Associate Vojtech Palinkas provided advice on real estate and construction issues. Tax-related advice was provided by London-based Counsel Tim Harrop, Prague-based Senior Tax Advisor Michal Dusek, and London-based Associate Mark Spinney.