CEE Legal Matters

Category: Deals and Cases

  • Success for KSB for Czech Radio Before the European Court of Justice

    KSB reports that it has achieved “another success” in its representation of Czech Radio in a long-lasting dispute with the Board of the Financial Directorate on the issue of the right to deduct VAT.

    According to KSB, “an important point of contention was whether license fees are in fact a payment for public service broadcasting …. The European Court of Justice (ECJ), on the initiative of the Supreme Administrative Court, expressed the view in its decision that license fees are not deemed to be consideration paid for public broadcasting, and therefore fall outside the scope of the directive on VAT.”

    The ECJ held that, even though Czech Radio is in a “triangular legal relationship” between the Czech state (which instructs Czech Radio to perform tasks in the public interest consisting in the provision of public service broadcasting), and recipients of services (which are required by the Czech state to pay a mandatory fee set by law), there is no direct link between the public broadcasting service of Czech Radio and the fee.

    According to the ECJ decision, which will now be mandatory for Czech courts, such simply stated revenue from license fees should not be included in the coefficient for reducing VAT deduction.

  • FWP Advises SPAR on Acquisition of Shops From Insolvent Zielpunkt

    FWP Advises SPAR on Acquisition of Shops From Insolvent Zielpunkt

    Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner has advised SPAR Osterreichische Warenhandels-AG on the acquisition, by way of tender proceedings, of 27 shop locations from the bankrupt estate of Zielpunkt GmbH.

    According to FWP, “the mandate required complex interaction between lawyers from areas of law specific to the retail sector, especially M&A, real estate, and antitrust law.”

    The firm’s team was led by founding Partner Markus Fellner, working with Partner Lukas Flener (antitrust law), and attorneys Christian Thaler (M&A) and Georg Huber (real estate).

  • EPAP Ukraine Successful for Ukrainian Producers of Ferroalloys in EEC Countervailing Investigation

    EPAP Ukraine Successful for Ukrainian Producers of Ferroalloys in EEC Countervailing Investigation

    EPAP Ukraine has acted as legal counsel to the Ukrainian Association of Ferroalloy Producers and Other Electrical Metallurgy Products Manufacturers (UkrFa) and the Nikopol, Zaporozhye, and Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plants in a countervailing investigation initiated in 2014 by the Eurasian Economic Commission against imports of Ukrainian ferrosilicomanganese to the Eurasian Economic Union territory.

    EPAP’s international trade & customs team drafted and filed a response to the claim, participated in public hearings and consultations with the EEC, and drafted and filed a response pursuant to the public hearing and consultations. The firm reports that, as a result of its work, “the EEC closed the countervailing investigation due to lack of grounds for imposing of countervailing duty.”

    The EPAP team was led by Partner and Head of International Trade & Customs Practice Gleb Bialyi and included Associate Anton Sintsov.

  • KSB Helps Create First Czech Crowdfunding Equity Platform

    Kocian Solc Balastic has advised Fundlift, the first Czech platform focused on equity crowdfunding, on the launch of its operations. It is a joint venture of the financial group Roklen and the investment group Rockaway.

    Equity crowdfunding is a form of raising capital for small and medium-sized innovative companies seeking capital for further growth. Fundlift enables them to attain such external capital resources through the issue of securities which will be offered to the general investing public. KSB describes equity crowdfunding as “a major innovation in Czech law requiring the resolution not only of regulatory restrictions but also the implications of relatively rigid corporate changes in the Law of Corporations.”

    According to KSB, the firm “assisted in the preparation and implementation of the entire Fundlift project, as well as in connection with the first offerings of the platform.”

  • KSB Successful for Agrofert in Dispute with EUB

    Kocian Solc Balastik reports that the Municipal Court in Prague has delivered a first instance decision in favor of firm client Agrofert in a case that has been ongoing since 2011 against Luxembourg company European United Bakeries (EUB).

    According to KSB, the case concerns “a planned, but ultimately unrealized merger of the company Penam from the Agrofert group with the United Bakeries group (which sells its products mainly under the Odkolek and Delta brands), whose current parent company is EUB. Specifically, the dispute relates to a deposit for part of the shares in the amount of CZK 100 million, the refund of which, including interest on late payment and court costs, was decided by the court in favor of KSB’s client, on the basis that the unrealized merger was not the fault of KSB’s client.”  

  • White & Case Successful For Hellenic Steelmakers Union Before Hellenic Competition Commission

    White & Case Successful For Hellenic Steelmakers Union Before Hellenic Competition Commission

    White & Case has achieved what it calls “a significant success” for the Hellenic Steelmakers Union (ENXE) before the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC).

    The HCC was investigating an alleged illegal exchange of production and trading data, and whether ENXE had facilitated the exchange of information between its members. ENXE successfully proved that its activities did not amount to any per se illegal information exchange, and offered a commitment to the HCC to effect changes in its bylaws and statutes to include express guarantees of independence and confidentiality.

    The HCC accepted this commitment and concluded, in a ruling on April 14, 2016, that there were no longer grounds for further action.

    “The accusations against ENXE followed a very formalistic approach, which we were able to reverse in order to close the matter in a satisfactory manner,” said White & Case Brussels-based Partner Assimakis Komninos, who led the firm’s representation of ENXE. Komninos was supported by Associate Zena Prodromou.

  • Sulija Partners Successfully Represents Deutsche Lufthansa in Lithuania

    Sulija Partners Successfully Represents Deutsche Lufthansa in Lithuania

    Sulija Partners in Vilnius has successfully represented an officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG in Lithuanian administrative proceedings involving a flight delay.

    According to a Sulija Partners press release, the Vilnius County Court “has overturned the decision of an inferior Vilnius court and discharged a senior officer of Lufthansa AG from any potential liability regarding the flight delay that was caused by pilots’ strike.”

    The firm also describes the County Court’s position as “consistent with the view of the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Authority, which after the involvement of Sulija Partners Law Firm Vilnius has refused to proceed with the investigation against the largest German air carrier.”

  • Drakopoulos Assists in Seizure of Counterfeit Goods in Athens

    Drakopoulos Assists in Seizure of Counterfeit Goods in Athens

    Drakopoulos and the React anti-counterfeiting network, working in cooperation with the Greek police, are reporting a seizure of 25,000 fake clothing items in a warehouse in an Athenian suburb on April 26, 2016, and describing it as “marking the symbolic character of the World Intellectual Property Day.”

    According to Drakopoulos, “25,000 fake clothing items were seized, including t-shirts, trousers, tracksuits and jackets which infringed various famous casual and sports clothing brands such as Superdry, Diesel, Ralph Lauren, Franklin & Marshall, Abercrombie&Fitch, Hollister, Adidas, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Napapijri, Wrangler, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Dsquared, Moncler, Levi’s and Hugo Boss.”

    The firm reports that the Greek police arrested a Greek national who was operating an illegal warehouse and  showroom in a three floor building. All of the seized goods were determined to be counterfeit and were destroyed the same day, at the infringer’s consent.

  • Dentons and Eversheds Advise on AmRest Acquisition of Partnership Interests in Starbucks Coffee Deutschland

    Dentons and Eversheds Advise on AmRest Acquisition of Partnership Interests in Starbucks Coffee Deutschland

    Dentons has advised AmRest Holdings SE on its acquisition of all partnership interests in Starbucks Coffee Deutschland Ltd. & Co. KG, the German subsidiary of the Starbucks group. Eversheds’ Munich office advised Starbucks on the deal.

    The signed agreement, which is expected to take effect in late May 2016, will result in AmRest acquiring the existing 144 equity stores and having the license to operate and develop the Starbucks brand in Germany. The purchase price will amount to approximately EUR 41 million.

    AmRest is the largest publicly listed restaurant operator in Central Europe. After completing the acquisition of the German Starbucks stores, AmRest will operate restaurants and cafes in 12 countries and will employ more than 25,000 people. The company already runs more than 100 cafes under the Starbucks brand in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

    The Dentons team, led by Frankfurt-based Counsel Till Buschmann, advised AmRest throughout the transaction on all German law aspects. The relationship with AmRest was referred to Dentons in Germany by the firm’s Warsaw office. Other members of the Dentons team included Partner Andreas Ziegenhagen, Counsel Sabine Wieduwilt, Josef Hainz, Michael Seppelt, and Matthias Stelzer, and Associates Isabelle Puhl, Judith Specht, and Jakob Pickartz. 

    Dentons also advised AmRest on its June 2015 acquisition of Starbucks franchises in Romania and Bulgaria from the Marinopoulos Group (reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 26, 2015). Subsequently, AmRest Legal Director Global Dawid Ksiazczak — who led AmRest in this recent German acquisition as well — discussed the Bulgarian and Romanian acquisition in a Five Questions interview about that deal. 

    The Eversheds team consisted of Lead Partner Christof Lamberts, Partners Sybille Flindt, Stefan Diemer, Joos Hellert, Jurjen de Korte, Frank Achilles, and Alexandra Watzlawek, Counsels Holger Holle and Arndt Scheffler, Principal Associates Maximilian Ott and Alexander Hoffmann, and Associates Jorg Hoffmann, Tobias Fodi, and Thomas Barth.

  • DTB and Wolf Theiss Advise on Heineken Croatia Acquisition of Lasko Grupa

    DTB and Wolf Theiss Advise on Heineken Croatia Acquisition of Lasko Grupa

    Divjak, Topic & Bihtijarevic has reported that the 2015 acquisition by Heineken Croatia of Lasko Grupa (a Croatian entity previously owned by Pivovarna Lasko, Slovenia) has closed, and that Lasko Grupa has now completely merged into Heineken Croatia. DTB advised Heineken Croatia, with Wolf Theiss advising Lasko.

    The Croatian reorganization process followed Heineken’s 2015 acquisition of Lasko in Slovenia (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on April 17, 2015). 

    According to DTB, “after the completed acquisition and merger process, Heineken Croatia has assumed and continued operations of Lasko Grupa with the aim of strengthening Heineken’s business operations in Croatia.” 

    The DTB team consisted of Senior Partner Sasa Divjak, and Senior Associate Vladimir Ante Batarelo.

    The Wolf Theiss team consisted of Counsel Klara Miletic and Associate Neja Nastran from the firm’s Slovenian office.