Category: Deals and Cases

Wolf Theiss has advised Latvian private equity fund INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and its portfolio company Eco Baltia on the acquisition of a 70% stake in Polish PVC recycler Metal-Plast. Ozog Tomczykowski advised the target’s shareholders on the sale. Sorainen reportedly advised INVL and Eco Baltia as well.

Metal-Plast Founder Sebastian Fedorowicz remains on board with a 30% stake in the business. Metal-Plast is a European player in the recycling of PVC from the production waste of window and door systems and old plastic windows.

Eco Baltia specializes in environmental management and waste processing in the Baltic countries.

“Metal-Plast represents the eighth portfolio investment of the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund. The circular economy remains one of our core investment pillars and we are delighted to again partner with one of the most successful portfolio companies to date in Eco Baltia and [Sebastian] Fedorowicz to further drive Metal-Plast’s exciting growth journey.” INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund Partner and Eco Baltia Supervisory Board Chairman Vytautas Plunksnis commented.

The Wolf Theiss team was led by Counsel Maciej Olszewski and included Partner Jacek Michalski, Counsels Marcin Rudnik and Adrian Krzyzanowski, Senior Associate Marcin Zak, and Associate Dominika Getka.

The Ozog Tomczykowski team included Partner Karol Sowa, Managing Associate Adam Trawinski, Senior Associates Roksana Barysz, Renata Sobocinska, and Jedrzej Figurski, and Associates Oliwia Rudzinska, Szymon Rozum, and Agnieszka Karczewska.

Ostermann & Partners has advised Croatia’s Osijek-Koteks on the acquisition of river and sand mining company Romic-Promet.

According to Ostermann & Partners, Osijek-Koteks is a regional construction and sand mining company and one of the oldest construction companies in Croatia. “As part of company consolidation and expansion, Osijek-Koteks has acquired Romic-Promet, active in the sectors of river and sand mining, construction, and transport.”

The Ostermann & Partners team included Managing Partner Mojmir Ostermann and Attorney at Law Janko Havas. 

Ostermann & Partners did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised web hosting company Webglobe on the acquisition of its eBola Czech competitor operating under the eBola.cz brand name.

Webglobe, originally a Slovak web hosting company backed by the Sandberg Capital investment fund, is, according to KSB, a leading domain registrar and web hosting provider in Central Europe. It has offices in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Serbia. In the four years since entering the Czech market, “Webglobe has become the third largest web hosting company in the country.”

Back in 2021, KSB also advised Webglobe on the acquisition of domain registration and hosting service provider Savana.cz from founder Pavel Hofner (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 13, 2021).

The KSB team included Partner Drahomir Tomasuk and Lawyers Jana Guricova and Karolina Vosatkova.

KSB did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Deloitte Legal has advised Italian logistics company Savino Del Bene on its acquisition of stakes in two Czech and one Slovak logistics companies operating under the Advanced brand, and its entry into the Czech market.

According to Deloitte Legal, the transaction is an important step for the expansion of the Italian company on the Czech market and the strengthening of its position in Central Europe.

Savino Del Bene is an Italian multinational operating in the field of international transport with more than 120 years of history. With a network of more than 5,000 employees in 60 countries, they handle logistically complex shipments and provide tailor-made solutions for companies.

The Deloitte Legal team included Czech Republic-based Partner Petr Suchy, Associate David Simek, and Junior Lawyers Anna Kolodrubcova, Lukas Kade, and Krystof Vrtek, with further lawyers in Slovakia.

Act Legal has advised Nimbus on the sale of the RAMPF Group to an undisclosed German investment company. Maynard Nexsen and Cornet Vincent Segurel reportedly advised Nimbus as well.

Nimbus are venture capital and private equity principals based in Utrecht and operate as hands-on investors.

The RAMPF Group is a manufacturer of steel molds for the concrete block industry.

The Act Legal team included Hungary-based Partner Peter Weidinger and Attorney at Law Istvan Solt, Poland-based Managing Partner Marek Wojnar and Attorney at Law Marlena Witkowska, as well as further team members in Frankfurt.

CMS has advised the Czech consortium of Skoda Transportation and Skoda Vagonka on their successful participation in Metropoliten Sofia’s BGN 134 million public procurement procedure for eight metro trains.

The public procurement agreement was signed on July 13, 2023. Metropoliten Sofia is the subway operator in the Bulgarian capital.

The Skoda Group is a member of the PPF Group. It manufactures vehicles for railways and public transport.

According to CMS, the project is expected to have an “extremely favorable impact on Bulgaria’s capital subway infrastructure – providing the most modern vehicles for citizens, shortening the running interval of trains, and gradually replacing the remaining Russian vehicle fleet.” The eight trains are to enter service in 2026.

“We are very proud to deliver new, modern, and spacious metro trains to the people of Sofia,” Skoda Group Region Central East President Zdenek Svata commented. “This success highlights our expertise in public transport. We offer a complete portfolio of environmentally friendly vehicles for public transport.”

The CMS team was led by Sofia-based Partner Assen Georgiev and included Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and Associate Diyan Georgiev.

Clifford Chance has advised CTP on the financing for its industrial parks in Slovakia from a banking club including Erste Group Bank and Slovenska Sporitelna. White & Case reportedly advised the lenders.

CTP is a developer and manager of industrial and logistics parks. Its portfolio covers 11 million square meters of leasable space in ten markets across Europe.

The Clifford Chance team included Czech Republic-based Partner Milos Felgr, Counsel Dominik Vojta, Associate Bara Mika, and Junior Lawyer Ondrej Steco, Slovakia-based Senior Associate Stanislav Holec and Junior Lawyer Lukas Ljubovic, as well as Netherlands-based Associate Menno Postma.

Schoenherr has advised Greiner Group member Neveon Holding on the sale of its automotive division consisting of Greiner Perfoam and its subsidiaries to Treves. Wolf Theiss advised Treves.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

The Perfoam Group specializes in interior trim and powertrain insulation parts for automobiles.

Neveon is an integrated foam group that offers polyurethane flexible and composite foams for a wide range of applications, from the comfort segment through the transportation sector to a wide variety of specialty applications. It is part of the Greiner Group of companies.

The Treves Group, headquartered in Paris, is a supplier, designer, and manufacturer of acoustic and thermal insulation solutions for the automotive industry.

According to Schoenherr, “the scope of this transaction included Greiner Perfoam in Enns and Linz, Greiner Perfoam at the Tabor and Valasske Mezirici sites in the Czech Republic, Greiner Perfoam Automotive Components in Mexico, and the participation in the two joint ventures Shenyang Greiner Automotive Components and Tianjin Greiner Automotive Components in China. With this transaction, Greiner’s foam division Neveon will withdraw from the finished products automotive business and focus on its core foam business in the areas of living & care, mobility, and a wide range of specialty foam applications.”

Back in 2022, Schoenherr had also advised on Greiner Packaging’s acquisition of Alwag from Aling-Conel (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 13, 2022).

The Schoenherr team included Austria-based Partners Robert Bachner, Franz Urlesberger, and Constantin Benes, Attorneys at Law Daniel Wadl, Franziska Oczlon, and Johannes Frank, and Czech Republic-based Attorney at Law Michal Jendzelovsky and Associates Verena Krikler and Nikolaus Stepan.

The Wolf Theiss team included Vienna-based Partners Clara Gordon, Christian Mikosch, and Matthias Unterrieder, Counsels Stefan Wartinger, Stefan Horn, and Harald Strahberger, and Associates Julia Male, Nevena Ilic, Dorothea Arlt, Sophie Weber, Miranda Ellison, Julia Moser, Pascal Gstoettner, and Dominik Engel and Prague-based Counsels Tereza Naucova and Tomas Kren, Senior Associates Michal Matous and Sabina Krajickova, and Associate Kamila Webb.

Reed Smith and CMS have advised Helleniq Renewables on its acquisition of a 211-megawatt solar portfolio in Romania from Mytilineos Group’s Metka EGN. Volciuc-Ionescu, working with the UK offices of EY Law, advised Metka EGN.

According to Reed Smith, the acquisition included four Romanian entities owing four ready-to-build solar photovoltaic projects with an aggregate capacity of approximately 211 megawatts-peak in southern Romania. “The acquisition of each SPV will be completed, subject to several conditions, the most important being the entry into commercial operation of the respective project it owns.”

The first project of 13 megawatts-peak is expected to enter into commercial operation later this year, two projects of 108 megawatts combined capacity in 2024, while the last one of 90 megawatts-peak by the third quarter of 2025. According to CMS, the total annual production of the projects is expected to exceed 300 gigawatt-hours of green energy, enough to meet the needs of 100,000 households.

Helleniq Renewables is the renewables arm of the Helleniq Energy Group, an energy group in Greece and the wider South-East Europe region with activities in oil, petroleum products, petrochemicals, conventional and renewable power production, and power and natural gas trading and supply.

Metka EGN is part of the Mytilineos Group, an industrial and energy group with activities in the metallurgy sector, power plant and battery energy storage unit construction, conventional and renewable power production, and power and natural gas trading and supply.

The Reed Smith team was led by Partner Dimitris Assimakis and included Counsel Minas Kitsilis and Associate Eleni Alexiou.

The Volciuc-Ionescu team was led by Partner Ramona Volciuc-Ionescu.

The CMS team was led by Managing Partner Horea Popescu and Counsel Mircea Moraru and included Senior Associates Edwina Udrescu and Raluca Diaconeasa and Associates Eduard Roventa and Bianca Banateanu.

Schoenherr, working with Sullivan & Cromwell, has advised the Emirates Telecommunications Group Company – operating as E& – on its acquisition of a 50%-plus-one-share stake in PPF Telecom Group’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia. White & Case and Karanovic & Partners advised the PPF Group on the up to EUR 2.5 billion sale and the setup of a joint venture with E&.

Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2024, pending regulatory approval. The agreement was signed on August 1, 2023.

According to Karanovic & Partners, the target assets comprise Yettel Bulgaria, Yettel Hungary, Yettel Serbia, and the O2 Slovakia service operations and the CETIN and O2 Networks infrastructure businesses in these countries that are fully carved out and managed independently of the service companies.

As announced by E&, the upfront consideration for the acquisition is EUR 2.15 billion, while the transaction also includes earn-out and clawback payments depending on the achievement of certain financial targets. According to PPF, its existing assets in the Czech Republic will be transferred outside the PPF Telecom Group and not be part of the transaction.

The Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (doing business as Etisalat by E&) is an Emirati-based multinational telecommunications services provider currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

The PPF Group is a privately held international financial and investment group founded in 1991 in Czechoslovakia and residing in the Netherlands. The PPF Group invests in multiple market segments such as financial services, telecommunications, biotechnology, real estate, and mechanical engineering.

According to Schoenherr, the transaction is consistent with E&’s strategic ambition to accelerate international growth and diversify into new geographies.

“By combining PPF Telecom’s expertise with our own innovative capabilities, we are poised to establish a major telecommunications presence in Central and Eastern Europe,” E& CEO Hatem Dowidar commented. “We aim to realize synergies, optimize procurement efficiencies, and enhance customer offerings, establishing our position as a leading global tech group.”

The Schoenherr team was led by Partners Alexandra Doytchinova and Luka Lopicic and included Partners Christoph Haid, Kinga Hetenyi, and Sona Hekelova, Counsel Michal Lucivjansky, and Attorneys at Law Katerina Kaloyanova-Toshkova, Adrian Menczelesz, and Pavle Eric.

The White & Case team was led by Partners Jan Andrusko and Caroline Sherrell and included Prague-based Partners Jan Stejskal, Jan Jakoubek, Jonathan Weinberg, and Petr Hudec and Associates Iva Cechrakova, Lukas Pavlik, and Tadeas Matys, with further lawyers in London.

The Karanovic & Partners team included Partners Milos Jakovljevic and Bojan Vuckovic and Senior Associate Sava Draca.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, DGKV announced it had advised PPF on Bulgarian law. The firm’s team included Partners Violetta Kunze, Nikolai Gouginski, and Valentin Bojilov and Senior Associate Milka Ivanova.