Category: Deals and Cases

Dentons has advised Komercni Banka and Ceska Sporitelna on a sustainability-linked ESG loan amendment for the 2022 W.A.G. Payment Solutions (Eurowag) multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement. White & Case advised Eurowag.

According to Dentons, “listed on the London Stock Exchange, Eurowag is a leading pan-European integrated payment and mobility platform focused on the commercial road transportation industry. The original multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement was signed in September 2022 to refinance and expand the group’s existing credit facilities. The amendment from May 2023 links these facilities to the achievement of Eurowag’s sustainability goals, and their interest rate pricing will be based on the company’s achievement of the agreed set of KPIs.”

Back in 2022, Both Dentons and White & Case had also advised on the original Komercni Banka and Ceska Sporitelna EUR 715 million refinancing agreement with the Eurowag Group (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 3, 2022). 

Dentons’ team included Prague-based Partner Daniel Hurych and Associates Ondrej Vales and Eva Klimova as well as Warsaw-based Partner Mark Segall and further lawyers in Munich and Madrid.

White & Case’s team included Prague-based Partner Tomas Jine and Associate Tadeas Matys.

Cytowski & Partners has advised both South Central Ventures and Serbia’s HireApp on their USD 1.5 million seed financing agreement.

According to Cytowski & Partners, “HireApp, based in Miami and Serbia, has built a staffing marketplace for high-skilled workers. South Central Ventures is a Ljubljana-based European VC fund focusing on backing the best entrepreneurs from the Balkans.”

“HireApp is uniquely positioned to transform the way the hospitality industry finds and manages talent,” CEO and President Nemanja Stefanovic commented. “Using our innovative platform, restaurants and hotels can quickly and efficiently connect with the skilled professionals they need, while those professionals can access flexible work opportunities that fit their lifestyles.”

“We are excited to partner with HireApp on their mission to revolutionize the hospitality staffing industry,” South Central Ventures Partner Goran Stevanovic added. “Their innovative platform is perfectly positioned to provide both businesses and professionals with the flexible, efficient, and effective solutions they need in today’s fast-paced environment. We are confident that HireApp will continue to be a driving force in the evolution of the future of work.”

The Cytowski & Partners team included Partner Tytus Cytowski, Lawyer Eresi Uche, Associate Heidi Fan, and Law Clerks Fabiana Morales Centurion and Kunal Kolhe.

Deloitte Legal Lithuania and Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii have advised Bico Industries on its EUR 3.2 million full acquisition of Iranga Technologijos. Triniti Jurex reportedly advised the sellers.

Lithuania’s Iranga Technologijos operates in the construction and technical textile market, offering solutions for textile fiberglass production and composite materials by lamination.

Bico Industries is a fiberglass mesh manufacturer in Central and Eastern Europe. The company also incorporates Terra, Europlas Lux, and now Iranga Technlogijos and has over 450 employees and five production centers in Romania, Moldova, and Lithuania. Bico is owned by Roca Industry, a Bucharest Stock Exchange AeRO Market-listed company.

Back in 2022, PNSA and Deloitte Legal also advised on Bico Industries’ acquisition of the Terra Impex Group (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 13, 2022). 

The Deloitte Legal team included Legal Partner Tomas Davidonis, Associate Partner Gintare Stoniene, Managing Associate Tomas Mieliauskas, Senior Associate Ieva Vaisnore, and Associate Greta Lebednykaite.

The PNSA team included Partners Silviu Stoica and Raluca Rusu and Managing Associate Vlad Ambrozie.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Triniti Jurex confirmed it had advised the seller. The firm’s team included Partner Giedre Ciuladiene and Associate Partner Marius Tamosiunas.

Hristov & Partners and the Legal Advisory Group, working with Hogan Lovells, have advised Aiopsgroup on its sale to Valantic. BDK Advokati and Boyanov & Co, working with Heuking Kuhn Luer Wojtek and Spectrum Legal India, advised Valantic.

According to Hristov & Partners, “the Aiopsgroup is a multidisciplinary digital company with e-commerce expertise. It was founded in 2019 and operates from three locations in Bulgaria, India, and Serbia.”

Valantic is an IT development and services tech group and a portfolio company of German private equity company DPE.

“We are expanding our expertise in the European Salesforce and retail market by joining forces with Aiopsgroup,” Valantic CEO Holger von Daniels commented. “I am greatly looking forward to working with the Aiopsgroup team to become Europe’s number one CX consulting and solutions powerhouse.”

“I’m very excited about our new goals and challenges that lie ahead, as a Valantic family member,” Aiopsgroup CEO Don Santrac added. “Our aim is to become Europe’s number one CX service provider with a reputation for innovative solutions and outstanding service.”

The Hristov & Partners team included Partners Pavel Hristov and Biliana Shagova and Senior Associate Dragomir Stefanov.

BDK Advokati’s team included Managing Partner Tijana Kojovic and Senior Associate Marija Gligorevic.

The Legal Advisory Group team included Lawyer Dragan Bando.

Boyanov & Co’s team included Partners Yordan Naydenov and Borislav Notovsky, and Junior Associate Teodora Peycheva.

Norton Rose Fulbright, Ionescu Sava, and Integrites have advised the EBRD on its EUR 42 million senior secured loan for Cersanit to improve its production facilities in Poland and Ukraine.

“This investment is part of the EBRD’s widespread support to Ukraine struggling in the face of the Russian invasion,” Norton Rose Fulbright reported. “The EBRD funding will enable Cersanit to scale up its tile and sanitaryware production both in Poland and Ukraine, including the completion of a project for manufacturing large-format ceramic tiles in Ukraine, reconstruction of an acrylics products factory in Poland, and completion of energy efficiency upgrades as well as other modernization investments in Poland.”

Cersanit is a Poland-based ceramic tile and bathroom equipment producer and distributor “with a large operation in Ukraine that is expected to play an important role in the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by war,” according to the EBRD. 

“Despite a very challenging environment caused by the outbreak of war and increased energy prices, Cersanit has proved to be resilient and adaptive to the new economic reality,” Cersanit owner Michal Solowow commented. “We remain committed to expanding our activities in Ukraine through continued production of ceramic tiles and sanitaryware. I want to thank all of Cersanit’s staff for their commitment, dedication, and empathy. I also firmly believe that other European and global businesses will follow in our footsteps and consider investing in Ukraine as well.” 

The Norton Rose team was led by Counsel Marta Kawecka and included Counsel Joanna Braciszewska-Szarapa, Senior Associate Igor Kondratowicz, Associate Michal Rutkowski, and Paralegal Wiktoria Jadczak, as well as lawyers from the firm’s London and Frankfurt offices.

The Ionescu Sava team was led by Senior Associate Diana Mardare.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Integrites announced the composition of its team working on the matter: Partner Igor Krasovskiy, Counsel Olena Savchuk, and Senior Associate Yuriy Korchev.

Wolf Theiss has advised Erste Group Bank on WG Projektiranje’s sale of the Velenjka shopping center in Velenje, Slovenia, to Velenjka doo. The Ptuj-based Mayr law firm reportedly advised the buyer.

According to Wolf Theiss, the transaction involved “the release of mortgages, land debt, and encumbrances on the business share,” in an asset and share deal, as well as the transfer of the Velenjka EU trademark held by WG Projektiranje. The transaction closed on March 31, 2023.

The Wolf Theiss team included Vienna-based Counsel Michael Kienzl and Ljubljana-based Partner Klemen Radosavljevic, Counsel Petra Jermol, and Associate Larisa Primozic.

Taylor Wessing has advised Trei Real Estate – a real estate venture of the German Tengelmann Group – on the EUR 250 million sale of its Czech and Slovak real estate portfolio to Plan B Investments. Dentons and, reportedly, Havel & Partners advised Plan B Investments.

According to Taylor Wessing, “the transaction involved a unique portfolio including Billa and Penny Market supermarkets and retail parks in the Czech and Slovak Republics.”

The Taylor Wessing team included Prague-based Partners Jakub Adam and Janka Brezaniova and Senior Associates Martin Serak, Marketa Cibulkova, and Marek Stradal; and Bratislava-based Partner Juraj Frindrich and Senior Associates Andrea Kovacikova, Barbara Bartovicova, and Zuzana Kordikova.

The Dentons team included Prague-based Partners Jiri Strzinek and Monika Kajankova, Counsels Tomas Kvapil and Jan Hrivnak, and Associates David Sutko, Jan Blazek, Dita Genciova, and Jan Sedlak; and Bratislava-based Counsels Miroslav Kapinaj, David Stanek, and Martin Mendel, Senior Associates Tatiana Jevcakova and Peter Panek, and Associates Gabriel Kulik, Alen Gondek, David Stanek, Norbert Vizvari, and Natalia Hangacova.

SSK&W and Stratulat Albulescu have advised venture capital fund CofounderZone and business angels on their investment in Romanian property technology company Milluu. Ventures-n-Law advised Milluu.

Milluu also received investment from ECG, Roxa X, Growceanu, Simple Capital, and Netopia Ventures.

According to SSK&W, Milluu plans to use the investment to grow its business in Romania and expand to Poland.

“Milluu is a property technology startup from Romania that creates a mobile device enabling the owner of the apartment or real estate to manage the calendar of meeting with its potential tenants, signing the agreement, and payment of bills, and also providing tenants for the offers that meet his/her expectations,” SSK&W informed. “As a result, Milluu speeds up the process of renting the apartments.”

CofounderZone is a platform connecting entrepreneurs with start-ups. According to SSK&W, “the fund works closely with the Business Angels network it has created, which provides added value through an individual approach to structuring and financing transactions on the private market and uses the substantive potential, contacts, and experience of its members. It includes business owners and corporate managers who want to invest their time and capital in developing innovative companies.”

The SSK&W team was led by Partner Szymon Syp.

The Stratulat Albulescu team included Managing Partner Silviu Stratulat and Partner Ana Kusak.

Schoenherr, working with Luther and Hogan Lovells, has advised the Cargo-Partner Group Holding on its EUR 1.4 billion sale of Cargo-Partner GmbH and 60 other subsidiaries to Nippon Express Holdings. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised the buyer.

Closing is expected in 2024, pending regulatory approval.

Founded in 1983, Cargo-Partner is an Austria-headquartered privately owned info-logistics provider offering a portfolio of air, sea, land transport, and warehousing services, with a special focus on information technology and supply chain optimization.

Nippon Express is a Japan-based logistics services provider, with a network of offices in 33 countries. The company offers air freight, marine transportation, heavy haulage, warehousing and distribution processing, logistics design, information technology services, chartered truck services, and moving services.

The Schoenherr team was led by Austria-based Partner Markus Piuk and Attorney-at-Law Alfred Amann and included Partners Constantin Benes and Marco Thorbauer, Attorneys-at-Law Franziska Oczlon, Anna Visontai, Nina Zafoschnig, and Alexander Pabst, and Associates Alexandra Jelinek and Irina Hanin; Hungary-based Partner Kinga Hetenyi and Associate Zsofia Rideg; Czech Republic-based Partner Vladimir Cizek and Attorney-at-Law Michal Jendzelovsky; Poland-based Senior Attorney-at-Law Krzysztof Lesniak; Romania-based Senior Attorney-at-Law Mihaela Popescu; Slovakia-based Attorney-at-Law Jan Farbiak; Turkey-based Attorney-at-Law Didem Kara; and Slovenia-based Attorney-at-Law Jan Primozic.

The Freshfields team was led by Vienna-based Partner Konrad Groeller and included Partners Florian Klimscha, Karin Buzanich-Sommeregger, and Catherine Kubik, Counsel Gernot Fritz, Principal Associates Stephan Roedler, Leonhard Prasser, Matthias Hofer, and Anna Binder-Gutwinski, Associates Martin Zankl, Patrick Wagender, Anastasiia Nadtochii, Willibald Salomon, Sophie Pretscher, Iris Amschl, and Can-Michael Nural, as well as lawyers from the firm’s Tokyo and Hong Kong offices.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen announced it had advised Nippon Express Holdings alongside Freshfields. The firm’s team included Partner Razvan Vlad, Senior Associates Vlad Anghel, Roxana Iordache, Madalina Vasile, and Daniel Stancescu, and Associate Catalina Dan.

Subsequently, the Polenak Law Firm and Selih & Partnerji announced they had advised Nippon Express Holdings as well. The Polenak team included Managing Partner Kristijan Polenak and Partner Tatjana Shishkovska.

The Selih & Partnerji team included Partner Natasa Pipan Nahtigal, Attorneys-at-Law Nino Bostic Sluga and Ema Patricija Koncan, Senior Associates Lenart Kmetic and Miha Hocevar, and Associates Tim Music Kralj and Marusa Juhant.

Upon the deal’s closing on January 4, 2024, Boyanov & Co. announced it had advised Nippon Express alongside Freshfields. The firm’s team was led by Partner Nikolay Zisov and included Associate Deyvid Iliev.

Cerha Hempel has advised majority shareholder Talents Squared Limited on the sale of a 90% stake in Modul University Vienna to a subsidiary of the Hungarian Mathias Corvinus Collegium. Brauneis reportedly advised Modul minority shareholder Wirtschaftskammer Wien. Illes Geza Marton and Graf Isola reportedly advised the Mathias Corvinus Collegium.

According to Cerha Hempel, the “Modul University Vienna, on Vienna’s Kahlenberg, has been in existence for 15 years and is an internationally recognized private university with versatile study programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. It offers 11 degree programs in International Management, Sustainable Development, Applied Data Science, Tourism, and Service Management for 1,100 students in Vienna and Nanjing, China.”

Cerha Hempel’s team included Austria-based Partners Heinrich Foglar-Deinhardstein, Mark Krenn, Jakob Hartig, Stefan Huber, Julian Feichtinger, Benjamin Twardosz, and Bernhard Kofler-Senoner, Senior Counsel Susanne Molitoris, Counsel Michael Mayer, Attorneys at Law Alina Alavi Kia, Marko Vladic, and Zakar Stepanyan, and Associates Fabian Kraft and Isabella Patt; and Hungary-based Partners Ilona Ronay-Csordas, Wilhelm Stettner, and Edina Nagy and Attorney at Law Magdolna Macsuga.