CEE Legal Matters

Category: Deals and Cases

  • KWKR and Cobalt Advise on Radix Ventures’ Investment in Naco Technologies

    KWKR and Cobalt have advised Luxembourg-based investment fund Radix Ventures on its investment in Naco Technologies.

    According to KWKR, Naco Technologies is a Latvian company specializing in the development of hydrogen technologies (production of nano-coatings for green hydrogen systems). “This investment was part of the company’s next round of funding and amounted to EUR 1.5 million.”

    The KWKR team included Partner Paulina Opielka and Senior Associate Rafal Wilinski.

    The Cobalt team included Latvia-based Partner Indrikis Liepa, Senior Associates Elina Locmele, Agnese Gerharde, Gabriela Santare, and Ivo Maskalans, and Associates Krista Helmute and Vadims Zvicevics.

  • TGS Baltic Advises Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings on USD 625 Million Sale of Europe-North Business to Bauer Media Group

    TGS Baltic has advised Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings on the sale of its Europe-North out-of-home advertising segment to Bauer Radio Limited. Squire Patton Boggs, AG Law Limited, Cirio Law Firm, Kromann Reumert, Wikborg Rein, Castren & Snellman, Perez-Llorca, Reichlin Hess, Reed Smith, Deloitte and Herbert Smith Freehills, CMS, Norton Rose Fulbright, and Paczewski Tropaczynski reportedly advised the sellers as well.

    The transaction, with an expected value of USD 625 million, pending adjustments, remains contingent on regulatory approvals.

    Bauer Radio Limited is a subsidiary of Bauer Media Group, a European media business focused on print, digital publishing, audio, and entertainment.

    Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings operates in the out-of-home advertising industry.

    The TGS Baltic team included Lativa-based Partner Andra Rubene and Senior Associates Kaspars Treilibs and Rudolfs Vilsons, Estonia-based Partner Kadri Kallas, Counsel Maris Vutt, and Associates Helena Kuuse and Mirko Kikkamagi, and Lithuania-based Partners Dalia Tamasauskaite-Zliene and Associates Auguste Linauskaite and Ruta Tikuisyte.

    TGS Baltic did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

  • TGS Baltic and Schoenherr Advise on Bergs Timber’s Sale of Vika Wood to HS Timber’s Nextwood One

    TGS Baltic, working with Vinge, has advised Bergs Timber on the sale of its Latvian sawmill business Vika Wood to Nextwood One, part of the Austrian HS Timber group. Schoenherr advised HS Timber on the deal. Cobalt reportedly advised HS Timber as well.

    The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

    According to TGS Baltic, by selling Vika Wood, one of the largest and most efficient sawmills in the Baltic region, Bergs Timber is pursuing its strategy of focusing on the production and sale of processed wood products. Vika Wood annually produces approximately 300,000 cubic meters of coniferous-sawn timber.

    The TGS Baltic team included Partner Andra Rubene and Senior Associates Anna Vaivade, Dita Busa, and Alina Lepere.

    The Schoenherr team included Partners Maximilian Lang, Christian Herbst, and Volker Weiss, Attorney at Law Beatrix Schima, and Associates Markus Fasching and Alexandru Caprau.

    Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Cobalt confirmed it advised HS Timber. The firm’s team included Partners Indrikis Liepa and Ugis Zeltins, Specialist Counsel Kristine Patmalniece, Senior Associates Elina Locmele, Agnese Gerharde, Ivo Maskalans, Inga Tenisa, Gabriela Santare, and Arturs Valdersteins, Associates Associates Krista Helmute, Vadims Zvicevics, and Armands Onzuls, and Junior Associate Gustavs Aleksandrs Klucis.

  • Dentons Advises on Sale of Photoneo to Zebra Technologies

    Dentons has advised Photoneo on the sale of its business to the Chicago-based Zebra Technologies. A&O Shearman’s London office reportedly advised Zebra.

    Slovakia-based Photoneo is a provider of industrial 3D vision, AI-powered automation solutions, and robotic intelligence software.

    Zebra Technologies is a NASDAQ-listed smart data capture technology company.

    According to Dentons, “based on a patented 3D technology, Photoneo has developed the world’s highest-resolution and highest-accuracy 3D camera, thus unlocking the full potential of powerful, reliable, and fast machine learning and also reducing training and deployment time. Following the acquisition, the Photoneo Brightpick Group will be renamed Brightpick and continue operating as an independent entity. The proceeds from this deal will enable Brightpick to accelerate its growth, develop new products, and bring its AI robots to even more customers around the world.”

    The Dentons team included Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving, Counsel Kamran Pirani, Senior Associate Sebastian Ishiguro, Associates Brigitta Kovacs and Aliz Wulcz, and Trainees Abbey Varns and Alen Gavric, Bratislava-based Partners Juraj Gyarfas and Stanislav Durica, Senior Associates Drahomir Siroky, Michal Zathurecky, and Tomas Pavelka, and Associate Erik Kozurik, as well as furhter team members in Washington, DC, and Munich.

  • BPV Braun Partners, DZP, and Dentons Advise on Creditas Group’s Acquisition of Duon from Infracapital

    BPV Braun Partners and Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, working with Watson Farley & Williams, have advised Creditas Group on its acquisition of Duon from Infracapital with financing from Komercni Banka. Dentons advised Duon. White & Case reportedly advised Komercni Banka.

    Duon is a private gas distributor in Poland. Its assets include more than 800 kilometers of gas pipelines, 12 networks connected to the national grid, 24 LNG-based cryogenic trailers, and 20 gas regasification stations, serving over 11,000 customers.

    Infracapital is the infrastructure equity investment fund of M&G, a UK-based investment house.

    The BPV Braun Partners team included Partner David Vosol, Counsels Pavel Vintr and David Plevka, and Associate Ivana Horakova.

    The Dentons team included Budapest-based Partners Rob Irving, Pawel Grabowski, and Maciej Skoczynski, Senior Associate Sebastian Ishiguro, and Associates Aliz Wulcz and Brigitta Kovacs as well as Warsaw-based Senior Associate Beata Blaz.

    The DZP team included Partners Marcin Krakowiak and Magdalena Skowronska and Senior Associate Tomasz Kalicki.

  • Harrisons Advises EBRD on EUR 20 Million Loan to Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services

    Harrisons, working with Bird & Bird, has advised the EBRD on a EUR 20 million loan to Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services SMATSA.

    SMATSA is an air traffic services agency that covers the air space of Serbia and Montenegro.

    According to Harrisons, “the proceeds of the loan shall be used to finance the upgrade of SMATSA’s air navigation IT system to the latest TopSky ATC One version. This software will enhance operational capabilities, maximize runway capacity, and reduce delays, ultimately improving air traffic flow management. It will also boost SMATSA’s efficiency and lower costs by reducing delay penalties and maintenance expenses. This project will be co-financed by the European Investment Bank under a separate financing agreement between SMATSA and EIB.”

    The Harrisons team included Consultant Ines Matijevic-Papulin and Associates Mina Zeljkovic and Aleksandar Jovicevic.

  • Walless Advises Merito Partners on Bond Financing for Self-Storage Facilities in Tallinn and Vilnius

    Walless has advised Merito Partners on raising EUR 4 million via bond issuances arranged by Signet Bank to fund new self-storage facilities in Tallinn and Vilnius.

    Merito Partners is a self-storage operator.

    The Walless team included Partner Joana Baublyte-Kulviete and Associate Partner Enrika Tamasauskaite.

  • Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac, BDK Advokati, Gorjup, Karanovic & Partners, and Gospic, Plazina, Stojs Advise on Bosqar Invest’s Acquisition of Mlinar Group Stake

    Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac, BDK Advokati, and Gorjup Law Office have advised Bosqar Invest on its acquisition of a 50.1% indirect stake in the Mlinar Group from MidEuropa Partners. Karanovic & Partners and Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners, working with Dechert, advised MidEuropa Partners. Gospic, Plazina, Stojs advised Mr. Skojo, the former owner of Mlinar and a current shareholder of SEE Bakery, the sole shareholder of Mlinar. Janezic & Jarkovic, and Van Campen Liem reportedly advised Bosqar as well. Gospic Plaznina Stojs reportedly also advised the sellers.

    According to BDK Advokati, Bosqar Invest acquired the stake as part of a wider EUR 100 million acquisition of a 67% stake in Mlinar Group that it participated in with partners. “MidEuropa Partners will reinvest its remaining stake and continue supporting the newly formed group in its expansion.”

    The Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac team included Partner Vladimir Mamic, Junior Partner Nikola Kokot, and Attorney at Law Erblina Morina.

    The BDK Advokati team included Senior Partner Vladimir Dasic and Associate Milan Popovic.

    The Gorjup team included Lawyer Jure Blazic.

    The Ilej & Partners team included Senior Partner Goran Ilej and Senior Associate Antun Skansi.

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

    The Gospic, Plazina, Stojs team included Partners Matea Gospic Plazina and Lana Stojs.

  • White & Case and Clifford Chance Advise on Wirtualna Polska’s PLN 1 Billion Acquisition of Invia Group

    White & Case has advised the Wirtualna Polska group on the acquisition of the Invia Group from European Bridge Travel for more than PLN 1 billion (EUR 239.7 million) with existing shareholders Rockaway Group and CITIC Europe Holdings acting as guarantors of European Bridge Travel’s obligations resulting from the sale. Clifford Chance advised European Bridge Travel and its shareholders.

    The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

    The Invia Group operates package holiday booking platforms in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. In Poland, the Invia Group operates as Travelplanet.pl.

    The White & Case team included Warsaw-based Partner Rafal Kaminski, Local Partner Jakub Gubanski, Associates Damian Lubocki, Karolina Kalucka, Iwo Malobecki, and Dominika Czarniak, Prague-based Local Partners Jana Chwaszcz and Karel Petrzela, Counsel Vladimir Ivanco, and Associates Kamila Dankova, Barbora Smekalova, and Barbora Vaculova, as well as further team members in Berlin, Beijing, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Shanghai.

    The Clifford Chance team included Partner Alex Cook, Counsels Michal Jasek and Iwona Terlecka, Senior Associate Tomas Prochazka, and Associates Matej Pavlik, Natalie Kurkova, and Marcin Waszynski.

  • Gessel and Kambourov & Partners Advise on MS Galleon’s Acquisition of Corab

    Gessel and Kambourov & Partners have advised MS Galleon on its acquisition of Corab. TGS Baltic reportedly advised MS Galleon as well.

    According to Gessel, the transaction’s completion required clearance from multiple competition authorities, including those in Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, and Bulgaria.

    In 2021, Gessel advised the Black Forest Fund on an investment in Corab (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 13, 2021).

    The Gessel team included Partners Christian Schmidt and Bernadeta Kasztelan-Swietlik, Senior Associate Natalia Lesna, and Attorney at Law Agnieszka Kolenda-Kuchcicka.

    The Kambourov & Partners team included Managing Partner Stefan Tzakov and Senior Associates Plamen Yotov and Ivan Raykov.

    Editor’s Note: After this article was published, TGS Baltic confirmed its involvement on behalf of MS Galleon. The firm’s team included Estonia-based Associate Partner Triinu Jarviste and Senior Associate Mari Anne Rohtla and Lithuania-based Senior Associate Jonas Salna.