Category: Deals and Cases

Sorainen, working with Herbert Smith Freehills, has advised Certares on its EUR 300 million structured equity investment into the Avia Solutions Group. Magnusson, working with White & Case and Cyprus-based Antis Triantafyllides & Sons, advised ASG on the deal.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of 2021.

Certares is a US-based investor dedicated to the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors.

According to Magnusson, ASG “is a leading aerospace services group with almost 100 offices and production facilities worldwide. ASG employs over 7,000 highly skilled professionals, serving more than 2,000 clients throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia.”

According to Sorainen, “the investment will help enable the next phase of ASG’s growth plan for services in passenger and cargo aviation, maintenance and engineering, crew training, ground handling, and logistics. The partnership with Certares will provide access to Certares’s complementary expertise and industry network as well as add new members to the ASG Board, which will further strengthen the governance of the organization.”

Sorainen’s team included Partners Sergej Butov and Piret Jesse, Counsel Janis Bite, Senior Associates Vaiva Masidlauskiene and Triin Ploomipuu, and Associate Laura Matuizaite.

Magnusson’s team included Partners Anders Backman and Matiss Rostoks, Senior Counsel Toomas Malberg, Senior Associate Arturs Sevcuks, Associates Aleksandra Szabat, Linda Merileid Tilk, Ketlin Peterson, and Annika Veisson, and Compliance Officer Lev Goffert.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Integrites announced that it had advised the Avia Solutions Group on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Illya Tkachuk, Senior Associate Inna Kostrytska, Associates Yulia Bleshmudt and Yaroslav Pylypets, and Paralegal Olha Bolotina.

Sorainen has advised JAS Worldwide on its acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services International from the Greencarrier Group.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval. Financial details were not disclosed.

JAS Worldwide is a US-based global freight forwarding services provider.

Greencarrier Freight Services International is described by Sorainen as “the freight forwarding, logistics, and supply chain management division of the Greencarrier Group.” The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it employs around 800 people in 11 countries.

“Through the acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services, JAS is making a strategic acquisition to add to its position in the Nordic, Baltic, and Eastern European regions and strengthen existing operations in the UK and China,” commented Marco Rebuffi, CEO of JAS Worldwide.

Sorainen’s team included Lithuania-based Partner Sergej Butov, Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas, Senior Associates Simona Stanciukaite, Vaiva Masidlauskiene, and Aurelija Daubaraite, Associates Simonas Slitas and Laura Matuizaite, and Assistant Lawyer Goda Jakubauskaite; Latvia-based Partner Eva Berlaus, Senior Associates Natalija Sestakova and Zanda Frisfelde, and Associate Maris Simulis; and Estonia-based Partner Piret Jesse, Counsel Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Senior Associates Robin Teever and Mirjam Vichmann, Associates Liisa Maria Kuuskmaa, Kadri Puu, and Mirjam Metsik, and Assistant Lawyer Katrina Kulm.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry about the deal.

Havel & Partners has advised Arbol Capital on the acquisition of the remaining 50% of shares in Kovaco Electric. MCL advised Kovaco on the deal.

Kovaco is a Slovakian manufacturer of fully electric skid-steer and remotely controlled loaders. Following the acquisition, Arbol now holds 100% of the shares in Kovaco.

Havel & Partners’ team included Partner Vaclav Audes, Senior Associate Veronika Filipova, and Paralegal Filio Pavlik.

Paksoy, working with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, has advised KPS Capital Partners on the acquisition of 80% of Crown Holdings’ EMEA food, aerosol, and promotional packaging business for EUR 2.5 billion. Also advising KPS Capital were Stibbe in the Netherlands, Gide Loyrette Nouel in Morroco, Cautrecasas in Spain and Portugal, Gleiss Lutz in Germany, Chiomenti in Italy, and Zepos & Yannopoulos in Greece. Dechert has advised Crown Holdings, with Bernitsas Law in Greece, Bennani & Associes in Morroco, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in the Netherlands, ENSafrica in Ghana, Garrigues in Spain and Portugal, Homburger in Switzerland, Lexel Juridique & Fiscal in Madagascar, Cellere Gangemi in Italy, Soltysinski, Kawecki & Szlezak in Poland, Kinstellar in Hungary, and Herguner Bilgen Ozeke in Turkey.

KPS Capital Partners is a private equity firm managing the KPS Special Situations Funds with over USD 12.3 billion of assets under management. Crown Holdings is a supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies.

According to Paksoy, the European Tinplate business comprises 44 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Paksoy’s team included Partner Elvan Aziz and Associate Simge Sengun

Bernitsas Law’s team was led by Partners Lambros Belessis and Evi Kitsou and included Counsel Fotodotis Malamas, and Senior Associates Maria Kloni and Christina Zakopoulou.

SK&S’s team included Partner Robert Gawalkiewicz, Senior Counsel Anna Kratiuk, Senior Associates Michal Dawidowicz, Filip Sodulski, Bartlomiej Debski, and Tomasz Duchniak, and Associates Piotr Srebro, Aneta Bak, and Malgorzata Krok.

Kinstellar’s team included Partner Gabor Gelencser, Senior Associate Marcell Horvath, and Junior Associate Judit Sos.

Dentons has advised Ciklum on its acquisition of Czech-based software development company CN Group from Genesis Capital. Havel & Partners advised Genesis Capital on the deal.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Ciklum is a product engineering and digital services company headquartered in the UK.

The CN Group is a nearshore agile software developer with engineering teams in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania and five nearshore delivery locations in central Europe. It focuses on software engineering, IT consulting, and mechanical design engineering, serving customers across more than seven markets.

Dentons’ team was led by Partners Petr Zakoucky and Adam Mycyk and Associate Vojtech Novak and included Prague-based Associates Michael Mracek, Anna Urbanova, Petr Muller, Radek Novak, Jan Sedlak, Justina Bodlakova, Jan Tyls, Michal Pelikan, Tomas Jonas, Tomas Syrovy, and Barbora Obracajova, Bratislava-based Counsel Linda Mendelova, Associates Jan Dulovic and Sona Kurillova, and Paralegal Michal Distler, and Bucharest-based Partner Claudiu Munteanu Jipescu, Counsels Argentina Rafail and Cristina Marcu, and Senior Associate Luiza Onofrei.

Havel & Partners’ team included Partner Vaclav Audes, Senior Associate Veronika Filipova, and Junior Associate Filip Pavlik.

Volciuc-Ionescu, working with EY Law, has advised Mytilineos S.A. on the sale of two Romanian solar farms totaling 90 megawatts to Enel Group’s Enel Green Power Romania. Clifford Chance advised Enel Group on the deal.

The solar power projects are developed in co-operation with Renergy Power Plants, an engineering and renewable energy development company.

Volciuc-Ionescu’s team was led by Partner Ramona Volciuc.

Clifford Chance’s team included Bucharest-based Counsel Loredana Ralea and Senior Associates Andrei Caloian and Lavinia Dinoci and Prague-based Managing Partner Alex Cook.

Ellex has advised the BTA Baltic Insurance Company on establishing a EUR 120 million Baltic rental housing co-investment vehicle together with Finnish developer YIT. Hannes Snellman advised YIT on the deal.

According to Ellex, BTA is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

YIT is a Finnish urban developer and construction company active in Northern Europe. According to Hannes Snellman, “YIT’s share of the co-investment is 30%. … YIT also agreed on the sale of five rental apartment buildings in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius to the co-investment vehicle with a value of EUR 65 million. The parties have agreed that Lumi Capital, an external partner, will be responsible for the operations of the company as well as for the leasing of the apartments.”

The Ellex team included Estonia-based Partners Ermo Kosk, Martin Maesalu, and Martin Kaerdi, Counsels Rain Raa and Jaanus Ikla, Senior Associate Sandra Vark, Associate Karin Tartu, and Lawyer Miikael Tuus, Latvia-based Partner Ilga Gudrenika-Krebs, Associate Partner Maris Brizgo, Senior Associates Anete Dimitrovska and Inese Freivalde, and Associates Ineta Kanepe and Kristers Losans, as well as Lithuania-based Partner Olga Petroseviciene and Senior Associate Dominykas Uzkurnys.

Hannes Snellman’s team consisted of Partner Tapio Terakivi, Counsel Toni Malminen, and Senior Associate Tuuli Pikkarainen.

Sorainen, working alongside Norwegian firm Wikborg Rein, has advised digital identity company Signicat on its acquisition of Baltic electronic signature solution provider Dokobit. Ellex Valiunas advised the seller.

According to Ellex, Dokobit provides SaaS solutions for businesses and the public sector for authentication, e-signature, and validation processes for signatures and stamps. Dokobit services are used by companies such as Luminor, Telia, and others. Signicat is a provider of verified digital identity solutions, mainly focused on the regulated financial services industry. Its revenue grew from EUR 24 million in 2019 up to EUR 42 million last year.

The Ellex team consisted of Partners Povilas Junevicius and Zilvinas Zinkevicius, Senior Associate Mantas Juska, Tax Expert Gintaras Balcius, Competition Expert Ilona Janciauskaite, and Junior Associate Ausra Abraityte.

The Sorainen team was led by Partner Laimonas Skibarka and Associate Laura Matuizaite.

CMS has advised the Export-Import Bank of Korea on a USD 36 million financing extension deal with Grain Terminal Holdings.

The extension is for a financing agreement from 2020 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 11, 2020).

Grain Terminal Holdings is a Singapore-based joint venture between Posco International and the Orexim Group. According to CMS, Posco International is “Korea’s largest trading company” while the Orexim Group is “the leading agricultural trans-shipment and exporting company in Ukraine.”

“We are delighted to have supported our client KEXIM on the successful extension of its financing deal to Grain Terminal Holdings,” commented Sofia-based CMS Partner Elitsa Ivanova. “This transaction demonstrates our ability to apply innovative legal structures that enable our clients to offer optimal financing solutions to businesses, especially in the agriculture sector.”

The CMS team was led by Ivanova and Kyiv-based Senior Associate Orest Matviychuk on English law issues and by Partner Ihor Olekhov on Ukrainian law issues. It included Kyiv-based Associate Ivan Pshyk and Lawyer Iryna Kravchenko, Sofia-based Associate Katerina Hristova, and Singapore-based Director Daniel Tan and Associate Eric Lai.

DLA Piper Romania has advised Abris Capital Partners on the acquisition, through its subsidiary Dentotal, of Dentatechnica. Kambourov & Partners acted as Bulgarian counsel to the buyer and Schoenherr advised the seller.

The deal is contingent on competition authorities’ approval. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Abris Capital Partners is a Warsaw-based private equity firm that primarily invests in businesses in Central Europe. The firm currently holds EUR 1.3 billion under management. Dentatechnica is a Bulgarian distributor of dental care materials and digital equipment. Dentotal is an e-commerce retailer of products and equipment for dental clinics and dental technicians.

DLA Piper’s team consisted of Country Managing Partner Marian Dinu and Lawyers Oana Dutu-Buzura, Bogdan Buta, Denisa Achim-Posteam, and Sandra Cahu-Ionescu.

Kambourov & Partners team included Partner Veronika Hadjieva and Senior Associate Todor Vlaykov.

Schoenherr’s team consisted of Partner Alexandra Doytchinova and Attorney-at-Law Stela Pavlova-Kaneva.