Category: Deals and Cases

TGS Baltic has advised Baltic private equity fund manager BaltCap on its exit from Estonian waste management company AS Eesti Keskkonnateenused. Eversheds Sutherland reportedly advised Eesti Keskkonnateenused on the deal.

Financial details were not disclosed.

TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Kadri Kallas and Junior Counsel Mirko Kikkamagi.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Eversheds Sutherland announced that it had advised the management of AS Eesti Keskkonnateenused on the management buyout. The firm’s team included Managing Partner Maivi Ots, Partner Risto Ruutel, Senior Associate Dmitri Zdobnoh, and Associate Siim Olev.

Ellex and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have advised the Baltic Classifieds Group on its IPO and listing on the London Stock Exchange. Clifford Chance advised sponsor and global coordinator and joint bookrunner BofA Securities and joint bookrunner BNP Paribas.

According to Ellex, “Baltic Classifieds Group has offered 200,000,000 shares at an offer price of GBP 1.65 per share and has been admitted to the premium listing segment of the official list and to trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange – the first Baltic business to debut in this premium category.”

The firm further informed that “Baltic Classifieds Group, with its roots and main hub in Lithuania, is the leading online classifieds group in the Baltics (based on the number of visits and listings), which owns and operates twelve leading vertical and generalist online classifieds portals in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Those include such market leaders as autoplius.lt and aruodas.lt in Lithuania, auto24.ee and KV.ee in Estonia, and city24.lv in Latvia.”

Ellex’s team was led by Lithuania-based Associate Partner Ruta Armone and included Lithuania-based Partner Marius Juonys, Associate Partner Mantas Rimkevicius, Experts Gintaras Balcius and Ingrida Kemeziene, Senior Associate Aleksandr Asovskij, Gintare Skroliene, Kristupas Spirgys, and Nerijus Patlabys, Associates Augustinas Macionis and Arvydas Gruseckas, Junior Associates Ainis Augustas Petrulis and Vilius Norvaisas, Lawyer Simona Luimiene, and Legal Assistant Dominykas Kirsis; Latvia-based Partner Raimonds Slaidins, Senior Associates Reinis Sokolovs and Anna Misneva, and Associates Mikijs Zimecs, Ints Skaldis, and Eduards Dzintars; and Estonia-based Partners Sven Papp and Martin Maesalu, Counsels Mari Must, Dmitri Rozenblat, Jaanus Ikla, and Toomas Kasesalu, Senior associate Gerda Liik, Associates Kairi Kilgi and Kevin Gerretz, and Lawyer Regina Getter Maajarv.

Wolf Theiss has advised Romanian Raiffeisen Bank S.A. on its RON 1.2 billion issuance of senior non-preferred eligible green notes with a fixed annual coupon of 3.793%. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Raiffeisen Bank on German law matters.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Raiffeisen Bank S.A. were responsible for the placement of the notes as joint lead managers.

According to Wolf Thiess, “the notes issue was addressed to institutional investors and has a tenor of 7 years. With a demand of approximately RON 1.35 billion, the placement was oversubscribed almost 1.35 times. The notes are intended to be eligible for MREL (Minimum Requirement for Own Funds and Eligible Liabilities) purposes, based on the confirmation of the National Bank of Romania.”

Wolf Theiss’s team included Partners Alexander Haas and Claudia Chiper, Senior Associates Nevena Skocic and Nikolaus Dinhof, and Associates Andreea Tudorache and Sebastian Prakljacic.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s team included Partners Stephan Pachinger and Christoph Gleske, Principal Associates Christian Joellinger and Birgit Schulz, and Associate Benedikt Graf.

Noerr has advised Irish clinical research company Icon Plc on EU merger clearance for its acquisition of PRA Health Sciences. Schima Mayer Starlinger advised Icon on Austrian law, while A&L Goodbody, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Macfarlanes, Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, and Gianni & Origoni advised on Irish, US, UK, French, and Italian law, respectively. 

According to Noerr, “the purchase price is approximately USD 12 billion. For the acquisition, Icon has offered PRA shareholders USD 80 per share and 0.4125 Icon shares.” According to the firm, “the takeover makes Icon one of the world’s leading providers among clinical research organizations.”

Noerr’s team included Budapest-based Partners Edina Schweizer and Joerg Menzer, Moscow-based Associated Partner Stefan Weber and Senior Associate Artem Kara, Brussels-based Co-Managing Partner Jens Peter Schmidt and Senior Associate Philipp Studt, and Frankfurt-based Partner Fabian Badtke and Associate Sascha Giller.

Schima Mayer Starlinger’s team included Partners Christian Mayer and Moritz Am Ende and Associate Elisabeth Wielinger.

Lead counsel PHH Attorneys at Law advised Austrian HPS Holding on the sale of five subsidiaries to Swedish Global Leisure Group. Lead counsel Kallan worked with Kinstellar to advise the buyer. Eversheds Sutherland and TM & Partners reportedly advised the seller on Slovakian and Swedish law. Schindler Attorneys reportedly advised the buyer on Austrian law.

The transaction included Playlife, ThemeWorks, and Cheer Amusement Europe in Slovakia, the HPS Play Company in Austria, and Playlife Germany, all companies active in the field of leisure and play facilities. Financial details were not disclosed.

The PHH team included Partners Rainer Kaspar and Nicolaus Mels-Colloredo, Counsel Philip Rosenauer, Senior Associates Matthias Fucik and Leopold Opferkuch, and Associate Johannes Metzler.

Kinstellar’s team consisted of Partner Viliam Mysicka, Associates Dasa Labasova and Norbert Stilla, and Junior Associates Matus Kocisek and Michaela Strakova. They advised the buyer on Slovakian law.

Kallan’s team included Partner Oliver Cleblad, Counsel Nils Gruske, and Lawyers Philipp Uhl, Julia Loos, and Laura Engelmann.

Eversheds Sutherland’s team was reportedly led by Senior Associate Petra Markova.

The Schindler Attorneys team reportedly included Partners Clemens Schindler and Martin Abram and Senior Associate Isolde Klinger.

The TM & Partners team was reportedly led by Partner Sten Hedback.

Dentons has advised PKO Bank Polski, ING Bank Slaski, Santander Bank Polska, and BNP Paribas Bank Polska, on their EUR 265 million refinancing of Press Glass / AMG Group’s debt, as well as financing of the group’s further investments. Porobija & Porobija acted as Croatian counsel to the banks. Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka advised the borrower on the deal. TGS Baltic in Lithuania and Williams Mullen in the US reportedly also advised the lenders.

According to Dentons, the transaction encompassed companies operating in six jurisdictions: Poland, Croatia, Luxembourg, the US, United Kingdom, and Lithuania.

Press Glass is a producer of processed glass used in residential buildings as well as for glass facades and interior glass constructions in commercial real estate properties.

The Dentons team consisted of Warsaw-based Partners Bartosz Nojek and Mark Segall, Senior Associate Marcin Gruszka, and Associate Magda Kulesza, Bucharest-based Senior Associate Lawrence Florescu, and Luxembourg-based Partner Stephane Hadet, Senior Associate Christophe Renaudin, and Associate Yifan Zhang.

Porobija & Porobija’s team was led by Partner Zeljka Rostas Blazekovic.

DZP’s team included Partner Magdalena Skowronska, Senior Associate Anna Kuczewska, and Associate Katarzyna Biarda.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters received confirmation that TGS Baltic acted as Lithuanian counsel to the banks. The firm’s team included Partner Zygimantas Stankevicius and Associate Partner Sandra Bliuvaite-Sulciene.

Allen & Overy has advised CEE betting and gaming operator Fortuna Entertainment Group N.V. and its subsidiaries, on an up to EUR 551 million refinancing for the group. RTPR, Ilej & Partners, in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners, Athos Demetriou Associates, and Carey Olsen advised the group in Romania, Croatia, Cyprus, and Jersey, respectively.

According to Allen & Overy, the EUR 551 million debt refinancing’s purpose was, among others, the refinancing of existing bank debt as well as raising funds for corporate and working capital purposes. “It was made available to nine borrowers from the Group originating from six jurisdictions. Overall, 14 entities from eight jurisdictions were involved in the financing in various roles mainly from the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia. The financing was closed within six weeks.”

A&O’s Prague-based team included Counsel Petra Mysakova, Associates Martina Kristianova and Pavel Prihoda, and Junior Lawyer David Bujgl, with further help from a Warsaw-based team which included Partners Dan Cocker and Tomasz Kawczynski, Counsel Anna Madra, and Associate Maciej Wroniak, a Bratislava-based team which included Partner Renatus Kollar, Counsel Matus Kudlak, and Associate Petra Dzubakova, and an Amsterdam-based team lead by Partner Aroen Kuitenbrouwer.

Ilej & Partners’ team included Senior Partner Goran Ilej, Partner Ivana Sverak, and Associate Barbara Bilic.

RTPR’s team included Partner Victor Padurari, Senior Associate Bianca Eremia, Associates Andreea Stoiciu and Lia Ilie, and Junior Associate Iustina Nastasa.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters received confirmation that Dentons advised Ceska Sporitelna, Komercni Banka, and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia on the refinancing. Dentons’ team was led by Partner Daniel Hurych and included Prague-based Senior Associate Jan Hrivnak and Associate Eva Klimova, Bratislava-based Counsel Patricia Gossanyiova, Senior Associate Petra Strbova, and Associate Richard Marcincin, Bucharest-based Partner Simona Marin, Counsel Oana Ionascu, Senior Associate Lawrence Florescu, and Associate Isabela Gheorghe, Amsterdam-based Partner Marcel Janssen and Associates Shivaughn Tets and Daan Overwater, and Warsaw-based Partner Piotr Nerwinski, Senior Associate Mateusz Krajewski, and Associate Marta Borowska.

Dentons has advised the Black Sea Trade and Development bank on a seven-year USD 40 million corporate loan to Romanian aluminum producer Alro, part of Vimetco Group, for its capital investment program. Zamfirescu Racoti Vasile & Partners and Simmons & Simmons advised Alro.

According to Dentons, the loan will be used primarily to improve the company’s energy management performance and increase its high value-added production capacity. The project’s total cost amounts to approximately USD 95 million. In addition to the financing from BSTDB, the project will also be financed by Romanian and international commercial banks.

Dentons’ team included Russia-based Partner Timothy Stubbs and Counsel Dennis Montgomery and Romania-based Managing Partner Perry Zizzi, Counsel Oana Ionascu, and Associate Cristina Staicu.

ZRVP’s team included Senior Partner Ioana Racoti and Partner Elena Iacob.

Schoenherr has advised Swiss-based media company Ringier on the acquisition of a majority stake in Bulgarian sports news portal z Sportal Media Group – and an affiliated IT company behind the international Sports Content Management System, Sportal365 – Digital Ventures OOD. Jordanov, Valkov & Partners advised the seller, Mr. Angel Stoyanov Shishkov, on the deal.

Sportal Media Group ranks among the largest internet media groups in Bulgaria, operating digital properties in categories such as sports, news & politics, business, lifestyle, e-commerce and services as well as over 45 social media channels. The Sportal Media Group’s most significant digital brands are Sportal.bg, Novini.bg, and Profit.bg.

Digital Ventures is active in the development of content management systems for the sports sector. The company owns Sportal365, a publishing platform for sports content that specializes in news, image galleries and videos, live statistics, and live results from the sports sector. 

Schoenherr’s team included Bulgaria-based Partner Alexandra Doytchinova, Attorneys Stela Pavlova-Kaneva, Radoslav Chemshirov, Ivelina Vassileva, and Galina Petkova, and Associate Kristina Chakarova and Serbia-based Partner Srdjana Petronijevic and Attorney Minela Sehovic.

Jordanov, Valkov & Partners’s team included Managing Partner Jordan Jordanov and Partner Deyan Savov.

CMS has advised Partech, Quadrille, J&T, and EBRD on investing in the Czech online grocery company Rohlik Group. The EUR 100 million Series C, at a valuation of USD 1 billion, was led by Index Ventures and included Ener. Pierstone advised Index on the deal, with Pelikan Krofta Kohoutek advising Ener and White & Case advising the Rohlik Group. 

The Rohlik Group will use the funding to work on technological innovation, market expansion, and customer service. According to the Group’s press release, “this investment reflects strong demand from existing shareholders to invest in the company, which has grown from a formerly Czech start-up into a European trend-setting technology leader with a growing presence across the continent. Having already successfully expanded to Hungary and Austria, it will be launching in Munich in the coming months, with other German cities and European countries to quickly follow, reflecting the significant growth potential and accelerating adoption by consumers of online grocery purchases.”

CMS’s team included Managing Partner Helen Rodwell, Consultant David Cranfield, Senior Associate Lucie Halloova, and Associates Tristan O’Connor and Stepan Havranek.

Pierstone’s team included Partners Iva Zothova and Tomas Schollaert and Associates Klara Kocarova, Ferdinand Fort, and Radek Czichon.

White & Case’s team included Partner Jan Andrusko, Local Partners Jan Stejskal and Jan Jakoubek, and Associates Kamila Dankova, Iva Cechrakova, and Lukas Pavlík.

CMS, Pierstone, and White & Case also advised on the EUR 190 million Series B investment earlier this year (reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 9, 2021).