Category: Deals and Cases

CMS and Arsov Natchev Ganeva have advised contractor Arkad on the completion of the Balkan Stream Gas Pipeline project, which was completed at the end of December, 2020. Dentons’s Dubai office, KPMG Legal and Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski in Bulgaria, and Latham & Watkins in Russia reportedly also advised the contractor on the deal. Linklaters’s London office, reportedly assisted by DGKV in Bulgaria, advised unspecified lenders on financing for the project. 

According to CMS, the construction of the project, which is valued at more than EUR 1.1 billion, was successfully completed at the end of December 2020. 

The Balkan Stream project is an extension of TurkStream, which begins at the Russkaya compressor station near Anapa in Russia and crosses the Black Sea into Turkey. According to CMS, “the extended 474 kilometer Balkan Stream pipeline runs from Bulgaria’s southern border with Turkey to its western frontier with Serbia. With the completion of Balkan Stream Gas Pipeline project the natural gas coming from Turk Stream will now progress through Bulgaria into Serbia, Hungary, and Austria.” 

Arkad is a Saudi Arabian provider of construction, engineering, and project management services.

The CMS team consisted of, in Bulgaria, Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov, Counsel Nevena Radlova, Senior Associate Denitsa Dudevska, Consultant Maria Lazarova, and Associate Borislava Piperkova; in Italy, Managing Partner Pietro Cavasola; and in Russia, Partner Vladimir Zenin. 

Arsov Natchev Ganeva’s team consisted of Partners Jivko Rokov and Dessislava Lukarova and Associate Maryika Gerova.

Linklaters’ team was helmed by Partner Ilia Ditiatev.

The Dentons team included Partners Ziad Saad and Udayan Mukherdjee and Counsel Michelle Teng. 

Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski’s team was led by Partner Venelin Dimitrov, assisted by Associate Petar Ivanov. 

DGKV’s team included Counsel Kaloyan Krumov and Associate Hristo Stoyanov. 

Latham & Watkins’ team included Managing Partner Mikhail Turetsky, Counsel Elizaveta Bacheyeva, and Associates Seb Tuohy and Alexandra Samsonova. 

Noerr has advised Switzerland’s Evoco AG on the acquisition of six subsidiaries of Gesco AG from Wuppertal. 

According to Noerr, “Evoco is taking over Frank Walz-und Schmiedetechnik GmbH, Europe’s leading manufacturer of wear parts for agricultural technology. The portfolio also includes C.F.K. CNC-Fertigungstechnik Kriftel GmbH and four companies from the mobility technology segment. The transaction has already been largely completed and only the closing of the acquisition of Paul Beier GmbH & Co. KG is still subject to official approval.” According to Noerr, the six companies acquired by Evoco achieved a combined turnover of EUR 100 million in 2019.

Noerr’s team included Budapest-based Counsel Akos Bajorfi and Moscow-based Associated Partner Hannes Lubitzsch, as well as, in Germany, Partners Till Kosche, Martin Haisch, Fabian Badtke, and Evelyn Schulz, Associated Partners Andrea Zwarg, Michael Schuhmacher, and Elmar Bindl, Senior Associate Martin Gliewe, and Associates Thorsten Becker, Lukas Conrady, Christian Hinzmann, Susann Jahn, Lorenz Jarass, Sebastian Leidel, Evelin Moini, Julian Monschke, Natalie Oei, Doreen Pape, Fabian Radke, Moritz Rojek, Dan Schilbach, Katja Schmitt, Jan Voss, and Aleksandra Vujinovic.

Noerr did not reply to our inquiry on the matter. 

Baker McKenzie has advised Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding on the sale of 38.946% of the shares and Braindour Development Limited on the sale of 61.029% of the shares in Polish coal mine Przedsiebiorstwo Gornicze Silesia to Bumech.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

EPH is a Central European energy group that owns and operates assets in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Ireland, the UK, France, Poland, and Switzerland. Baker McKenzie describes EPH as a, “vertically integrated energy utility and comprises of over 70 companies structured in four pillars, namely EP Infrastructure, EP Power Europe, EP Logistics International, and EP Real Estate.” 

Bumech is a Poland-based company specialized in production and maintenance of mining machinery.

The Baker McKenzie team consisted of Warsaw-based Partner Tomasz Krzyzowski and Senior Associate Lukasz Targoszynski and Prague-based Partner Tomas Skoumal.

Baker McKenzie did not reply to our inquiry.

CMS has advised the UK’s Poseidon Group and Belgium’s Mitiska Reim on the divestment of their entire portfolio of retail parks in Serbia to Austria’s Immofinanz AG. Tomic Sindjelic Groza reportedly advised Immofinanz on the deal.

According to CMS, “the portfolio consists of four retail parks located in the cities of Zajecar, Leskovac, Sombor, and Sabac, [with] total GLA of 28,200 square meters. Major tenants include supermarkets Tempo and Maxi (Delhaize Serbia), as well as leading international retailers such as C&A, Deichmann, DM, H&M, Intersport, and Jysk.”

CMS’s team included Vienna-based Partners Alexander Rakosi and Sibylle Novak and Attorneys Daniel Kropf and Marie-Christine Lidl, as well as Serbia-based Partners Marija Tesic, Ivan Gazdic, Milica Popovic, and Maja Stepanovic and Attorneys Anja Tasic, Jelena Djordjevic, and Igor Djordjevic.

TGS Baltic and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner have advised the Mubadala Investment Company on investment in MEL Science — part of the latter’s USD 14 million Series B funding round.

MEL Science provides science kits that combine hands-on experiments with interactive science simulations by using virtual reality technology. The company’s products are designed for children and intended to be used as teaching aids in schools or by parents.

Mubadala Investment Company is an Emirati state-owned sovereign wealth fund that was established in January 2017.

TGS Baltic’s Estonian team included Partner Kadri Kallas, Senior Associate Sergei Jegorov, and Junior Counsel Mirko Kikkamagi.

BCLP’s team consisted of, in Moscow, Partner Anton Panchenkov, Counsels Alexey Koshelev, Alexander Muravin, and Anton Nefedev, Senior Associate Anastasia Kudryashova, Associate Director Nadezhda Ilyushina, Associates Ruslan Nurullaev, Valentina Mikhaylova, and Vladislav Li, and Junior Associate Irina Vitushinskaya; in London, Partner Ian Ivory, Senior Associates Daniel Bell and Ash von Schwan, Associate Director Mimi Curran, and Associate Alisa Sasko; and in Boulder, the US, Associates Scott Perlov and Stephanie Drumm.

TGS Baltic could not provide any further information about the deal.

Allen & Overy has advised Cisco on the acquisition of Slovakia-based Sli.do from Instando, Anton Zajac, Hewor Property Management, and Kenneth Patrick Ryan. Dentons advised the sellers on the deal.

Dentons describes Sli.do, which has over 7 million monthly users, as providing “its customers with an inclusive audience engagement platform that enables real-time feedback and insight before, during, and after any meeting or event via dynamic polls, Q&A, quizzes, word clouds, surveys and more.”

According to Dentons, “as a result of the transaction, the Sli.do technology will be integrated into the Cisco Webex platform in order to enhance audience engagement across both in-person and virtual experiences.”

Dentons’ team was led by Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving and Bratislava-based Partner Juraj Gyarfas and included Washington DC-based Partner Michael Maryn and Budapest-based Associate Sebastian Ishiguro.

Allen & Overy’s team included Managing Partner Martin Magal, Counsel Katarina Matulnikova, Senior Associates Tomas Bury and Zuzana Hecko, and Lawyers Michaela Nemethova and Darius Balasko.

Cobalt has advised US biotech company Biogen on launching its business in Latvia and Estonia.

Biogen is a producer of medicines for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy, as well as a researcher of solutions for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company was founded in 1978 and currently employs more than 7400 people worldwide.

Cobalt’s team included, in Latvia, Partner Indrikis Liepa and Associates Marija Berdova, Ivo Maskalans, and Janis Sarans; and in Estonia, Partner Karina Paatsi and Senior Associate Heili Haabu.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised the Copenhagen-based payment services provider Nets and its majority owner, Hellman & Friedman, on the EUR 7.8 billion all-share merger of Nets into Italy’s paytech group Nexi. ODI Law acted as local advisor to Nexi in Slovenia and Croatia.

According to Freshfields, the merger is subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.  

Nets is a pan-European paytech company owned by a consortium of private equity firms consisting of Hellman & Friedman, Advent International, Bain Capital, and GIC.

Nexi is an Italian provider of paytech solutions. The company is listed on the MTA of the Borsa Italiana stock exchange. 

Freshfields’ team consisted of, in London, Partners Keir MacLennan, Tim Wilmot, Jill Gatehouse, and Cyrus Pocha; in Milan, Partners Luigi Verga and Nicola Asti; in Dusseldorf, Partner Uta Itzen; and in Berlin, Partner Frank Rohling.  

ODI Law’s team included Partners Branko Ilic, Tine Misic, and Suzana Boncina Jamsek and Senior Associates Primoz Mikolic and Hrvoje Smicibrada.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Linklaters’ multi-office team had also advised Nexi on the deal. The firm’s team included, in Milan, Partners Pietro Belloni and Ugo Orsini, Managing Associates Maria Sofia Ricci, Anna Ferraresso, and Francesco Eugenio Pasello, and Associates Chiara Venditti, Francesca Cirillo, and Mafalda Monticelli; in London, Partner Hugo Stolkin and Associate Stephanie Floras; and in Hong Kong, Managing Associate Daniel Bergman.

Allen & Overy and RTPR have advised Dutch life insurance, pension, and asset management company Aegon on the EUR 830 million sale of its operations in Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Turkey to the Vienna Insurance Group. Wolf Theiss and Turkey’s Paksoy Law firm advised the buyer on the deal. 

The transaction is subject to regulatory and competition authority approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2021.

RTPR’s team in Romania consisted of Partner Mihai Ristici, Managing Associates Vlad Stamatescu and Vicu Buzac, Counsel Roxana Ionescu, Associates Cezara Urzica and Marina Fecheta-Giurgica, and Junior Associates Andrei Costea, Petrus Partene, Radu Manu, and Laura Costea.

Allen & Overy’s core team in Amsterdam included Senior Partner Brechje van der Velden, Partners Katinka Middelkoop, Tim Stevens, and Yvo de Vries, Counsels Rens Bondrager and Tjarda van der Vijver, Senior Associates Samuel Garcia Nelen, Diyashen Pillay, and Daphne van der Houwen, and Associates Iradj Nazaryar, Julius Hackeng, Dennis Budde, Jochem de Kok, Flora van Laar, and Tim de Raad.

The Wolf Theiss team consisted of, in Vienna, Partners Horst Ebhardt, Markus Bruckmuller, Hartwig Kienast, and Robert Wagner, Counsel Christine Siegl, and Associates Rahim Rastegar, Christopher Junger, and Christoph Raab; in Budapest, Partner Janos Toth, Counsels Barnabas Buzasi and Melinda Pelikan, Senior Associates Mark Chiovini and Marietta Molnar, and Associates Zoltan Bodog, Peter Ihasz, Laszlo Lovas, Andras Mozsolits, and Bela Madarasz; in Warsaw, Partner Jacek Michalski, Counsel Maciej Olszewski, Senior Associates Joanna Wajdzik, Agnieszka Nowak-Blaszczak, Iwona Huryn, Michal Kulig, and Jakub Pietrasik, and Associates Klaudia Dabrowska, Michal Koperski, Monika Gaczkowska, and Anna Nowodworska; and in Bucharest, Partners Ileana Glodeanu and Anca Jurcovan, Counsels Adelina Iftime-Blagean, Flaviu Nanu, and Mircea Ciocirlea, Senior Associates Andreea Stan and Adina Aurel, and Associates Cornelia Postelnicu, Iulia Cumparatu, Nina Lazar, Andreea Tudorache, Andrei Salageanu, and Ramona Enache.

Paksoy’s team consisted of Partner Togan Turan, Counsel Nazli Bezirci, and Associate Asli Eryilmaz.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, NautaDutilh informed CEE Legal Matters that it had advised the Vienna Insurance Group on the deal. The firm’s team included Partners Jaap Stoop, Pieternel Verhoeven-van den Brink, and Larissa Silverentand, Counsels Joost Kloosterman and Roderick Watson, Senior Associate Erik Poorthuis, and Associates Eva van Rooijen and Sanne Mesu.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised the Cotta Group on its acquisition of seven production properties in southwest Poland, and has advised Cotta’s sister company, Kanizsa Trend, on its acquisition of a production plant in Hungary, from Standard Properties. Germus & Tarsai, Wolf Theiss, and Clifford Chance reportedly advised the seller on the deal.

According to SSW Pragmatic Solutions, the Cotta Group’s acquisition in Poland “is the last element of the divestment process, as a result of which the Steinhoff International group withdrew from the Polish market.” The firm described the sale price as “several dozen million euros.” 

The SSW Pragmatic Solutions team consisted of Partner Maciej Duch and Senior Associate Robert Wodzynski.