Category: Deals and Cases

Finland’s Castren & Snellman and Sorainen have advised the OP Corporate Bank on its provision of financing to Finland’s Veho Group for Veho’s acquisition of Silberauto. Finland’s Dittmar Law Firm and Ellex’s three offices in the Baltic advised Veho on the financing, as they had on the acquisition itself.

According to Castren & Snellman, the syndicated financing involved a EUR 182,100,000 and SEK 380,000,000 arrangement for Veho. According to the firm, “OP Corporate Bank plc acted as coordinator, bookrunner, agent, and security agent in this financing arrangement. The mandated lead arrangers in the syndicate were OP Corporate Bank plc, Nordea Bank Abp and Danske Bank A/S and lenders for the facilities were OP Corporate Bank plc, Nordea Bank Abp and Danske Bank A/S, Finland Branch.”

Castren & Snellman reports that “the financing arrangement was carried out for the purpose of, among other things, refinancing Veho’s existing facilities agreement and financing the acquisition of Silberauto, the largest company in the Baltic automotive sector.”

Veho’s acquisition of Silberauto’s business in Estonia and Lithuania took place in September, 2019, with Cobalt advising the seller, entrepreneur Vaino Kaldoja (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 26, 2019). 

The Castren & Snellman team on the financing consisted of Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa, Counsel Minna Korhonen, and Associate Sonja Hanninen.

Sorainen’s team included, in Estonia, Partner Reimo Hammerberg, Senior Associate Jane Eespold, and Associate Kristjan Nommik; in Latvia, Partner Rudolfs Eņgelis and Senior Associate Edvins Draba; and in Lithuania, Partner Augustas Klezys and Senior Associate Lina Ragainyte.

The Ellex team included, in Estonia, Partner Ermo Kosk, Counsel Toomas Kasesalu and Rain Raa; in Latvia, Associate Partner Valters Diure and Senior Associate Beata Plocina; and in Lithuania, Partner Giedrius Stasevicius and Associate Tadas Kuzminskas.

RTPR Allen & Overy in Romania and Allen & Overy in Poland have advised Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski S.A. on a PLN 73 million and EUR 5.5 million financing granted to Polski Bank Komorek Macierzystych S.A., a Polish stem cells bank. Clifford Chance reportedly advised PBKM.

The RTPR Allen & Overy team in Bucharest was coordinated by Partner Victor Padurari and led by Counsel Poliana Gogu-Naum. It also included Junior Associate Andrei Konya.

The Allen & Overy team in Warsaw included Partner Tomasz Kawczynski and Associate Weronika Groskrejc.

ODI has advised the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Finance and its two state-owned subsidiaries IMOB and PRISKO on the cross-border sale of the majority stake in Vipap Videm Krsko, a large Slovenian paper mill and newsprint manufacturer, to Czech-based Ridg Holding.

The transaction was preceded by a lengthy and complex restructuring of VIPAP, involving the sale of claims against the company by other financial creditors, including the two largest Slovenian banks (NLB and NKBM) and TCK, to RIDG. ODI’s work encompassed due diligence of the financial claims against VIPAP, drafting the transactional documentation, and providing assistance with signing and closing.

The ODI team was led by Partner Suzana Boncina Jamsek.

ODI did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

MCL has advised Air Ventures, a start-up investment fund, on the acquisition of a 15% stake in Czech mobile provider Cross Network Intelligence from two unnamed individuals, who were advised by Abraham & Partners.

Cross Network Intelligence constructs and operates data networks, including 5G, in Denmark, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the USA.

The MCL team was led by Partner Martin Jurecko and included Attorneys Martin Micak and Michal Ranostaj.

The Abraham & Partners team was led by Partner Lucyna Abrahamova.

Kinstellar, Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak, and Cobalt have advised Stada Arzneimittel on the acquisition of Walmark from Mid Europa Partners. White & Case and Weil, Gotshal & Manges reportedly advised the sellers on the deal.

The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust clearance and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. Financial details were not disclosed. 

Mid Europa acquired 50% of Walmark in 2012 and the remainder in 2015 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 20, 2015). Walmark is a Central European manufacturer of consumer health products that has a direct presence in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and that sells its products in more than 40 countries worldwide. 

The Kinstellar team was co-led by Partner Anthony O’Connor from Budapest and Partner Lukas Sevcik and Counsel Karla Rundtova from Prague.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published Cobalt announced that its team providing Baltic assistance to Stada was led by Estonia-based Partner Martin Simovart and Senior Associate Madis Reppo, working with Partner Elo Tamm, Associate Marit Martens and Associate Tiit-Gregor Mets in Estonia, Partner Guntars Zile, Senior Associates Elina Locmele, Ugis Zeltiņs and Kristine Patmalniece, and Associate Diana Zepa in Latvia, and Partners Juozas Rimas and Rasa Zasciurinskaite and Associates Julija Timoscenko and Samanta Sereikaite in Lithuania.

Subsequently, in March 2020, Kinstellar announced that the deal had successfully closed.

DLA Piper Hungary has advised Hungarian telecommunication company Antenna Hungaria on its acquisition of a 25% shareholding in Telenor Hungary from the Czech Republic’s PPF Group. White & Case advised the sellers on the deal.

The DLA Piper team was led by Hungarian Partners Gabor Molnar and Andras Nemescsoi and included Senior Associates Emese Szitasi and Peter Virag from Hungary, Partner Jochem Beurskens and Senior Associates Stefan Spaans, Gijs Kikkert, and Noor Gerver from the Netherlands, and Partner Tim Wright and Senior Associate Chris Wilson from the United Kingdom. 

The White & Case team advising PPF included Partner Jan Andrusko and Local Partner Jan Stejskal. Support on English law was provided by London Partner Ken Barry and Associate Will Summers.  

White & Case has advised the PPF Group on its USD 2.1 billion acquisition of Central European Media Enterprises. Bondoc Si Asociatii advised PPF on Romanian law matters. CME was advised by Covington & Burling and Sullivan & Cromwell.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of CME’s shareholders, the European Commission, and national regulators in several countries where CME is active. 

BNP Paribas and Societe Generale acted as structuring advisors to PPF on the EUR 1.15 billion acquisition facilities, which were fully underwritten by BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, Credit Suisse, HSBC, Societe Generale, and UniCredit.

CME operates television stations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

White & Case’s Prague-based team included Partners Jan Andrusko, Jonathan Weinberg, and Tomas Jine, Local Partner Jan Stejskal, and Associates Jan Jakoubek, Iva Cechrakova, Kamila Dankova, Anna Starkova, Mikolas Ruzek, Petr Kalensky, Tereza Vaculikova, and Tadeas Matys. Its New York-based team consisted of Partners Chang-Do Gong, Robert Chung, Arlene Arin Hahn, Henrik Patel, Seth Kerschner, Steven Lutt, and David Dreier, Counsel Kenneth Barr, and Associates Jordan Kobb, Chu Chu, DeVoia Stewart, Grayson Weeks, Julianne Prisco, and Brenton Clarke. Its London-based team included Partners Justin Wagstaff, Ken Barry, and Colin Harley, and Associates Chris Norris and Will Summers, while its Bratislava-based team included Associates Radoslav Palka, Vladimir Ivanco, Michal Zathurecky, and Simona Rapava. 

The Bondoc si Asociatii team was led by Partner Lucian Bondoc.

The Covington & Burling team included Partners Scott Smith and Patrick Manchester, Special Counsel Jeffrey Potash, Associate Clayton Collett, and Law Clerk Chul Hun Lee.

Editor’s note: After this article was published Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov informed CEE Legal Matters that it provided Bulgarian legal support to the PPF Group on the deal. The firm’s team consisted of Partner Violetta Kunze, Senior Associates Valentin Bojilov, Milka Ivanova, Anton Petrov, Lilia Kisseva, Dessislava Iordanova, Silviya Apostolova, Vladislav Antonov, Rusalena Angelova, and Kamen Gogov, and Associates Lora Aleksandrova, Tsvetelina Bayraktarova, Galin Atanasoff, Viktoriya Marincheva, Patricia Cherkezova, Hristo Stoyanov, Peter Angov, Evgeny Minchev, and Eliza Alexandrova.

Subsequently, CEE Legal Matters learned that Allen & Overy had advised the arranging banks on the transaction. The firm’s team included London-based Partner Cathy Bell-Walker, Counsel Jan Skuhravy, and Senior Associate Temi Esho, and Bratislava-based Senior Associate Peter Redo and Associate Petra Dzubakova.

Editor’s Note 2: On October 21, 2020, CEE Legal Matters was informed that the deal is now closed.

Sorainen’s Estonian and Lithuanian offices have advised Nordea Bank and DNB on financing they provided to the Luminor Group to develop Luminor’s lending activities and group liquidity buffers and to refinance existing debt. Cobalt advised Luminor on the deal.

Sorainen reports that it “also advised Nordea and DNB in negotiating a highly bespoke collateral package to secure the financing.” 

The Sorainen team was led by Estonian Partner Reimo Hammerberg and Lithuanian Partner Augustas Klezys and included Senior Associates Jane Eespold and Agne Sovaite and Associate Kristjan Nommik.

Cobalt’s Estonian team included Partner Marina Kotkas and Senior Associate Karl Kull.

PwC Legal has advised Baltic cinema operator Forum Cinemas OU on its cross-border merger with SIA Forum Cinemas and UAB Forum Cinemas, Finnkino OY’s companies in Latvia and Lithuania.

As a result of the merger, the cinema group will continue its activities in the Baltic countries through Forum Cinemas, which is registered in Estonia, with branches registered in Latvia and Lithuania.

Forum Cinemas is a member of Finnish cinema operator Finnkino, which in turn belongs to the Odeon Group, owned since March 2017 by American cinema group AMC.

The PwC Legal team in Estonia consisted of Specialist Counsel Indrek Ergma, Senior Associate Karen Root, and Associate Maris Alt. The team in Latvia included Attorney-at-Law Janis Lagzdins, Associate Attorney-at-Law Janis Gavars, and Associate Karina Baltina. The team in Lithuania consisted of Attorney-at-Law Ina Muckiena and Associate Attorneys-at-Law Jolita Paulauskaite and Ieva Matonyte.

PwC Legal did not reply to our inquiries about the deal.

Mrowiec Fialek and Partners has advised Alvo Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnoscia Spolka Komandytowa on financing received from the BHM Group, a Czech fund.

Alvo is a Polish company equipping operating rooms, surgical preparation rooms, and other hospital areas with medical equipment such as modular panels, operating tables, medical furniture, integration systems, and surgical lighting.

The Mrowiec Fialek and Partners team included Partner Miroslaw Fialek, Senior Associates Dominika Leszczynska, Maria Krupa, and Rafal Siemieniec, Associates Katarzyna Witak and Pawel Siwiec, and Junior Associate Filip Sobocinski.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that the Ro Radwan-Rohrenschef Petruczenko Piechota and MGS Law law firms had advised the BHM Group on the deal. The Ro Radwan-Rohrenschef Petruczenko Piechota team consisted of Founding Partner Marcin Radwan-Rohrenschef and Partner Marina Skarbek-Kozietulska. The MGS Law team consisted of Partner Bartosz Sambozuk, Junior Partner Klaudia Albercka-Toczko, and Attorney Anna Kolesinska.