CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • Four New Partners at Sorainen Estonia and Lithuania

    Four New Partners at Sorainen Estonia and Lithuania

    Sorainen has promoted Estonian lawyers Mihkel Miidla and Paul Kunnap and Lithuanian lawyers Augustas Klezys and Mantas Petkevicius to the firm’s partnership.

    Mihkel Miidla, who specializes in IT and telecom-related matters, began his career with Sorainen ten years ago, immediately after obtaining his Master’s Degree from the University of Tartu. He is Head of the firm’s Communications, Media & Technology Sector Group and Head of the Information Technology & Data Protection Practice in Estonia. 

    Paul Kunnap, who has been with Sorainen for 20 years, is the head of the firm’s Estonian Real Estate & Construction Sector Group. He advises mainly on real estate and construction and tax law matters. According to Sorainen, “Kunnap also has extensive knowledge in the M&A field and has advised [on] many transactions involving the food, energy, technology and real estate sectors.” He received his Master’s of Law degree from Estonia’s Concordia International University.

    Augustas Klezys joined Sorainen in 2011 from DNB Nord, where he was Deputy Manager of the Legal Department. Since 2016, he has been Head of the firm’s Financial Services & Insurance Sector Group. According to Sorainen, he “has advised global financial institutions and major banks in Lithuania on a number of high-profile strategic transactions.” He specializes in financial services and regulation. He received his law degree from Vilnius University.

    Mantas Petkevicius, who has been with the Sorainen since graduating from Vilnius University in 2003, is Head of the Lithuanian office’s Private Equity Practice. He has specializes in advising on corporate and tax matters, and according to the firm, he “regularly advises high-profile private equity and venture capital players on fund formation, portfolio management, investment restructuring, exits, and regulatory aspects. He has also experience in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts and buy-ins, venture capital (seed, start-up, growth capital) investments, angel investments as well as mezzanine financing.”

    “Never before have we invited four partners to join simultaneously,” stated Sorainen Senior Partner Aku Sorainen. The move is even more significant as all four have grown within the firm and have, over many years, become leading specialists in their fields of practice – Mantas in M&A and private equity, Augustas in banking and finance, Mihkel in IT, IP and data protection and Paul in real estate related M&A, construction and tax.”

    Sorainen now has 33 partners in four countries.

     

  • Schoenherr Announces New Contract Partners in Vienna and Prague

    Schoenherr Announces New Contract Partners in Vienna and Prague

    Schoenherr has promoted Austria IP lawyer Michael Woller and Czech corporate/M&A expert Vladimir Cizek to Contract Partner. 

    Michael Woller, who joined Schoenherr in 2008 and coordinates the firm’s IP practice across CEE, specializes in intellectual property and unfair competition law. He has a particular focus on new technology matters, international trademark strategy and advertising, and unfair competition law — both non-contentious matters and litigation. He advises and represents many Austrian and international companies in the IT, pharma, and consumer industries. He received his law degree from the University of Vienna.

    Vladimir Cizek, who joined Schoenherr in 2013, focuses mainly on M&A transactions, corporate law matters, banking & finance, and capital markets. In recent years, Cizek has also developed expertise in payments services regulations, and has advised EVO Payments International and Komercni Banka on building merchant acquiring alliances. Cizek also contributed to the establishment of the White Collar Crime task force in Schoenherr’s Prague office. He studied law at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and holds a law doctorate degree from the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

     

  • Dentons and Linklaters Advise on the Sale of Two Buildings in Krakow Office Complex

    Dentons and Linklaters Advise on the Sale of Two Buildings in Krakow Office Complex

    Dentons’ Real Estate team in Warsaw has advised Skanska on the sale of the first two buildings of Krakow’s High5ive office complex to Niam. The buyer was advised by Linklaters.

    The transaction was signed in December 2017, with the transfer of the property scheduled for the second quarter of 2018. Construction on both buildings is expected to conclude in the first and second quarters of 2018. In total, they will offer 23,400 square meters of leasable space.

    The High5ive office complex, located in downtown Krakow, will consist of five office buildings with a total leasing area of about 70,000 square meters. According to Dentons, “the project is eligible for the LEED Gold certification; it will also be certified as ‘Building without barriers’ awarded to investments fully available for individuals with disabilities.”

    From Dentons, Partner Bartlomiej Kordeczka led the transaction with the support of Senior Associate Martyna Racz-Suchocka.

    Linklaters’s team was led by Managing Partner Artur Kulawski, supported by Managing Associate Judyta Sawicka, Senior Associate Monika Lerka, and Associates Piotr Borzynski and Mateusz Cieslak. Of Counsel and Head of the Warsaw Tax department Mikolaj Bieniasz advised on tax matters.

     

  • Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance Advise Citibank Europe on USD 88 Million Loan Restructuring

    Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance Advise Citibank Europe on USD 88 Million Loan Restructuring

    Redcliffe Partners and Clifford Chance have advised Citibank Europe Plc (UK Branch) on the restructuring of a USD 16 million outstanding loan provided to Rubizhne Cardboard & Packaging Mill under an up-to USD 88 million term facility.

    Legal support on the transaction included drafting an amendment and restatement agreement to the Rubizhne Cardboard & Packaging Mill (JSC RKTK) loan, drafting and signing amendment agreements to security documents, collecting and reviewing condition precedents, and preparing legal opinions.   

    JSC RKTK has been in the packaging market since 1991, producing corrugated board transit packaging in Ukraine, as well as exporting its products.

    The Redcliffe team included Managing Partner Olexiy Soshenko and Associate Evgeniy Vazhynskiy.

    The Clifford Chance team advising Citibank Europe Plc on English law aspects of the facility restructuring was led by Istanbul-based Managing Partner Jared Grubb.

     

  • EPAM Advises Bestway Global Holdings on Hong Kong IPO

    EPAM Advises Bestway Global Holdings on Hong Kong IPO

    Lawyers from Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners’ Russian and Ukrainian offices have represented Bestway Global Holdings, a Chinese outdoor leisure products manufacturer, on Russian and Ukrainian law matters related to its USD 149 million IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

    In particular, according to EPAM, the firm “provided counsel to the company on certain aspects of the Russian and Ukrainian financial, administrative, and corporate laws, and prepared legal memoranda for the stock exchange.”

    The firm’s team included Partners Dmitry Stepanov and Roman Stepanenko, Counsel Roman Malovitsky and Alexander Mandzhiev, and Senior Associates Denis Golubev, Aleksey Karchiomov, and Kateryna Oliynyk.

     

  • Sulija Partners Law Firm Vilnius and DLA Piper Advise on Aircraft Sale

    Sulija Partners Law Firm Vilnius and DLA Piper Advise on Aircraft Sale

    Sulija Partners Law Firm Vilnius has advised a subsidiary of aircraft leasing company AviaAM Leasing on the sale of an Airbus A321-211 aircraft from its fleet with an operating lease contract with Yamal Airlines to a subsidiary of GTLK Europe. GTLK Europe Ltd. was advised by DLA Piper’s London and Moscow offices.

    According to an AviaAM press release, the aircraft features 220 seats and is powered by 2 CFM56 engines. The aircraft will mainly be used by the carrier on flights covering local destinations across the Russian Federation.

    “Our fruitful cooperation with Yamal Airlines started back in 2011. Currently the carrier is operating eight CRJ200s leased from our company. We are very proud to have maintained a continuous business relationship with this award-winning carrier,” commented Tadas Goberis, Chairman of the Board and CEO of AviaAM Leasing.

    Sulija Partners’s team included Partner Gintautas Sulija and Senior Associate Eduard Plesak.

    The DLA Piper team included London-based Partner Richard Skipper, Legal Director Philip Lamzin, and Associate Anna Middlebrook.

     

  • Turcan & Cazac, Vernon David, CMS, and Freshfields Advise Banca Transilvania and EBRD on Moldovan Investment

    Turcan & Cazac, Vernon David, CMS, and Freshfields Advise Banca Transilvania and EBRD on Moldovan Investment

    Turcan & Cazac and Vernon David & Associates have advised Banca Transilvania and the EBRD on Moldovan matters related to their joint acquisition of a stake of over 66% in Victoriabank, the third largest bank in the Republic of Moldova. In the Netherlands and UK, the EBRD was advised by CMS and Banca Transilvania by Freshfields.  

    According to Turcan Cazac, the acquisition was the first phase of the transaction, with a second — consisting of a mandatory buyout offer launched by Banca Transilvania and EBRD to the remaining shareholders of Victoriabank — to follow.

    In its own press release, BT claimed that the acquisition represents the first investment in Moldova from outside the country in over ten years. Victoriabank has existed for almost 30 years and reports 540,000 clients, 1,400 employees, and nearly 100 offices. 

    Turcan Cazac advised BT and the EBRD on trading of the shares and regulatory approvals, such as the approval from the National Bank of Moldova, and handled notifications of the deal to the Competition Council, which ultimately authorized all. The firm’s team included Partner Octavian Cazac and Associate Ana Galus.

    The lawyers working on the project from Vernon David & Associates were Partner Diana Neagu, Associate Roman Ivanov, and Senior Associate Sergiu Bivol.

    The CMS team was led by Partners Graham Conlon and Martijn van der Bie, with the help of Senior Associate Valentina Santambrogio, Legal Consultant Louise Cakar, and Lawyer Leo Mikros.

    The team from Freshfields included Managing Partner Dirk-Jan Smit, Senior Associate David Wakkie, and Associate Victor van Vegchel from Amsterdam, and Partner Andrew Hutchings and Associate Andy Robinson from London.

     

  • Ellex Valiunas to Cooperate with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University on Autonomous Vehicle Project

    Ellex Valiunas to Cooperate with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University on Autonomous Vehicle Project

    According to a formal agreement signed on January 18, 2018, Ellex Valiunas will work together with the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University to stimulate the development of autonomous vehicles such as self-piloted aircraft and self-driving cars in Lithuania.

    When signing the agreement, Ellex Valiunas Managing Partner Rolandas Valiunas stated that the best results could be achieved by the synthesis of science and business. “Today market conditions are determined by technological innovations and therefore I believe that our partnership will be not only of mutual use but it will also have a favorable impact on business.”

    According to an Ellex Valiunas press release, the first step in legitimizing and defining autonomous vehicles in Lithuania has already been made with the new law on regulation self-driving cars that came into force earlier this year. “But the law was adopted only for the purpose of testing such vehicles,” commented Partner Dovile Greblikiene, “while a number of unresolved issues still remain to have full regulation of this sphere.” 

    The agreement was signed by Rolandas Valiunas and the Rector of the University, Professor Dr. Alfonsas Daniunas, in the presence of Dovile Greblikiene, lawyer Arnoldas Puodzius, the Dean of VGTU Transport Engineering Faculty Olegas Prentkovskis, the Dean of VGTU’s Antanas Gustaitis’ Aviation Institute Justas Nugaras, and Vice-Dean Linas Gelazanskas. 

     

  • Polish and Czech Lawyers on White & Case Team Advising WernerCo on Acquisition

    Polish and Czech Lawyers on White & Case Team Advising WernerCo on Acquisition

    Local Partners from White & Case’s Warsaw and Prague offices have joined the firm’s multi-jurisdictional team advising WernerCo on its acquisition of the ZARGES Group from a consortium consisting of funds managed by Baird Capital and Granville, VR Equitypartner, and the management team of ZARGES. The purchase price was not disclosed.

    WernerCo is an international manufacturer and distributor of access products, fall protection equipment, secure storage systems, and light duty construction equipment. It has manufacturing, warehousing, sales, distribution and office facilities in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, and the UK.

    ZARGES, based in Weilheim in Germany, has three production sites in Europe and around 800 employees. It operates in sectors such as professional access, packaging/transportation/storage, and special construction. ZARGES products are sold in Germany, France, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands, among other countries.

    The White & Case team advising on the transaction was co-led by Partners Hendrik Roehricht and Gernot Wagner (both Frankfurt) and included Partners Bodo Bender (Frankfurt), Justus Herrlinger (Hamburg), Vanessa Schuermann (Frankfurt), Justin Wagstaff and Marc Israel (both London), Local Partners Sebastian Schrag, Ingrid Wijnmalen (both Frankfurt), Lars Petersen (Hamburg), and Katarzyna Czapracka (Warsaw), Counsel Andreas Klein (Frankfurt) and Associates Simon Rommelfanger, Jan Ole Eichstaedt, Anne-Sophie von Koester (all Frankfurt), Daniel Valdini (Hamburg), Andreas Koessel, Irina Schultheiss (both Frankfurt), Giuditta Caldini (Brussels), Veronika Merjava (Prague), and Claire Jordan (New York).

     

  • Asters Scores for Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine in Alleged Cartel Lawsuit

    Asters Scores for Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine in Alleged Cartel Lawsuit

    Asters has successfully represented Metro Cash & Carry Ukraine in its challenge to fines levied by Ukraine’s Antimonopoly Committee in a retail cartel case.

    On December 5, 2017, the High Commercial Court of Ukraine rendered a final decision, finding that the antitrust charges against Metro lacked proper grounding. As such, the court annulled the competition authority’s 2015 decision to fine the company in the amount of around USD 1 million and prohibit certain commercial practices of the company.

    Asters’ team working on the project included Partner Igor Svechkar and Senior Associates Sergiy Glushchenko, Anna Tkachova, and Oleksiy Ukolov.