Category: News

Dentons has advised the shareholders of the Meopta Group on the sale of the company to Carlyle. White & Case and, reportedly, Linklaters and Latham & Watkins advised Carlyle.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The Meopta Group is a manufacturer of optical, opto-mechanical, and opto-electronic solutions. Carlyle is an investment firm.

According to Dentons, “with the acquisition of Meopta, Carlyle will seek to support the company’s growth in partnership with its management team by diversifying its mix of end markets and customers, capturing the opportunity in more advanced built-to-spec use cases through an increased focus on R&D, capitalizing on attractive opportunities in a diverse range of end markets and expanding its international presence through the creation of a direct sales network, and improving its operations.”

The Dentons team included Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving, Counsel Kamran Pirani, Senior Associate Ekaterina Dorkhova, and Associates Sebastian Ishiguro and Aliz Wulcz; Prague-based Managing Partner Petr Zakoucky, Partners Evan Lazar, Zdenek Kucera, and Petr Kotab, Counsel Lukas Vymola, Senior Associate Adam Prerovsky, and Associates Petr Mueller, Tomas Pavelka, Michal Vik, Katerina Kucerova, Matej Pavlik, Tomas Jonas, and Jan Sedlak; and additional lawyers from the firm’s London, New York, Short Hills, and Frankfurt offices.

The White & Case team included Prague-based Partner Jonathan Weinberg, Local Partner Jan Jakoubek, Counsel Jan Parik, and Associates Lukas Pavlik, Monika Sedlackova, Katerina Hudeckova, Vinh Ngo The, Milan Horak, Tadeas Matys, and Magdalena Lajdova, as well as further team members in London.

Dentons has advised Komercni Banka and Ceska Sporitelna on a sustainability-linked ESG loan amendment for the 2022 W.A.G. Payment Solutions (Eurowag) multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement. White & Case advised Eurowag.

According to Dentons, “listed on the London Stock Exchange, Eurowag is a leading pan-European integrated payment and mobility platform focused on the commercial road transportation industry. The original multicurrency term and revolving facilities agreement was signed in September 2022 to refinance and expand the group’s existing credit facilities. The amendment from May 2023 links these facilities to the achievement of Eurowag’s sustainability goals, and their interest rate pricing will be based on the company’s achievement of the agreed set of KPIs.”

Back in 2022, Both Dentons and White & Case had also advised on the original Komercni Banka and Ceska Sporitelna EUR 715 million refinancing agreement with the Eurowag Group (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 3, 2022). 

Dentons’ team included Prague-based Partner Daniel Hurych and Associates Ondrej Vales and Eva Klimova as well as Warsaw-based Partner Mark Segall and further lawyers in Munich and Madrid.

White & Case’s team included Prague-based Partner Tomas Jine and Associate Tadeas Matys.

Cytowski & Partners has advised both South Central Ventures and Serbia’s HireApp on their USD 1.5 million seed financing agreement.

According to Cytowski & Partners, “HireApp, based in Miami and Serbia, has built a staffing marketplace for high-skilled workers. South Central Ventures is a Ljubljana-based European VC fund focusing on backing the best entrepreneurs from the Balkans.”

“HireApp is uniquely positioned to transform the way the hospitality industry finds and manages talent,” CEO and President Nemanja Stefanovic commented. “Using our innovative platform, restaurants and hotels can quickly and efficiently connect with the skilled professionals they need, while those professionals can access flexible work opportunities that fit their lifestyles.”

“We are excited to partner with HireApp on their mission to revolutionize the hospitality staffing industry,” South Central Ventures Partner Goran Stevanovic added. “Their innovative platform is perfectly positioned to provide both businesses and professionals with the flexible, efficient, and effective solutions they need in today’s fast-paced environment. We are confident that HireApp will continue to be a driving force in the evolution of the future of work.”

The Cytowski & Partners team included Partner Tytus Cytowski, Lawyer Eresi Uche, Associate Heidi Fan, and Law Clerks Fabiana Morales Centurion and Kunal Kolhe.

Deloitte Legal Lithuania and Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii have advised Bico Industries on its EUR 3.2 million full acquisition of Iranga Technologijos. Triniti Jurex reportedly advised the sellers.

Lithuania’s Iranga Technologijos operates in the construction and technical textile market, offering solutions for textile fiberglass production and composite materials by lamination.

Bico Industries is a fiberglass mesh manufacturer in Central and Eastern Europe. The company also incorporates Terra, Europlas Lux, and now Iranga Technlogijos and has over 450 employees and five production centers in Romania, Moldova, and Lithuania. Bico is owned by Roca Industry, a Bucharest Stock Exchange AeRO Market-listed company.

Back in 2022, PNSA and Deloitte Legal also advised on Bico Industries’ acquisition of the Terra Impex Group (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 13, 2022). 

The Deloitte Legal team included Legal Partner Tomas Davidonis, Associate Partner Gintare Stoniene, Managing Associate Tomas Mieliauskas, Senior Associate Ieva Vaisnore, and Associate Greta Lebednykaite.

The PNSA team included Partners Silviu Stoica and Raluca Rusu and Managing Associate Vlad Ambrozie.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Triniti Jurex confirmed it had advised the seller. The firm’s team included Partner Giedre Ciuladiene and Associate Partner Marius Tamosiunas.

Hristov & Partners and the Legal Advisory Group, working with Hogan Lovells, have advised Aiopsgroup on its sale to Valantic. BDK Advokati and Boyanov & Co, working with Heuking Kuhn Luer Wojtek and Spectrum Legal India, advised Valantic.

According to Hristov & Partners, “the Aiopsgroup is a multidisciplinary digital company with e-commerce expertise. It was founded in 2019 and operates from three locations in Bulgaria, India, and Serbia.”

Valantic is an IT development and services tech group and a portfolio company of German private equity company DPE.

“We are expanding our expertise in the European Salesforce and retail market by joining forces with Aiopsgroup,” Valantic CEO Holger von Daniels commented. “I am greatly looking forward to working with the Aiopsgroup team to become Europe’s number one CX consulting and solutions powerhouse.”

“I’m very excited about our new goals and challenges that lie ahead, as a Valantic family member,” Aiopsgroup CEO Don Santrac added. “Our aim is to become Europe’s number one CX service provider with a reputation for innovative solutions and outstanding service.”

The Hristov & Partners team included Partners Pavel Hristov and Biliana Shagova and Senior Associate Dragomir Stefanov.

BDK Advokati’s team included Managing Partner Tijana Kojovic and Senior Associate Marija Gligorevic.

The Legal Advisory Group team included Lawyer Dragan Bando.

Boyanov & Co’s team included Partners Yordan Naydenov and Borislav Notovsky, and Junior Associate Teodora Peycheva.

Norton Rose Fulbright, Ionescu Sava, and Integrites have advised the EBRD on its EUR 42 million senior secured loan for Cersanit to improve its production facilities in Poland and Ukraine.

“This investment is part of the EBRD’s widespread support to Ukraine struggling in the face of the Russian invasion,” Norton Rose Fulbright reported. “The EBRD funding will enable Cersanit to scale up its tile and sanitaryware production both in Poland and Ukraine, including the completion of a project for manufacturing large-format ceramic tiles in Ukraine, reconstruction of an acrylics products factory in Poland, and completion of energy efficiency upgrades as well as other modernization investments in Poland.”

Cersanit is a Poland-based ceramic tile and bathroom equipment producer and distributor “with a large operation in Ukraine that is expected to play an important role in the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by war,” according to the EBRD. 

“Despite a very challenging environment caused by the outbreak of war and increased energy prices, Cersanit has proved to be resilient and adaptive to the new economic reality,” Cersanit owner Michal Solowow commented. “We remain committed to expanding our activities in Ukraine through continued production of ceramic tiles and sanitaryware. I want to thank all of Cersanit’s staff for their commitment, dedication, and empathy. I also firmly believe that other European and global businesses will follow in our footsteps and consider investing in Ukraine as well.” 

The Norton Rose team was led by Counsel Marta Kawecka and included Counsel Joanna Braciszewska-Szarapa, Senior Associate Igor Kondratowicz, Associate Michal Rutkowski, and Paralegal Wiktoria Jadczak, as well as lawyers from the firm’s London and Frankfurt offices.

The Ionescu Sava team was led by Senior Associate Diana Mardare.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Integrites announced the composition of its team working on the matter: Partner Igor Krasovskiy, Counsel Olena Savchuk, and Senior Associate Yuriy Korchev.

Wolf Theiss has advised Erste Group Bank on WG Projektiranje’s sale of the Velenjka shopping center in Velenje, Slovenia, to Velenjka doo. The Ptuj-based Mayr law firm reportedly advised the buyer.

According to Wolf Theiss, the transaction involved “the release of mortgages, land debt, and encumbrances on the business share,” in an asset and share deal, as well as the transfer of the Velenjka EU trademark held by WG Projektiranje. The transaction closed on March 31, 2023.

The Wolf Theiss team included Vienna-based Counsel Michael Kienzl and Ljubljana-based Partner Klemen Radosavljevic, Counsel Petra Jermol, and Associate Larisa Primozic.