CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • Schoenherr Advises Metro on Acquisition of 25% Stake in Kosik Holding

    Schoenherr has advised Metro on its acquisition of a 25% stake in Kosik Holding with a 5% option on top if Kosik expands into other CEE markets in collaboration with Metro. White & Case reportedly advised Kosik.

    Kosik Holding is the parent company of the Kosik.cz and Kolichka.bg online supermarket, an e-grocery delivery service currently active in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. The company currently serves 190,000 customers across the Czech Republic and fulfills around 6,000 orders daily.

    Metro is a food wholesale company serving approximately 17 million customers in more than 30 countries and employing over 93,000 people worldwide.

    Schoenherr’s team included Czech Republic-based Partner Vladimir Cizek, Attorneys at Law Michal Jendzelovsky, Ondrej Havlicek, Stanislav Bednar, Helena Hangler, Jak Kupcik, and Viktor Pakosta, and Associates Natalie Dubska and Sebastian Speta, together with Bulgaria-based Partner Alexandra Doytchinova, Local Partner Stefana Tsekova, Counsel Elena Todorova, and Attorneys at Law Katerina Kaloyanova-Toshkova and Ventsislav Tomov.

  • TGS Baltic Mints Five Partners and Three Associate Partners in Estonia and Lithuania

    TGS Baltic has announced the appointment of Dalia Augaite, Sandra Bliuvaite-Sulciene, Marius Brasiunas, Martti Peetsalu, and Chirag Mody as Partners, while Tadas Varapnickas, Karolina Lapinskaite, and Triinu Jarviste have been appointed as Associate Partners at the firm.

    Lithuania’s Augaite, a capital markets and financial sector specialist, has almost 20 years of experience and has been with TGS Baltic since 2022 when she joined as an Associate Partner. Before that, she spent six years with Sorainen as a Senior Associate. Earlier, she spent over 11 years in-house with AB SEB Bank and, before that, almost two years as a Legal Counsel with Swedbank.

    Bliuvaite-Sulciene, the Head of the Real Estate, Construction, and Environment groups at TGS Baltic in Lithuania, has over 16 years of experience. She joined the firm in 2014.

    Brasiunas, Co-head of the Dispute Resolution group in Lithuania, has been with TGS Baltic for 15 years. He joined the firm as an Assistant Attorney in 2008 and became an Attorney at Law in 2015.

    Estonia’s Peetsalu, a former Associate Partner, has over ten years of experience in court disputes and arbitration proceedings. He joined TGS Baltic as an Attorney at Law in 2014. Before that, he spent six years with Glimstedt and, earlier, over two years as a Lawyer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.

    Mody, Co-Head of the Dispute Resolution practice in Estonia, has been with TGS Baltic since 2018. Prior to joining the firm, he spent a year with Ellex Raidla and, earlier, over five years with Primus.

    A former Senior Associate, Lapinskaite, part of the Corporate and Capital Markets team in Lithuania, has been with TGS Baltic since 2019 when she joined as an Associate. Before that, she spent six months with Lewben Investment Management as an Associate and, earlier, two and a half years as a Legal Counsel with Siauliu Bankas. Prior to that, she spent almost three years as a Lawyer with SEB Lietuvoje, after beginning her career as a Lawyer with Nordea Bank Finland Lithuania Branch in 2013.

    Varapnickas, Head of the Dispute Resolution team of the Lithuanian arbitration practice, and formerly a Senior Associate, rejoined the firm in 2016. He had previously spent over three and a half years with Tark Grunte Sutkiene, between 2011 and 2014. Between 2014 and 2016, he served as an Advisor with the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania.

    Estonia’s Jarviste, Head of the Competition and State Aid and the Energy practice groups, and formerly a Counsel, has been with TGS Baltic since 2011. She joined legacy firm Varul as a Lawyer, made Associate in 2012, Senior Associate in 2014, and Counsel in 2021.

  • BLS-CEE Expands Network with Addition of Iulia Berea and Chen Chen

    The Bucharest-based Iulia Berea Law Office and the Budapest-based Chen Law Firm have joined the BLS-CEE network. The two firms’ respective Managing Partners – Iulia Berea and Chen Chen – have also joined BLS-CEE as Collaborating Partners.

    Specializing in corporate and M&A, labor, TMT/IP, and environment, Berea has been managing her eponymous law office since 2014. She has also been the Head of Legal at Flowx.AI, since 2020, and a Partner at Arcliffe, since 2017. Between 2007 and 2014, Berea was a Partner with Bulboaca & Asociatii and led the firm’s Corporate/M&A and Employment practices. She was also an Associate at Linklaters from 2004 to 2006.

    “Having a strong team in Bucharest unlocks the potential for offering integrated business law solutions to clients for Hungary and Romania,” BLS-CEE Co-Founding Managing Partner Gabor Kovacs said of the appointment.

    Chen has expertise in corporate and M&A, construction, real estate, dispute resolution, and arbitration. She has been leading her own practice since 2020. Between 2013 and 2020, she worked as China Special Advisor at Baker McKenzie Budapest. She also spent six months as a Junior Lawyer with Noerr in 2013. Between 2010 and 2012, she was a Business Development Manager at the China Brand Trade Center. She also spent a year with NXP Semiconductors as a Business Development Representative, starting in 2008. 

    “Sharing her time between Hungary and Switzerland, Chen was seeking a legal community that enables her to thrive and take her professional career to the next level. We are very proud that she chose us,” Kovacs commented.

  • George Manea Returns to Private Practice as Head of Life Sciences, Technology & Compliance at Toncescu si Asociatii

    Former Telekom Romania Data Protection Officer George Manea has joined KPMG Legal Toncescu si Asociatii as a Senior Managing Associate and Head of the firm’s Life Sciences, Technology & Compliance practice.

    Specializing in life sciences, TMT, and data protection, Manea previously spent over four years at Telekom Romania, having first joined in 2018 as Privacy Lead. He later became Data Protection Officer in 2019. From 2016 to 2020, Manea was also an Associate with DLA Piper.

    “This is an exciting time for our law firm,” KPMG Partner and Head of KPMG Legal Toncescu si Asociatii Laura Toncescu commented. “The addition of […] George Manea to our firm reflects our continuing growth strategy, our openness to adding strong capabilities and suitable members to our team, and our desire to offer the best services to our clients.”

     

  • CMS Advises EBRD on Loan to Stax Technologies

    CMS has advised the EBRD on a EUR 10.8 million loan to Serbian machine manufacturer Stax Technologies.

    According to CMS, Stax is a manufacturer of paper tissue packaging machines based in Konjevici. “It intends to use these funds to expand its production facilities, purchase state-of-the-art equipment, and implement energy efficiency improvements, including the installation of a new 300-kilowatt rooftop solar power system, which will allow the company to produce the energy it needs for its own operation in a sustainable way.”

    The CMS team included Warsaw-based Partner Rafal Zakrzewski and Lawyer Michal Horelik, Kyiv-based Senior Associate Orest Matviychuk and Associate Ivan Pshyk, and Belgrade-based Partner Milica Popovic, Counsel Marija Marosan, Attorney at Law Jovana Bingulac, and Lawyer Ksenija Boreta.

    CMS did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

  • Clifford Chance and Ciftci Advise Arcelik on New Standalone Home Appliance Business JV with Whirlpool

    Clifford Chance and its Turkish affiliate Ciftci Attorney Partnership have advised Arcelik on the establishment of a joint venture between its Ardutch subsidiary and Whirlpool Corporation subsidiary Whirlpool EMEA Holdings to create a new standalone business in the European home appliances sector. Latham & Watkins advised Whirlpool.

    Arcelik produces home appliances and consumer durables. It has 45,000 employees in 53 countries, 30 production facilities in nine countries, and 12 brands overall.

    According to Clifford Chance, “both companies will transfer their European subsidiaries to the new standalone business, which will combine their manufacturing expertise, European appliance brands, distribution, and sales networks and will also build on both companies’ strong track record in, and commitment to, innovation and sustainability. The new company will have production sites across multiple European countries with more than 20,000 employees with a combined net revenue of approximately EUR 6 billion.”

    “Whirlpool will own 25% and Arcelik 75%, subject to adjustments,” in the newly formed entity, Latham & Watkins reported.

    The Clifford Chance team included Prague-based Managing Partner Alex Cook, Counsel Michal Jasek, Senior Associate Stanislav Holec, Lawyer Tomas Prochazka, and Junior Lawyer Martin Hrachovina, Istanbul-based Ciftci Attorney Partnership Partner Itir Ciftci, as well as additional team members from Warsaw, Bucharest, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, New York, and Washington.

  • KSB and Clifford Chance Advise on J&T Agriculture and Ecology Financing and Acquisition of Spearhead Companies

    Kocian Solc Balastik has advised J&T Agriculture and Ecology on its acquisition of 11 companies within Spearhead Czech and Spearhead Slovakia and the related acquisition financing by a banking group led by Komercni Banka. Clifford Chance advised the lenders.

    The lenders also included Raiffeisenbank a.s. and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia.

    According to KSB, the acquired companies, located in the vicinity of Kardasova Recice, Jihlava, Hradec Kralove, Olomouc, and Nitra in Slovakia, are primarily active in the field of crop and livestock production.

    J&T Real Estate Group company J&T Agriculture and Ecology specializes in agricultural investments. The company has headquarters in Prague.

    “Thanks to the acquisition, J&T Agriculture and Ecology, which started its agricultural business in 2020, became the number two company on the Czech agricultural market in terms of the size of cultivated land – 37,000 hectares after the acquisition,” KSB informed.

    The KSB team included Managing Partner Pavel Dejl, Partners Jiri Hornik and Martin Krejci, Counsel Ivo Prusa, Lawyers Jakub Porod, Martin Vrab, and Tomas Travnicek, and Junior Lawyers Zuzana Slaba and Karolina Vosatkova.

    The Clifford Chance team was led by Partner Milos Felgr and Senior Associate Dominik Vojta and included Junior Lawyer Pavlina Tomeckova.

  • Former Osborne Clarke CEO Simon Beswick Joins Kinstellar

    Former Osborne Clarke CEO Simon Beswick has joined Kinstellar’s Board of Directors as a non-executive member.

    According to Kinstellar, Beswick “brings over 35 years of global legal and law firm leadership experience. He ran and was the managing partner of the UK business of Osborne Clarke from 2003 to 2014 … became CEO of Osborne Clarke in 2012, leading the firm’s growth across Europe, Asia, and the US. Simon’s background is as a corporate and private equity lawyer.”

    “In his new role, Simon will advise on our strategic growth plans as we continue to build the Kinstellar business,” the firm announced. 

    “We are honored and pleased to welcome Simon to the Board,” Kinstellar Senior Partner Jason Mogg commented. “His vast experience in managing global law firm businesses will be invaluable to Kinstellar as we grow our business and pursue our strategy.”

    “I am excited to be joining the Board and to work with Kinstellar’s management team as the firm continues to expand and innovate,” Beswick added. “I am impressed by the firm’s reputation and strong brand, by its outstanding people, and I look forward to contributing to its future.”

  • Vukmir & Associates and BH Legal Advise CEFTA on Cross-Border IP Project

    Vukmir & Associates and BH Legal have advised CEFTA on a cross-border project titled CEFTA Intellectual Property and Related Rights 2021-03.

    According to Vukmir & Associates, “the overall objective of the project was to contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the CEFTA Parties (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo) by supporting regional economic integration as envisaged in the CEFTA 2006 and Common Regional Action Plan 2021-2024 in removing trade barriers related to intellectual property rights. The specific purpose of the project was to support developing a regional framework on trade-related aspects of intellectual property and related EU Acquis and best European practices and standards.”

    The Vukmir & Associates team included Partner Mladen Vukmir, Senior Attorney Aleksandar Bijelic, and Attorney Lidija Gepert.

    The BH Legal team included Partners Mirna Milanovic-Lalic and Jasmina Suljovic.

  • Adon Legal Advises Galio Group on EUR 15 Million Financing from SEB Banka

    Adon Legal has advised Lithuanian real estate developer Galio Group on receiving financing from Latvia’s SEB Banka to complete the development of the Riga-based Gustavs Business Center.

    According to Adon Legal, “the bank extended a loan in excess of EUR 15 million, which the Galio Group will use for the final stage of development of the Riga-based Gustavs Business Center. The Gustavs Business Center is the first project to be launched in Riga by the Galio Group. The first building of the Gustavs Business Center will be a tailor-made office for the SEB Global Services center in Riga. The project will transform the industrial district into a 41,000 square-meter BREEAM New Construction Excellent office space.”

    According to the firm, the new financing transaction is an extension of a project started in 2021, when SEB Global Services agreed to rent one of three office buildings in the Gustavs Business Park to be developed by the Galio Group.

    Last year, Adon Legal also advised the Galio Group on a EUR 26 million loan from Citadele Bank in relation to an office complex project in Vilnius (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 4, 2022). 

    Adon Legal’s team was led by Partner Marius Matiukas.