CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • Cerha Hempel and DWF Advise Teufelberger on Joint Acquisition of Maillis Plastics Solutions

    Cerha Hempel and DWF have advised Teufelberger on its joint acquisition with Sigma Plastics Group of Maillis Plastics Solutions from Maillis Holdings. Reportedly, Wolf Theiss advised Sigma Plastics Group on the deal and Germany-based Renzenbrink & Partner advised the sellers.

    Maillis Holdings is a part of the portfolio of H.I.G Capital.

    According to Cerha Hempel, ”Maillis Plastics Solutions had been part of the international Maillis Group since 2000. Maillis Group is the world’s second-largest manufacturer of end-of-line packaging equipment and supplies its customers with consumables such as strapping and film products. The group employs more than 750 people and generates sales of around EUR 200 million.”

    According to the firm, “Teufelberger, an owner-managed family business based in Wels, Austria, is a diversified, international group with around 1,350 employees and sales of approximately EUR 290 million, successfully specializing in fiber ropes, steel wire ropes, and strapping. The US-based co-investor, Sigma Plastics Group, has over 40 manufacturing facilities producing an annual throughput of over 2 billion pounds of resin.”

    Cerha Hempel’s team included Partners Clemens Hasenauer, Johannes Prinz, Lorenz Pracht, and Anna Wolf-Posch and Associates Julia Digruber, Michael Ebner, and Philipp Schaubach.

    DWF’s team included Managing Partner Michal Pawlowski, Local Partners Rafal Wozniak and Anna Wietrzynska-Ciolkowska, Counsel Lech Najbauer, and Associate Mateusz Bak.

  • DLA Piper Advises PPF on Acquisition of Development Site in Bucharest

    DLA Piper has advised PPF Real Estate on its acquisition of an 8,000 square-meter construction site plot in the Orhideea area of Bucharest from RC Europe. Baker McKenzie reportedly advised RC Europe.

    RC Europe is a development and investment group constructing and managing business centers, residential, and commercial properties. PPF Real Estate is a real estate investment platform established by the PPF Group.

    According to DLA Piper, PPF’s aim for the acquisition is “achieving their next major project, the ARC Office Building, by 2024.”

    DLA Piper’s Bucharest team included Partner Alin Buftea and Counsel Florin Tineghe.

  • Sayenko Kharenko: Charity Fund “Breathe”

    Sayenko Kharenko, April 20: On 24 February 2022, the life of every Ukrainian has changed forever. The activity of the Charity Fund “Breathe” has also been transformed. The organisation was initially established by Sayenko Kharenko’s partners and Ukrainian businessmen to support medical institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the war, “Breathe” has been raising funds to help Ukrainian hospitals and civilians affected by the disaster. 

    During the last seven weeks, the Fund received almost UAH 5 million (over USD 160,000) from people and companies, and our friendly law firms worldwide. Thanks to your donations, we are able to deliver relief to those who needs it urgently every day.

    Essential equipment and medicines have already been received by:

    Kyiv Regional Hospital №2;

    Regional Clinical Perinatal Center of the Kharkiv Regional Council; 

    Lviv City Children’s Clinical Hospital; 

    Sumy Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital; 

    Pryluky City Center for Primary Healthcare; 

    Wards of 99 Problems Fund; 

    Vinnytsia Regional Children’s Hospital; 

    Nemyriv City Hospital; 

    Rivne Regional Hospital for War Veterans; 

    Pension for the elderly “Silver Age” and many others.

    The Fund is currently dealing with the applications from the Central Polyclinic of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the National Cancer Institute of Ukraine, Mykola Halytskyi Nizhyn City Central Hospital, Regional Clinical Perinatal Center of the Kharkiv Regional Council, LifeHouse Geriatric Boarding House, Kholmyn Village Council and many others.

    For the past one and a half months, we have established contacts and effectively coordinated our activities with Unchain Ukraine, Kyiv Defenders, 99 Problems Fund and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

    Thank you all for supporting those who are in most need!

    More about the fund.

    Unlike any other news items in CEELM, these are published as received with no other edits than outlined in this editorial note.

  • Suciu Popa and CMS Advise on Ford’s Sale of Craiova Plant to Ford Otosan

    Suciu Popa has advised the Ford Motor Company on the sale of its Craiova assembly plant in southern Romania to its partner Ford Otosan in Turkey. CMS advised Ford Otosan.

    The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of 2022.

    According to Ford, “through the transfer of ownership, the Craiova plant will benefit from a wide network of skills and know-how transfer through the vast experience of the Ford Otosan team in the design, development, and construction of commercial and electric vehicles.”

    Suciu Popa’s team included Managing Partner Miruna Suciu and Partners Cleopatra Leahu, Mihai Caragui, and Dan Ciobanu.

    The CMS team included Romania-based Managing Partner Horea Popescu, Partner Rodica Manea, Senior Counsel Laura Grigore, Counsel Claudia Nagy, Senior Associates Raluca Ionescu, Valentina Parvu, and Andrei Cristescu, Associates Catalin Vasile, Simona Strava, Cristina Ciomos, Alexandru Trandafir, and Sorin Predescu, and Lawyers Eduard Roventa and Bianca Banateanu, Poland-based Partner Iain Batty, and further team members in the Netherlands.

  • CMS Appoints Four New Partners and Two Equity Partners Across CEE

    Following CMS’s recent global promotion round, Nevena Radlova, Michal Andruszkiewicz, Cristina Popescu, and Olga Shenk were promoted to Partner, with Partners Gabriela Staber and Andrea Potz becoming Equity Partners.

    Former Counsel Nevena Radlova, who made Partner in the firm’s Sofia office, focuses on commercial and regulatory matters. Radlova has been with CMS since 2008, starting as a Junior Associate. She was promoted to Associate in 2010, Senior Associate in 2015, and Counsel in 2019. Before joining CMS, she spent almost four years with the Stoeva, Kuyumdjieva & Vitliemov law firm as an Associate.

    Former Counsel Michal Andruszkiewicz, who made Partner in the CMS Poznan office, focuses on energy and projects. Andruszkiewicz has been with CMS since 2011, starting as an Associate. He was promoted to Senior Associate in 2016, before becoming Counsel in 2018. Before joining CMS, he spent almost three years with Wardynski & Partners.

    Former Senior Counsel Cristina Popescu, who became a Partner in the firm’s Bucharest office, focuses on commercial and regulatory matters. Popescu first joined CMS in 2004, as an Associate, before leaving the firm three years later to join Eversheds, where she spent almost eight years. In 2015, Popescu rejoined CMS as a Senior Associate and was promoted to Senior Counsel in 2019.

    Former Counsel Olga Shenk, who made Partner in the CMS Kyiv office, focuses her practice on litigation and arbitration. Shenk joined CMS in 2015, as a Senior Associate, and was promoted to Counsel in 2019. Before that, she spent over nine years with Baker McKenzie.

    Vienna-based Gabriela Staber, a new Equity Partner, has been with CMS since 2013 when she joined as a Senior Associate. She was promoted to Partner in 2018. Staber’s practice focuses on life sciences and healthcare and intellectual property.

    Andrea Potz, who also became an Equity Partner in CMS’s Vienna office, has been with the firm since 2010. Potz became a partner in 2019. Her practice focuses on employment law.

  • TGS Baltic Advises Auga Group on Delisting from Warsaw Stock Exchange

    TGS Baltic has advised the Auga Group and its main shareholder on delisting the company’s shares from the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the related mandatory tender offer. Reportedly, Deloitte Legal advised the Auga Group as well.

    According to TGS Baltic, the Auga Group is “one of Europe’s largest from-field-to-shelf organic food companies. The group cultivates some 38,000 hectares of organically certified farmland, carrying out a sustainable model of agriculture which is based on new technologies and includes crop, livestock, poultry, and mushroom farming.”

    In 2019, TGS Baltic advised the Auga Group on a bond program worth up to EUR 60 million and a EUR 20 million issuance of green bonds in Lithuania (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 31, 2019). In 2018, the firm also advised Auga on a secondary public offering of shares (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 31, 2018).

    TGS Baltic’s team included Partner Vidmantas Drizga, Associate Partner Mantas Gofmanas, and Associate Elvinas Kizys.

  • Dentons Advises on Sale of Minit to Microsoft

    Dentons has advised Minit and its shareholders on its sale to Microsoft. Reed Smith advised the buyer.

    Minit is a Slovakia-based company, specializing in process mining technology. The company offers services for enterprises from banking, insurance, logistics, and other sectors to optimize their processes and achieve their business objectives.

    “With Minit as part of the Microsoft family, we believe this strengthens the value Microsoft provides to its customers in the field of digital transformation,” Minit CEO James Dening commented. “This acquisition will further empower Microsoft to help customers digitally transform and drive operational excellence by creating a complete picture of their business processes, enabling every process to be easily and automatically analyzed and improved.”

    The Dentons team was led by Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving and Associate Kamran Pirani and included Associates Sebastian Ishiguro and Tamas Enzsol, Bratislava-based Partners Juraj Gyarfas and Stanislav Durica, Amsterdam-based Counsel Bram Bloemers and Associate Nick de Rooij, London-based Partner Alex Thomas, Counsels Alastair MacLeod and Sonal Khimji, and Associate Ivan Jelocnik, and Milton Keynes-based Partner Christopher Colclough.

    Editor’s note: After this article was published, Majernik & Mihalikova announced that it had also advised Minit. The firm’s team included Partners Katarina Mihalikova and Ivan Kormanik and Attorney-at-Law Michaela Lipkova. 

  • Sorainen, Motieka & Audzevicius, and Walless Advise on Titanium Baltic Real Estate Fund’s Acquisition of Kesko Senukai Stores

    Sorainen has advised the Titanium Baltic Real Estate fund on acquiring Kesko Senukai’s stores in Vilnius, Lithuania, and Daugavpils, Latvia. Motieka & Audzevicius and Walless advised the sellers on the deal.

    The Titanium Baltic Real Estate fund is managed by the Finnish asset management company Titanium Fund Management Company.

    According to Sorainen, “Delta Turtas and SIA Daugavpils Project 1, the companies which own the stores, have been transferred to the fund by KS Holding, which is co-owned by the Finnish company Kesko, Arturas Rakauskas, and the investment group Zabolis Partners. The deal value is EUR 20 million.”

    The Vilnius store, which opened at the end of 2021, has an area of 10,000 square meters. The real estate development company KS Holding invested EUR 10 million out of the total investments into the store of EUR 12.6 million. The leased area of the store in Daugavpils is 9,000 square meters.

    Sorainen’s team included Partners Kestutis Adamonis and Eva Berlaus, Senior Associates Mindaugas Dominykas Baniulis, Julija Kirkiliene, Julius Raskauskas, Rasa Mikutiene, Liva Aleksejeva, and Andris Vilisons, Associates Jurgita Mikucioniene and Julija Terjuhana, and Assistant Lawyer Barbora Bernatonyte.

    Motieka & Audzevicius’ team included Partner Rokas Jankus, Senior Associate Aivaras Grigas, and Associate Darius Amsiejus.

    Walless’ team included Managing Partner Kristine Gaigule-Saveja and Senior Associates Andis Ozolins, Baiba Krievina-Sutora, Liucija Bitinaite

     

  • Closing: Havas Ground Handling’s Acquisition of MZLZ Ground Handling Services Now Closed

    On April 1, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka announced that Havas Ground Handling’s acquisition of MZLZ Ground Handling Services (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 22, 2022) has closed.

    MZLZ Ground Handling Services is the sole provider of ground handling services at Zagreb International Airport.

    Havas Ground Handling is a Turkey-based ground handling company.

    As previously reported, Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka has advised Turkey’s Havas Ground Handling on its acquisition of MZLZ Ground Handling Services in Croatia.

    “We continuously focus on developing operations through innovation, while trying to provide maximum quality service to our partners, airlines,” said Havas General Manager Mete Erna. “Approximately 30 airlines regularly operate to Zagreb, and it is the main airport of Croatia, a globally known tourism country. By taking over passenger, baggage, and cargo services at Zagreb airport, we will increase the quality of service and continue to invest in ground services, for the benefit of passengers and airlines in Zagreb.”

    Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka’s team was led by Partner Marina Krka.

  • PNSA and Efrim Rosca & Asociatii Advise Bico Industries on Acquisition of Terra Impex Group

    Popovici, Nitu, Stoica & Asociatii and Efrim, Rosca & Asociatii have advised Bico Industries on its acquisition of the Terra Impex Group. Zlate & Partners reportedly advised the seller, Mihai Vaida.

    According to PNSA, “founded in 2006, Bico Industries is one of the largest fiberglass mesh producers in Eastern Europe and the leading Romanian fiberglass fittings producer.”

    The Terra Impex Group, founded in 2010, is producing fiberglass products for construction in EU countries as well as Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.

    In 2020, PNSA had advised Bico Industries and its majority shareholder Mihai Birliba on the acquisition of a 30% stake in Bico by Roca Investments (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 6, 2020).

    PNSA’s team was led by Partner Silviu Stoica along with Managing Associate Vlad Ambrozie.

    Efrim, Rosca & Asociatii’s team included Partners Oleg Efrim and Vladislav Rosca and Lawyers Maxim Macovei and Gicu Blosenco.

    Editor’s note: After this article was published, Deloitte Legal’s Reff & Associates told CEE Legal Matters it also advised Bico Industries on the deal. The firm’s team included Partners Georgiana Singurel and Florentina Munteanu, Senior Managing Associate Andrea Grigoras, Senior Associate Mihnea Radu, and Associate Anca Olar.