CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • White & Case Announces Election of 59 New Partners

    Istanbul-based Derin Altan and Ates Turnaoglu, Warsaw-based Marek Sawicki, and Prague-based Jan Stejskal, together with Paris-based Russian lawyer Olga Fedosova, have been appointed Partner at White & Case, as part of its global promotion round.

    Altan is part of the Global Capital Markets practice and has been with the firm since 2008, when he joined as an Associate. He had been a Local Partner since 2015.

    Turnaoglu is part of the firm’s Global Debt Finance Practice. He has been with GKC Partners – the White & Case associated law firm in Turkey – since 2009, when he joined as an Associate. He became a Local Partner in 2019.

    Part of the Global Mergers & Acquisitions practice, Sawicki has been with the firm since December 2017, as a Local Partner. He joined from DLA Piper where he was a Counsel. Prior to that, he was a Counsel with Clifford Chance and an Associate with Baker McKenzie.

    Stejskal, part of the Global Mergers & Acquisitions practice, has been with the firm since 2011, having been promoted to Local Partner in 2018.

    Part of the Global Capital Markets practice, Fedosova has been with the firm since 2019. Before that, she was a Managing Associate with Linklaters, a firm that she first joined as an Associate, in 2003.

    Effective as of January 1, 2022, the five promotions are part of the 59-strong Partner promotion round.

  • Lextal Advises IuteCredit on EUR 75 Million Bond Issuance

    Lextal has advised Estonian financial technology group IuteCredit on its EUR 75 million senior secured corporate bonds issuance. GSK Stockmann reportedly acted as a global advisor on the deal.

    According to Lextal, there was an exempt offering to European institutional investors and a public offer to retail investors in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany. The bonds are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Tallinn Stock Exchange regulated markets.

    “We are humbled and proud because of the trust and credit given to Iute by institutional and retail investors. The proceeds of the issue continue to support Iute in the pursuit of our mission, which is to create an extraordinary experience in the field of personal finance,” IuteCredit CEO Tarmo Sild commented.

    The Lextal team included Estonia-based Partner Kristi Sild and Lawyers Henri Ratnik and Kaisa-Maria Kubpart, Latvia-based Attorney Liene Pommere, as well as Lithuania-based Partner Dziuginta Balciune and Lawyers Ingrida Steponaviciene, Jolanta Borko, and Haroldas Kupstas.

  • NKO Partners, Lovric Novokmet Smrcek, MTG, Glinska & Miskovic, SOG, and Brzozowska & Barwinska Advise on Sale of Emmezeta

    NKO Partners and Lovric Novokmet Smrcek have advised French Conforama on the sale of furniture and appliance company Emmezeta and subsidiary Emma Real Estate to Poland’s Merkury Market. Marohnic, Tomek & Gjoic advised LCN Capital Partners on the sale of a related real estate portfolio. Glinska & Miskovic, Samardzic Oreski & Grbovic, and Brzozowska & Barwinska advised the buyer.

    The real estate portfolio consisted of five Emmezeta retail and warehouse units with a total leasable area of over 75,000 square meters. 

    According to NKO Partners, “the takeover is part of a wider transaction which included the acquisition of the Croatian company Fliba, the manager of the Emmezeta-branded stores in Croatia.”

    Merkury Market specializes in furniture, home equipment, and building materials trading and operates over 60 stores for construction materials and furniture in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. According to SOG, “this transaction allows them to expand their business in Southeast Europe by adding 16 Emmezeta stores in the Serbian and Croatian markets.”

    The NKO Partners’ team was led by Partner Djordje Nikolic.

    The Lovric Novokmet Smrcek team consisted of Partner Mate Lovric and Senior Associates Katarina Simac and Tomislav Tot.

    MTG’s team included Partners Josip Marohnic and Tena Tomek and Attorney-at-Law Ivona Zagajski.

    The Glinska & Miskovic team included Lead Partner Beata Glinska and Senior Associate Emil Cetina.

    The SOG team was led by Partner Milan Samardzic and Senior Associate Milan Novakov.

    Brzozowska & Barwinska’s team included Managing Partner Beata Barwinska-Piotrowska and Lawyer Aleksandra Szymczak.

  • Freshfields and Taylor Wessing Advise on Euro Vital Pharma Group Portfolio Refinancing

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Apera and the super senior banks on the financing of pharmaceutical company Euro Vital Pharma Group. Taylor Wessing has advised the borrower. PRK Partners reportedly advised the lenders on the deal.

    The transaction included term loans, various current accounts, and special loans. The pan-European debt fund Apera, together with Deutsche Bank and Hamburger Sparkasse provided the financing.

    According to Taylor Wessing, the financing has been tailored to support EVP’s further growth plans as well as the refinancing of recent acquisitions in Spain, the UK, and Slovakia. The funding will be used, among others, for the acquisition of the Spain-based Korott Group, operating in the same industry.

    EVP is a private label over-the-counter healthcare provider, offering a range of products and featuring its own research, development, and distribution capabilities.

    The Taylor Wessing team was led by Germany-based Partner Ulf Gosejacob and included Partners Michael Stein, Michael Beyer, and Christopher Peine, and Senior Associate Kian Boehmer, UK-based Partner Martin Yells, Senior Associates Katie Horbury and Kate Bowden, and Associate Jessica Richards-Webb, Slovakia-based Partners Silvia Hlavackova and Juraj Frindrich, and Senior Associate Jana Brezinova, as well as Spain-based Partners Hector Bross and Kai Christian Fischer.

    The Freshfields team was led by Germany-based Partner Michael Josenhans and included Partner Mario Huther, Counsel Nina Heym, Principal Associate Vanessa Steiner, Associates Laura Korndorfer and Matthis Grenzer, Austria-based Lawyer Anouschka Zagorski, UK-based Partner Mandeep Lotay, as well as Spain-based Partner Ana Lopez, and Associates Victoria Bobo and Arturo Dauffi.

     

  • Integrites Successful for Centravis in Antidumping Investigation

    Integrites has successfully represented seamless stainless-steel pipe manufacturer Centravis in a sunset review of antidumping measures against the import of Ukrainian pipes into the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union.

    According to Integrites, the case was initiated by Russian manufacturers of the same product in 2020, due to the expiration of the 2016 antidumping measure imposed on the client’s products and their import to the EEU. “The outcome of the case enables Centravis to continue imports to the territory of the EEU with the lowest possible antidumping duty applied,” the firm announced. The duty will remain in effect until 2026.

    The Integrites team was led by Counsel Yevgen Ivanets and included Counsel Sergiy Lakhno and Junior Associate Ivan Yefimenko.

  • CMS Advises Alpla on Joint Venture with Ecohelp and UPT

    CMS has advised Alpla on forming a EUR 7.5 million joint venture together with Romania’s Ecohelp and Switzerland’s United Polymer Trading. Reportedly, Cabinet Costea advised Ecohelp and Furer Partner Advocaten advised UPT.

    Alpla is an international company active in plastic packaging solutions.

    According to CMS, “the three partner companies are investing equally in the plant, with a combined total of EUR 7.5 million. Importantly, Alpla, Ecohelp, and UPT will all contribute their own special expertise to the joint venture PET Recycling Team Targu Mures and create new jobs at the joint site.” Production is scheduled to start as early as the middle of next year.

    The CMS team was led by Vienna-based Partner Alexander Rakosi and included Vienna-based Partners Dieter Zandler, Attorney Georg Gutfleisch, and Associate Vanessa Horacek and Bucharest-based Managing Partner Horea Popescu, Senior Counsel Mihai Jiganie-Serban, Counsel Claudia Nagy, and Associates Cosmin Cretu and Cristina Ciomos.

  • Allen & Overy Advises EBRD and ADB on USD 105 Million Financing for ENA

    Allen & Overy has advised the EBRD and the Asian Development Bank on a USD 105 million financing for Electric Networks of Armenia.

    According to Allen & Overy, the funding will be used to modernize electricity distribution networks and ensure reliable electricity supply in Armenia, especially in its provinces. The ENA Investment Program started in 2016. Phase 1 was completed in 2020, while Phase 2 aims to reconstruct the distribution network and cable lines, upgrade outdated substation equipment, repair ENA’s facilities, and install new customer connections.

    “Energy efficiency and security rely on strong infrastructure investment. ADB continues to support Armenia in achieving this goal by providing long-term financing for the private sector that is not readily available in the country,” commented the Infrastructure Finance Division Director for Central and West Asia and South Asia of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department, Shantanu Chakraborty. “The project will fund the second phase of ENA’s long-term investment program, which aims to further expand electricity access in Armenia’s provinces.”

    Allen & Overy’s team was led by Warsaw-based Partner Dan Cocker and included Prague-based Senior Associate Jana Marsalkova and Junior Lawyer Tereza Veverkova.

  • Sayenko Kharenko Advises on Second Trans-Oil Tap Issuance

    Sayenko Kharenko has advised joint lead managers and joint bookrunners Citigroup, ING, and Renaissance Capital on the second USD 50 million tap issuance of 8.45% secured notes due 2026 by the Trans-Oil Group.

    The Trans-Oil Group is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding with operating facilities in Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, and Serbia. According to Sayenko Kharenko, the “additional notes will be consolidated with the existing USD 450 million notes that originally were issued in 2021, which will bring the size of the eurobond to a total of USD 500 million.” The firm also advised on Trans-Oil’s original USD 400 million issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 25, 2021) and on its first tap issuance (as reported on August 05, 2021 ).

    Sayenko Kharenko’s team was led by Partner Igor Lozenko and included Associates Oles Trachuk and Vladyslava Mitsai and Junior Associate Oleksandr Motin.

    The firm did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

  • Deloitte Legal Advises Elbrus Capital Fund III on Investment in TransferGo

    Deloitte Legal has advised Elbrus Capital Fund III on its investment into TransferGo during the USD 50 million series C funding round.

    TransferGo is a money transfer service with 3.5 million customers. The Elbrus Capital Funds are private equity funds focused on investments in Russia and the CIS. Black River Ventures is focused on innovative companies at the growth and later stages across the European and US technology space, with a particular interest in Financial Services, Data Analytics/AI, Software/Services, and IoT.

    According to Deloitte, “this latest fundraise, led by Elbrus Capital Fund III and Black River Ventures, follows [a] consistent 80% year-on-year growth for the fintech company since its launch, and brings the total raised to-date for TransferGo to USD 77 million. The round also includes funding from new investor Unlimint, and continued backing from existing investors that include Hard Yaka, VEF, SmartHub, and Milano Investments.” According to the firm, “the funding will be used to help expand TransferGo’s customer base, helping more migrants send and receive money across Europe, and develop its product offering in support of its ambitious goal to grow five times in the next 3-4 years.”

    Deloitte Legal’s team in Lithuania included Partner Tomas Davidonis, Managing Associate Tomas Mieliauskas, and Lawyers Gintare Stoniene, Ieva Bindokaite, Agne Vanagiene, Stela Andriuskaite, Ginte Simkeviciute, Greta Lebednykaite, and Urte Grigaityte. In Russia, the team consisted of Lawyers Nikita Korobeinikov, Ildar Zverev, and Ruslan Makhmudov.

  • CMS Advises Teda-MM and LDS Plast on Sale of Majority Stake to CEECAT Capital

    CMS has advised Teda-MM and LDS Plast on the sale of a majority stake to CEECAT Capital.

    Teda-MM and LDS Plast are manufacturers of thermoformed rigid food packaging in the Balkan region. 

    CEECAT Capital is a private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Turkey.

    CMS’s team was led by Vienna-based Partner Alexander Rakosi and Associate Florian Mayer and Bulgaria-based Co-Managing Partner Gentscho Pavlov, Partner Dimitar Zwiatov, and Senior Associate Ivan Gergov. CMS teams in Luxembourg and the Netherlands also provided support.

    CMS did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

    Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Jordanov, Valkov & Partners advised CEECAT Capital. The firm’s team included Managing Partner Jordan Jordanov and Partners Deyan Savov and Hristo Mihaylov.