Category: News

Rymarz Zdort and Sayenko Kharenko have advised Poland’s PGNiG on the acquisition of a controlling stake in Ukrainian Karpatgazvydobuvannya from Energy Resources of Ukraine Management Services.

According to Rymarz Zdort, Karpatgazvydobuvannya is the sole owner of the Byblivska license, which covers an area located in Western Ukraine near the border with Poland. The company also holds a hydrocarbon exploration and production license covering an area in the western part of the Lviv region.

PGNiG operates in the Polish natural gas market. With equity interests in 30 subsidiaries, PGNiG is active in the area of production of natural gas and crude oil, as well as import, storage, sale, and distribution of gas and liquid fuels, and heat and electricity generation.

ERU is a foreign investment-backed group of companies specializing in the implementation of projects in the Ukrainian energy industry, operating since 2014.

The Rymarz Zdort team included Partners Marek Durski and Iwona Her, Counsel Jakub Krzemien, Senior Associates Lukasz Lech and Antonina Falandysz-Ziecik, and Associate Andrzej Granat.

Sayenko Kharenko’s team consisted of Partners Nazar Chernyavsky, Maksym Nazarenko, and Sergiy Smirnov, Counsels Maryna Hritsyshyna, Ario Dehghani, Zlata Simonenko, Oleksiy Koltok, and Iryna Bakina, Senior Associates Natalia Hutarevych, Mykhailo Grynyshyn, Igor Pomaz, Kateryna Utiralova, and Sergey Protyven, as well as Associates Zarina Khalimon, Kateryna Mytsykova, Yuliia Brusko, and Zhanna Zayets.

Moskwa, Jarmul, Haladyj i Partnerzy has advised Lagardere Travel Retail on its acquisition of the companies operating coffee shops under the Costa Coffee brand in Poland and Latvia from Costa Coffee.

Costa Coffee was founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, in 1971. It now operates in 41 countries worldwide and has over 2,700 coffee shops in the UK and 1,100 in other countries.

Lagardere Travel Retail manages 4,800 stores across three business lines – travel essentials, duty-free & fashion, and foodservice – specifically in airports and railroad stations in nearly forty countries.

The MJH team included Partners Pawel Moskwa, Jan Jarmul, and Lukasz Blazejczyk.

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

Walless has advised Lithuanian-UK private healthcare provider Northway on its acquisition of Latvian fertility and reproductive health clinic Your Doctors. Reihmanis & Partners reportedly advised the seller.

Northway is a private medical institution controlled by the UK-based company Northway Holdings Limited, providing medical, surgical, and rehabilitation services in Lithuania and the United Kingdom.

Your Doctors is a private clinic that has been operating in the field of reproductive health and infertility treatment for 15 years and holds an FDA quality certificate in the Baltic States.

The Walless team was lead by Partners Dovile Burgiene and Sintija Radionova and included Latvia-based Senior Associates Andis Ozolins, Laura Tumina, and Kristine Sakarne and Legal Assistant Krists Karins, as well as Lithuania-based Senior Associates Guoda Sileikyte and Domas Sileika.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Reihmanis & Partners confirmed its involvement in the deal. The firm’s team included Partners Velga Celmina and Karlis Reihmanis.

Dentons has advised SPI International shareholders Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel on the sale of a 70% stake in the company to Canal+. Rymarz Zdort advised the buyer.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval. According to SPI, as a result of the deal, “SPI’s current owners Loni Farhi and Berk Uziyel will continue to manage and develop SPI’s business with the support of their executive committee, while the parties will be able to generate reciprocal synergies to further strengthen the two groups’ presence in the international markets.”

SPI International is a global media company operating 42 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and a player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide. Founded 28 years ago, the company operates multiple free-to-air and pay-TV channels in the CEE, Western Europe, and CIS regions including key European markets such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, the Netherlands, and Russia. It also owns a suite of legacy brands such as FilmBox, Film1, Kino Polska, Stopklatka, Dizi along with different thematic channels and streaming services. Canal+ is a world pay-TV operator and major player in free-to-air television in France. Its international footprint includes 40 countries in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

“The acquisition of SPI International is part of the strategy we have been implementing for several years,” commented Canal+ Group CEO Maxime Saada. “Canal+ currently has 22 million subscribers in over 40 countries, including 15 in Europe. We have set ourselves the goal of reaching a minimum of 30 million subscribers by 2025, and SPI International will certainly be a key asset in achieving this ambition.”

The Dentons team included Budapest-based Partner Rob Irving and Associates Kamran Pirani and Sebastian Ishiguro, Warsaw-based Partners Jakub Celinski and Karol Laskowski, Managing Counsel Arkadiusz Wierzbicki, and Senior Associates Tomasz Kordala and Agata Sokolowska, and Amsterdam-based Partner Kuif Klein Wassink and Associate Nick de Rooij.

The Rymarz Zdort team was led by Partner Marek Maciag with the assistance of Associate Monika Michalowska. It included Partners Monika Kierepa and Iwona Her, Counsel Marek Kanczew, Senior Associate Antonina Falandysz-Ziecik, and Associates Hubert Bracichowicz, Aleksandra Pietrzak, Piotr Krolinski, and Karolina Chudy.

CMS and Sorainen have advised the Greco Group on its acquisition of MAI CEE Insurance Brokers.

The Greco Group is an insurance broker operating in 16 countries. MAI CEE Insurance Brokers is a risk, insurance, and employee benefits consultant in the CEE region.

CMS’s team included Partners Mateusz Stepien, Slawomir Czerwinski, and Graham Conlon, Senior Associate Antoni Wandzilak, and Lawyers Natalia Szurnicka and Magdalena Mentrak, with further support from CMS teams in the Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Russia, Oman, and the UAE.

Sorainen’s team included Partners Sergej Butov, Piret Jesse, Eva Berlaus, Asta Augutyte-Rapkeviciene, and Kestutis Svirinas, Counsels Janis Bite, Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Jurgita Karvele, Kazimieras Karpickis, and Stasys Drazdauskas, Senior Associates Vaiva Masidlauskiene, Triin Ploomipuu, Mirjam Vichmann, Zanda Frisfelde, Linda Reneslace, Aukse Trapnauskaite, Vitalija Impoleviciene, Svetlana Rudaja, and Julija Kirkiliene, Associates Laura Matuizaite, Liisa Maria Kuuskmaa, Marcus Niin, Andra Grunberg, Maris Simulis, Agneta Rumpa, Liva Aleksejeva, Goda Drasute, Juliana Pavilovska, Gabriele Raizyte, Sidas Sokolovas, Sandra Aleksandraviciene, Erikas Linkevicius, Barbora Bernatonyte, and Simonas Slitas, and Assistant Lawyer Eva Lennuk.

CMS could not provide additional information on the deal.

Sorainen, working with Herbert Smith Freehills, has advised Certares on its EUR 300 million structured equity investment into the Avia Solutions Group. Magnusson, working with White & Case and Cyprus-based Antis Triantafyllides & Sons, advised ASG on the deal.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of 2021.

Certares is a US-based investor dedicated to the travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors.

According to Magnusson, ASG “is a leading aerospace services group with almost 100 offices and production facilities worldwide. ASG employs over 7,000 highly skilled professionals, serving more than 2,000 clients throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia.”

According to Sorainen, “the investment will help enable the next phase of ASG’s growth plan for services in passenger and cargo aviation, maintenance and engineering, crew training, ground handling, and logistics. The partnership with Certares will provide access to Certares’s complementary expertise and industry network as well as add new members to the ASG Board, which will further strengthen the governance of the organization.”

Sorainen’s team included Partners Sergej Butov and Piret Jesse, Counsel Janis Bite, Senior Associates Vaiva Masidlauskiene and Triin Ploomipuu, and Associate Laura Matuizaite.

Magnusson’s team included Partners Anders Backman and Matiss Rostoks, Senior Counsel Toomas Malberg, Senior Associate Arturs Sevcuks, Associates Aleksandra Szabat, Linda Merileid Tilk, Ketlin Peterson, and Annika Veisson, and Compliance Officer Lev Goffert.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Integrites announced that it had advised the Avia Solutions Group on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Illya Tkachuk, Senior Associate Inna Kostrytska, Associates Yulia Bleshmudt and Yaroslav Pylypets, and Paralegal Olha Bolotina.

Sorainen has advised JAS Worldwide on its acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services International from the Greencarrier Group.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval. Financial details were not disclosed.

JAS Worldwide is a US-based global freight forwarding services provider.

Greencarrier Freight Services International is described by Sorainen as “the freight forwarding, logistics, and supply chain management division of the Greencarrier Group.” The company is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, and it employs around 800 people in 11 countries.

“Through the acquisition of Greencarrier Freight Services, JAS is making a strategic acquisition to add to its position in the Nordic, Baltic, and Eastern European regions and strengthen existing operations in the UK and China,” commented Marco Rebuffi, CEO of JAS Worldwide.

Sorainen’s team included Lithuania-based Partner Sergej Butov, Counsel Stasys Drazdauskas, Senior Associates Simona Stanciukaite, Vaiva Masidlauskiene, and Aurelija Daubaraite, Associates Simonas Slitas and Laura Matuizaite, and Assistant Lawyer Goda Jakubauskaite; Latvia-based Partner Eva Berlaus, Senior Associates Natalija Sestakova and Zanda Frisfelde, and Associate Maris Simulis; and Estonia-based Partner Piret Jesse, Counsel Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Senior Associates Robin Teever and Mirjam Vichmann, Associates Liisa Maria Kuuskmaa, Kadri Puu, and Mirjam Metsik, and Assistant Lawyer Katrina Kulm.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiry about the deal.

Havel & Partners has advised Arbol Capital on the acquisition of the remaining 50% of shares in Kovaco Electric. MCL advised Kovaco on the deal.

Kovaco is a Slovakian manufacturer of fully electric skid-steer and remotely controlled loaders. Following the acquisition, Arbol now holds 100% of the shares in Kovaco.

Havel & Partners’ team included Partner Vaclav Audes, Senior Associate Veronika Filipova, and Paralegal Filio Pavlik.

Paksoy, working with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, has advised KPS Capital Partners on the acquisition of 80% of Crown Holdings’ EMEA food, aerosol, and promotional packaging business for EUR 2.5 billion. Also advising KPS Capital were Stibbe in the Netherlands, Gide Loyrette Nouel in Morroco, Cautrecasas in Spain and Portugal, Gleiss Lutz in Germany, Chiomenti in Italy, and Zepos & Yannopoulos in Greece. Dechert has advised Crown Holdings, with Bernitsas Law in Greece, Bennani & Associes in Morroco, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in the Netherlands, ENSafrica in Ghana, Garrigues in Spain and Portugal, Homburger in Switzerland, Lexel Juridique & Fiscal in Madagascar, Cellere Gangemi in Italy, Soltysinski, Kawecki & Szlezak in Poland, Kinstellar in Hungary, and Herguner Bilgen Ozeke in Turkey.

KPS Capital Partners is a private equity firm managing the KPS Special Situations Funds with over USD 12.3 billion of assets under management. Crown Holdings is a supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies.

According to Paksoy, the European Tinplate business comprises 44 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Paksoy’s team included Partner Elvan Aziz and Associate Simge Sengun

Bernitsas Law’s team was led by Partners Lambros Belessis and Evi Kitsou and included Counsel Fotodotis Malamas, and Senior Associates Maria Kloni and Christina Zakopoulou.

SK&S’s team included Partner Robert Gawalkiewicz, Senior Counsel Anna Kratiuk, Senior Associates Michal Dawidowicz, Filip Sodulski, Bartlomiej Debski, and Tomasz Duchniak, and Associates Piotr Srebro, Aneta Bak, and Malgorzata Krok.

Kinstellar’s team included Partner Gabor Gelencser, Senior Associate Marcell Horvath, and Junior Associate Judit Sos.

Dentons has advised Ciklum on its acquisition of Czech-based software development company CN Group from Genesis Capital. Havel & Partners advised Genesis Capital on the deal.

Financial details were not disclosed.

Ciklum is a product engineering and digital services company headquartered in the UK.

The CN Group is a nearshore agile software developer with engineering teams in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania and five nearshore delivery locations in central Europe. It focuses on software engineering, IT consulting, and mechanical design engineering, serving customers across more than seven markets.

Dentons’ team was led by Partners Petr Zakoucky and Adam Mycyk and Associate Vojtech Novak and included Prague-based Associates Michael Mracek, Anna Urbanova, Petr Muller, Radek Novak, Jan Sedlak, Justina Bodlakova, Jan Tyls, Michal Pelikan, Tomas Jonas, Tomas Syrovy, and Barbora Obracajova, Bratislava-based Counsel Linda Mendelova, Associates Jan Dulovic and Sona Kurillova, and Paralegal Michal Distler, and Bucharest-based Partner Claudiu Munteanu Jipescu, Counsels Argentina Rafail and Cristina Marcu, and Senior Associate Luiza Onofrei.

Havel & Partners’ team included Partner Vaclav Audes, Senior Associate Veronika Filipova, and Junior Associate Filip Pavlik.