Category: News

Noerr has advised facility services provider ISS on the divestment of its main subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary to Hungarian facility management company B+N Referencia Zrt. Havel & Partners advised B+N Referencia on the transaction, which remains contingent on regulatory approval.

According to Noerr, “the four subsidiaries represent an annual turnover of EUR 67 million, with approximately 4,000 employees currently working in the four [countries]. The divestments are in line with ISS’s strategy to simplify and focus its business towards key account customers.”

Noerr’s team included Partner Barbara Kusak, Counsel Akos Mates-Lanyi, Senior Associate Martin Tupek, and Associates Michal Janicek, Lucia Luptakova, Barbora Safarikova, Anezka Vecerova, Catalina Oancea, Adam Pichler, and Ildiko Angeli.

Havel & Partners’ team included Partner Jan Koval, Managing Associate Robert Porubsky, and Senior Associate Ivo Skolil.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Romania’s RTPR announced that it also advised B+N Referencia on the deal. The firm’s team was supervised by Partner Mihai Ristici, coordinated by Associate Marina Fecheta-Giurgica, and included Counsel Roxana Ionescu, Associates Ioana Ilie, Andrei Tosa, Cezara Urzica, Petrus Partene, Codrina Simionescu, and Lia Ilie and Junior Associates Raluca Marcu and Iustina Nastasa.

White & Case and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek have advised CTP B.V. on its initial public offering and listing of its shares on Euronext Amsterdam. Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen advised CTP on Romanian legal matters. Clifford Chance’s London, Paris, and Amsterdam offices advised the underwriters on the deal. 

Erste Group Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, and Morgan Stanley Europe S.E. were both joint global coordinators and joint global book-runners, while Van Lanschot Kempen Wealth Management N.V. and UBS AG London Branch were joint book-runners, and ING Bank N.V. and Raiffeisen Bank International AG were joint lead managers. 

White & Case describes the CTP Group as “the largest full-service owner-developer of prime industrial and logistics property in the Central & Eastern Europe region.” According to the firm, “as of December 31, 2020, the group had a property portfolio of 6.342 million square meters of gross lettable area, with an occupancy rate of 94%, a gross asset value of EUR 5.9 billion for its entire property portfolio, and EUR 5.1 billion for its income-producing assets.”

According to the firm, CTP’s IPO raised EUR 854.2 million in gross proceeds, which will help “accelerate its growth strategy by, among other measures, financing its development projects and construction activities, selective property acquisitions and debt repayment.”

Earlier this year, White & Case advised CTP B.V. on a drawdown of EUR 500 million 0.750% green bonds due 2027 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on March 1, 2021). 

White & Case’s team was co-led by London-based Partner Laura Sizemore and Prague-based Local Partner Eva Svobodova and included, in Prague, Partners Petr Panek and Vaclav Kubr and Associates Erik Illmann, Jan Vacula, and Jakub Kopacek, and in London, Partner Inigo Esteve and Associates Bob Lehner and Alex Underwood.

NNDKP’s team was led by Partner Lavinia Ionita.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Karanovic & Partners had advised on Serbian aspects of CTP’s IPO. The firm’s team included Partner Milos Jakovljevic and Senior Associates Ana Lukovic and Sava Draca.

Subsequently, CEE Legal Matters learned that the Romanian office of Clifford Chance had participated on the firm’s multi-jurisdictional team on what it described as “the largest IPO the European real estate industry has seen in almost seven years.” The firm’s team in Bucharest was coordinated by Partner Madalina Rachieru-Postolache.

Akin Gump, Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partneri, Maric & Co, Isailovic & Partners, Harrisons, Zdolsek Attorneys at Law, Boga & Associates, Popovski & Partners, and Forgo Damjanovic & Partners have advised Croatian conglomerate Fortenova Grupa d.d., on the EUR 615 million sale of its frozen food business to Nomad Foods. Norton Rose Fulbright, Lakatos, Koves & Partners, and five firms from the SEE Legal alliance advised Nomad Foods on the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

SEE Legal member firms working on the deal included BDK Advokati in Serbia and Montenegro, Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka in Croatia, Selih & Partnerji in Slovenia, Kalo & Associates in Kosovo, and the Polenak Law Firm in North Macedonia.

According to Akin Gump, “brands in the Fortenova Group’s frozen food business include Ledo, Ledo Citluk, and Frikom, household names in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and other countries in southeastern Europe. The Frozen Food Business Group is the market leader in these regions, where it operates across numerous categories, including fish, fruits, vegetables, ready meals, pastries, and ice cream.”

Akin Gump’s team was led by London- and Moscow-based Partner Sebastian Rice and included London-based Partner Jasper Helder, Senior Counsel Tony Barnes, Counsels Rebecca Carwood Barron, Scott Pettifor, and Matthew Durward-Thomas, Associate Alla Barford, and Trainee Lidia Grasu.

Maric & Co’s team included Senior Partner Branko Maric, Partners Bojana Bosnjak-London, Anisa Tomic, Ezmana Turkovic, and Dzana Smailagic-Hromic, and Attorneys Slaven Dizdar and Arijana Hadziahmetović-Softic.

Harrisons’ team was led by Consultant Ines Matijevic-Papulin and Senior Associate Milan Keker and included Associates Aleksandra Bujkovic and Aleksandar Jovicevic.

Zdolsek’s team included Attorneys Katja Zdolsek and Barbara Kozlevcar Kuhar.

The Popovski & Partners team included Managing Partner Tatjana Popovski Buloski, Partner Ognen Martinov, and Senior Associates Angela Milanovska and Anastazija Anastasovska Kostovska.

Forgo Damjanovic & Partners’ team included Partners Zsofia Fuzi and Gabor Damjanovic and Associate Reka Bali.

BDK Advokati’s team included Senior Partner Vladimir Dasic, Partners Bogdan Ivanisevic and Luka Popovic, Counsel Bisera Andrijasevic, Attorneys Mladen Vujic, Jelena Brajkovic, and Djordje Zejak, Senior Associate Dijana Pejic Sinik, Associate Jelena Zelenbaba, and Junior Associates Tijana Martinovic, Luka Radojevic, and Anja Gligorevic.

Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka’s team included Senior Partners Damir Topic and Mario Krka, Senior Attorney Jasna Belcic, Attorneys Dina Salapic, Olena Manuilenko, Iva Crnogorac, and Emil Cetina, and Associates Sanja Novoselic and Iva Vukoja.

Polenak team included Partners Tatjana Shishkovska and Metodija Velkov, Senior Associates Anastazija Sazdovska and Natasa Popova Alebic, Associates Ana Petrovska Belopeta, Iva Djugumanova, Ivana Slaveska, and Simona Shekerova, and Junior Associates Tiana Dermedzieva and Filip Simjanovski.

The Selih & Partnerji team included Partner Jera Majzelj and Senior Associates Spela Remec, Azbe Tusar, Sanda Planinc, and Lidija Zupancic 

The Lakatos, Koves & Partners team included Partner Ivan Solyom and Lawyer Gyorgy Toth.

Editor’s note: In October 2021, DTB and BDK announced that the deal had obtained all relevant regulatory approvals and was completed. 

DTB’s updated team composition included Senior Partner Damir Topic, Senior Attorney Jasna Belcic, Attorneys Dina Salapic and Iva Olujic, and Associates Sanja Novoselic and Antonia Mihaljevic.

Schoenherr and PRK Partners have advised B&B Hotels on the sale of properties in Hungary and the Czech Republic to Primonial REIM. Clifford Chance and Szecsenyi & Partners advised the buyers on the deal, which included a leaseback by B&B Hotels.

B&B Hotels is a budget hotel chain that was established in 1990 and operates more than 300 hotels across Europe and Brazil. Primonial REIM manages a real estate portfolio in several European countries consisting of offices, healthcare and educational buildings, shops, residential buildings, and hotels.

The Schoenherr team assisting B&B Hotels on the Hungarian part of the deal was led by Head of Real Estate Laszlo Krupl and included Counsel Daniel Gera and Associate Adrian Menczelesz.

The PRK Partners team advising B&B Hotels on the Czech part of the deal was led by Partner Roman Pecenka and included Senior Associate Kristyna Faltynkova and Tax Advisor Martin Svalbach.

Clifford Chance’s Prague-based team coordinating the deal on behalf of Primonial REIM was led by Partner Emil Holub and included Counsel Aneta Disman, who worked on the Hungarian asset, and Counsel Milan Rakosnik, who worked on the Czech asset.

The Szecsenyi & Partners team working with Clifford Chance on the Hungarian part of the deal was led by Partner Daniel Kellner.

ODI Law has advised MSIN Group on the acquisition by member company EGP of a 75.11% stake in Croatia-based cardboard packaging manufacturer Neograf from Croatian entrepreneur Dusan Boras. The Law Office Mucalo advised Boras.

Financial details were not disclosed.

MSIN is a Slovenian private equity group invested in various industries (including printing & packaging, security printing & license plate production, sealant production, metal construction, painting equipment, and mining and quarrying).

The ODI team was led by Partner Branko Ilic and Primoz Mikolic.

The Law Office Mucalo team included Owner Igor Mucalo and Attorney at Law Kruno Kolak.

Sorainen and Greenberg Traurig have advised Allianz SE on its acquisition of life and non-life insurance operations and the pension and asset management business in Poland and Lithuania — including Lithuanian subsidiary Aviva Lithuania — from the Aviva Group. The Aviva Poland business also includes Aviva’s 51% shareholding in life and general insurance joint ventures with Santander: Santander-Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen Na Zycie S.A. and Santander-Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen S.A. Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr, working with lead counsel Slaughter and May, advised Aviva on the deal in Poland, and Cobalt advised Aviva on Lithuanian aspects. Rymarz Zdort advised Santander.

The transaction, which remains subject to required regulatory approvals, is expected to complete within the next twelve months, and is valued at EUR 2.7 billion.

Sorainen’s team in Lithuania was led by Senior Associates Agne Sovaite and Inga Macijauskaite and Partners Tomas Kontautas and Mantas Petkevicius and included Senior Associates Indre Peledaite, Aurelija Daubaraite, Monika Malisauskaite-Vaupsiene and associate Simona Vaicekauskaite.

Slaughter and May’s team included Corporate Partners Claire Jackson, Richard Smith, and Nick Pacheco, Tax Partner William Watson, IP/IT Partner Rob Sumroy, and Competition Partner Anna Lyle-Smythe, as well as Associates Chris Tolley, Olivia Hosker, Charles Osborne, Nicola Dinan, Oliver Howley, Ben Allen, and Kadambari Chinoy, and Trainees Yan Lai, Elizabeth Oladunni, and Sophia Russell.

WKB’s team included Partners Jakub Jedrzejak, Jakub Pokrzywniak, Marcin Smolarek, Ben Davey, and Aleksander Stawicki, Counsels Agata Szczepanczyk-Piwek and Krzysztof Wawrzyniak, Senior Associates Tomasz Maslak, Aleksandra Przybysz, Monika Obieglo, and Wojciech Kulczyk, and Associates Katarzyna Stefaniak, Konrad Kropiwnicki, and Sebastian Lys.

Greenberg Traurig’s team included Senior Partner Lejb Fogelman, Partners Stephen Horvath, Lukasz Pawlak, and Robert Gago, Local Partners Maciej Pietrzak, Michal Bobrzynski, Anna Halas‑Krawczyk, and Maciej Kacymirow, Senior Associates Ewa Tabor, Anna Celejewska-Rajchert, Magdalena Medynska, Anna Wisniewska, Marek Kleczek, Agnieszka Stopinska, Magdalena Bachleda-Ksiedzularz, and Associates Filip Drgas, Marta Kownacka, Angelika Makar, Julia Gontarska, Aleksandra Staromiejska, and Adam Andula, and London-based Partner Graham Iversen and Associate Kathryn Jones.

Cobalt’s team in Vilnius included Partners Juozas Rimas and Akvile Bosaite, Managing Associate Deimante Pagiriene, and Senior Associate Inga Mazvilaite.

Rymarz Zdort’s team included Partners Lukasz Gasinski and Jacek Zawadzki and Associates Marzena Iskierka and Aleksander Jakubisiak.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Hogan Lovells informed CEE Legal Matters that it had advised the Aviva Group on the deal. The firm’s team consisted of Warsaw Office Managing Partner Beata Balas-Noszczyk, Counsels Tomasz Grygorczuk and Bartosz Romanowski, and Senior Associate Maryla Surowiec.

In August 2021 Greenberg Traurig informed CEE Legal Matters that it had advised the Allianz Group on obtaining the European Commission’s merger control clearance for the acquisition. The firm’s team was led by Partner Robert Gago and included Senior Associates Ewa Tabor and Anna Celejewska-Rajchert and Associates Filip Drgas and Marta Kownacka.

In November 2021, Greenberg Traurig announced that the deal had closed successfully and provided additional details as to the firm’s team composition. Further team members included also Of Counsel Adam Opalski, Senior Associates Natalia Wolkowycka and Joanna Kuc, and Associates Agata Izyk, Maciej Jablonski, Dawid Malinowski, Michal Baldowski, and Marta Poplawska.

Turunc, working with JPP Law, has advised Turkish/British digital employee-experience platform Sorwe on financing it received from Estonia-based Startup Wise Guys and Turkey-based TechOne. BTS Partners advised TechOne on the deal.

According to Turunc, Sorwe is a SaaS platform that gathers all strategic-people-management and company-specific intranet applications for a better employee experience and real-time people analytics. It is valued at USD 3.2 million.

Turunc’s team included Partner Kerem Turunc and Associate Yasemin Kerestecioglu.

The BTS Partners team was led by Partner Okan Arican and included Associate Yeseren Sozuer.

Schoenherr has advised the Liechtenstein Group on an unspecified investment in PV-Invest, a renewable energy company active in Austria and Southern and Southeastern Europe.

The Liechtenstein Group, which is owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, manages a portfolio of companies operating in the agribusiness and food, forestry, renewable energy, and real estate sectors.

PV-Invest is a producer of electricity from photovoltaic and small hydropower plants. Its subsidiaries in Austria and Southern and Southeastern Europe currently operate a 54 megawatt portfolio.

According to Schoenherr, “the equity investment is intended to enable PV-Invest to accelerate its expansion in the currently rapidly growing market for the construction and operation of photovoltaic power plants.” According to the firm, he deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

Schoenherr’s team included, in Austria, Partners Alexander Popp, Constantin Benes, Franz Urlesberger, and Bernd Rajal, Counsel Teresa Waidmann, Attorney-at-Law Alfred Amann, and Associates Anna Diensthuber, Irina Hanin, Tobias Hayden, Philipp Staudigl, Anna Visontai, and Nina Zafoschnig; in Slovenia, Partners Marko Frantar and Vid Kobe and Associate Lea Avsenik; in Serbia, Partner Milos Lakovic and Associate Andrea Lazarevska; and in Bulgaria, Partner Stefana Tsekova and Attorneys-at-Law Silvia Ribanchova and Dimitar Vlaevsky. The firm did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.

Cobalt has advised private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners on the acquisition of the Creditinfo Group in partnership with Creditinfo’s founder and management team.

Established in 1997 and headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions. Creditinfo facilitates access to finance through intelligent information, software, and decision analytics solutions.

Cobalt’s team included, in Estonia, Partners Martin Simovart and Karina Paatsi, Senior Associate liina Saaremets, and Associates Stella Raudsepp and Kerli Paasoja; in Latvia, Partner Guntars Zile, Senior Associate Elina Locmele, and Associate Vadims Zvicevics; and in Lithuania, Partner Juozas Rimas and Managing Associate Deimante Pagiriene.

Cobalt did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Kinstellar has helped the Business Lease Group B.V. and its CEE subsidiaries obtain a EUR 242 million refinancing loan in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia from a syndicate of ABN Amro Bank N.V., ING Bank N.V., and Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A. Clifford Chance reportedly advised the lenders.

According to Kinstellar, “the refinancing loan, which was granted based on a multi-currency term and revolving facilities agreement, will be used for company operations.”

Business Lease Group B.V., a part of the AutoBinck Group, is a provider of operational leasing, car fleet management, and smart mobility consulting, among other services.

Kinstellar’s team included Prague-based Counsel Martina Brezinova and Junior Associate Igor Sebo; Budapest-based Of Counsel Dalma Ordogh and Junior Associate Veronika Heiszer; Bucharest-based Partner Zsuzsa Csiki, Senior Associate Smaranda Vacaru, and Associate Razvan Constantinescu; and Bratislava-based Managing Associate Tomas Melisek and Associate Dasa Labasova.