Category: News

Sorainen has advised Credit Suisse on matters of Latvian and Lithuanian law related to its EUR 27 million loan to Amber Beverage Group, an international producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages.

According to Sorainen, “the financing will improve the effectiveness of [Amber Beverage Group’s] operations and is the first step towards further ABG expansion.”

Sorainen’s team included Latvia Partner Rudolfs Engelis and Latvia Senior Associate Santa Rubina, as well as Lithuania Senior Associate Agne Sovaite and Associate Liutauras Vasiliauskas.

Schoenherr has advised Kommunalkredit Austria AG, the arranger and original lender, on Czech and Slovak acquisition financing provided to Enery Development for the acquisition of six 21 MW solar power plants in the Czech Republic and two 4 MW solar power plants in the Slovak Republic from Czech fund Green Horizon Renewables. CMS reportedly advised Enery and Badokh reportedly advised Green Horizon Renewables.

Kommunalkredit focuses on energy & environment, social infrastructure, communications & digitalization, natural resources, and transport on the infrastructure market. As a specialized bank it advises, structures, and funds senior debt and mezzanine structures.

Enery Development is an Austrian company investing in renewable energy that is jointly owned by its founders, Richard Koenig and Lukas Nemec, and Austrian renewables company RP Global.

Schoenherr’s team in Prague included Partner Vladimir Cizek, Attorneys Ondrej Havlicek and Jiri Marek, and Associate Tomas Jansa. Its team in Bratislava included Partner Sona Hekelova and Attorney Alexandra Adamcikova, and its team in Vienna was led by Partner Martin Ebner.

Editor’s note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that CMS’ team in Prague included Partners Lukas Janicek and Pavla Kreckova, Ana Radnev, Counsel Patrik Przyhoda, Associates Lukas Vymola, Stepan Havranek, Lukas Reichmann, Lenka Kucerova, and Barbora Sevcikova, and Lawyer Hana Ricankova, and its team in Bratislava included Partner Michal Hutan, Senior Associate Zuzana Nikodemova and Dusan Predny, and Associate Martin Balaz.

CEE Legal Matters also learned that Badokh’s team included Partner Ondrej Hampl and Advocates Tomas Zagar, Ondrej Reiser, and Julia Kasandova.

Schoenherr, in cooperation with BonelliErede, advised Covivio on the acquisition of eight luxury hotels in Europe from Varde Partners, a global alternative investment firm, for EUR 573 million. Varde was reportedly advised by Italian firms Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli and Partners and Ludovici Piccone and Partners.

Covivio is a European real estate operator, and its business is focused on offices, real estate, hotels, and residential properties. According to Schoenherr, “concentrated in the heart of major European cities, its portfolio comprises offices, hotels and housing valued at EUR 24 billion (end of 2019). With this acquisition, eight hotels, mostly five-star, are being added to the Covivio portfolio: Palazzo Naiadi in Rome; Plaza Nice in Nice; New York Palace and New York Residence in Budapest; Carlo IV in Prague; Palazzo Gaddi in Florence; and Grand Hotel Dei Dogi and Hotel Bellini in Venice.”

Schoenherr’s Austrian team included Partner Michael Lagler and Counsel Clemens Rainer. Its Czech team included Partner Martin Kubanek and Attorney Viktor Pakosta, and its Hungarian team included Partner Kinga Hetenyi, Attorneys Laszlo Krupl and Daniel Varga, and Associate Adrian Menczelesz.

Editor’s Note: On September 14, 2020, Schoenherr announced that the deal had closed.

Subsequently, CEE Legal Matters learned that Lakatos, Koves & Partners had advised Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, the lender on the financing of the deal. The firm’s team was led by Partner John Fenemore and included lawyers Balazs Rokob and Viktoria Tamas.

Finally, CEE Legal Matters learned that Kinstellar advised Varde Partners on the deal. The firm’s team was led by Budapest-based Partner Gabor Gelencser and included, among others, Budapest-based Senior Associate Zsuzsa Andreko and Associates Daniel Peter and Laszlo Palocz, and Prague-based Partner Jan Juroska, Counsel Martina Brezinova, Senior Associate Michal Kniz, and Junior Associates Denisa Simanska and Alice Radvanovska.

The Prague and Bratislava offices of Dentons have advised GeoPost / DPDgroup on the acquisition of Czech and Slovak parcel delivery operations of Germany’s Geis logistics group. The Geis group was advised by Rodl & Partner.

Dentons’s team included, in Prague, Partners Jan Prochazka, Tomas Bilek, and Petr Zakoucky, and in Bratislava, Partner Zuzana Simekova, Counsels Petr Slach, Jana Matiskova and Jana Malkova Zelechovska, and Associates Adam Prerovsky, Vojtech Novak, Filip Spina, Andrea Hamorska, Bohuslav Hrdy, Petr Muller, Jan Dulovic, Alen Gondek, Jan Tyls, Aneta Kubinova and David Sutko.

Dentons did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Cobalt has assisted Viessmann with the restructuring of its refrigeration systems business in Latvia.

According to Cobalt, the firm as “assisted Viessmann’s Estonian entity open a new branch that will be engaged in the provision of services relating to refrigeration systems.”

Cobalt’s team included Associates Marija Berdova and Ivo Maskalans.

Cobalt has advised SEB life insurance entities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on a cross-border merger in the Baltics.

According to Cobalt, “as a result of the merger, SEB established a single company headquartered in Latvia with branches in Estonia and Lithuania – SEB Life and Pension Baltic SE.”

Cobalt’s team was led by Latvia-based Partner Sandija Novicka, and its team included, in Latvia, Partners Gatis Flinters and Toms Sulmanis, Senior Associate Kristine Parmalniece, and Associate Diana Zepa; in Estonia, Partner Kristel Raidla-Talur, Managing Associate Monika Koolmeister, Senior Associates Mart Blondal and Heili Haabu, and Associate Peep Vahl; and in Lithuania, Partner Eva Suduiko and Senior Associate Jovita Valatkaite.

Schoenherr and Hugh Owen of Go2Law have advised UNIQA on its acquisition of AXA subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia for a purchase price of around EUR 1 billion. Clifford Chance advised AXA on the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals.

According to Schoenherr, “through this transaction, UNIQA Insurance Group, one of the leading insurance groups in its core markets of Austria and CEE, has acquired life and non-life insurance companies, investment firms, pension funds, and service companies from the AXA Group, a world-leading insurance and asset management group. UNIQA gains five million customers, 2,100 employees, and EUR 800 million in premiums across the three countries, which makes UNIQA the fifth-largest insurance group in CEE.”

Schoenherr’s team included, in Vienna, Partners Alexander Popp, Volker Weiss, Hanno Wollmann, and Peter Feyl, Associate Alexander Gruber, and Attorney Gregor Petric; in Prague, Partner Vladimir Cizek and Attorney Jitka Kadlcikova; in Bratislava, Partner Sona Hekelova; and in Warsaw, Partner Pawl Halwa and Counsel Krzysztof Pawlak.

Clifford Chance’s team included, in Poland, Partners Marcin Bartnicki and Andrzej Stosio, Counsels Tomasz Derda, Nick Fletcher, Marta Bieniada, Krzysztof Hajdamowicz, Tomasz Szymura, and Iwona Terlecka, and Senior Associates Lukasz Maminski and Marta Matynia; in the Czech Republic, Senior Associates Stanislav Holec and Vladimir Rylich; in France, Partner Mathieu Remy and Counsel Pierre-Benoit Pabot du Chatelard; in Belgium, Partner Anastasios Tomtsis and Senior Associate Katharine Missenden; and in the UK Partner Nicholas Mace and Senior Associate Robert Sharpe.

Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect the full team composition of Clifford Chance’s team.

Lawyers from CMS in Ukraine and Poland have joined the firm’s multi-national team advising the EBRD on the acquisition of a stake in Uzbek food retailer Korzinka. Uzbek law firm Leges reportedly advised the EBRD as well, while Dentons advised the sellers.

According to CMS, “as a result of the EBRD’s investment, Korzinka intends to triple its number of stores and double its staff headcount to approximately 10,000 by 2023. EBRD’s USD 40 million investment represents the bank’s first equity investment in Uzbekistan for more than a decade and the first since Uzbekistan opened itself up to foreign investment following a raft of reforms introduced by the government.”

Korzinka branded stores are operated by FE Anglesey Food LLC, which is owned by Singapore-incorporated Anglesey Investments PTE. LTD.

CMS’ international team included Ukraine Managing Partner Graham Conlon and Warsaw-based Associate Jakub Rykowski, and Singapore Managing Partner Toby Grainger, Senior Associate Sam Ng, and Associate Eric Lai.

Dentons’ team was led by Prague, Moscow, and London-based Partner Louis Skyner and London-based Partner Richard Barham.