Category: News

Maravela | Asociatii has assisted Precision for Medicine in connection with Romanian law aspects of its multi-jurisdictional acquisition of contract research organization Argint International. Bird & Bird was lead counsel to Precision for Medicine on the deal. Kinstellar’s advised the sellers on Romanian, Czech, and Hungarian aspects of the deal, working with lead counsel Osborne Clarke.

Precision for Medicine, which is part of the Precision Medicine Group, supports life sciences companies in the use of biomarkers essential to targeting patients more precisely and effectively. With more than 1,450 employees in 25 locations in the US, Canada, and Europe, Precision Medicine Group is active in fields from advanced lab sciences to translational informatics and clinical trial delivery. According to Precision for Medicine’s website, “Precision’s expanded workforce, expertise, and locations will provide direct support and greater geographic reach for its global oncology, rare disease, and cardiovascular clinical trial operations, as well as increased presence and access to investigators and patients throughout the central and southeastern European regions.” According to the company, “the acquisition is part of Precision’s global growth plan; Precision’s European footprint now includes offices in Edinburgh, Paris, Berlin, Geneva, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, and Belgrade.”

Argint International is based in Budapest, Hungary. It currently managing studies across 25 countries and more than 600 investigational sites, including several large phase III programs, each involving between 50 and 130 sites. The company has a strong presence in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Serbia.

Commenting on Precision for Medicine’s growth, company President Chad Clark remarked, “Argint International is an ideal fit with Precision for Medicine. Their commitment to quality and client service, proven over more than a decade of delivering for leading biotechnology companies, is perfectly aligned with Precision’s vision and culture. The addition of the Argint team augments and enhances our European platform, which is critical due to the significant number of customers we have throughout Europe — and also the number of sites and patients seeking novel therapies derived from the benefits of precision medicine.”

“We are thrilled to be joining the Precision for Medicine family,” said Agnes Pinnel, CEO of Argint International. “As part of Precision we join an organization that shares our values, expands our capabilities, and offers growth potential for our people. In particular, we are excited to join with a leader in biomarker-based precision medicine programs, one of the fastest growing and important parts of drug development.”

Maravela | Asociatii Partner Dana Radulescu, who coordinated the firm’s team on the matter, was assisted by Senior Associate Daniel Alexie, Senior Associate Irina Radu, and Associate Magda Grigore. Employment aspects were coordinated by Partner Alexandra Rimbu.

Editorial Note: After this article was published Bird & Bird informed CEE Legal Matters that its London-based team advising Precision for Medicine was led by Partner Richard Eaton, assisted by Partner Shing Lo, Associates Hannah Fletcher and Sarforaz Hoque, and Trainee Theo Rees-Bidder. Partner Zoe Feller and Associate Andrew Rink advised on tax. Associate Leah Cairney led the due diligence team. The firm’s wider international deal team included Senior Associate Gabor Helembai and Zoltan Tarjan and Junior Associates Karim Laribi in Budapest; Partner Rafal Dziedzic, Associate Artur Stosio, and Junior Associate Izabela Cybulska in Warsaw; Managing Partner Ivan Sagal, Associate Radovan Repa, and Junior Associate Bibiana Mozolov in Bratislava and Prague; Partner Marc Martens and Counsel Nicolas Carbonnelle on regulatory issues in Brussels; and Partner Stefan Muench in Munich.

Bird & Bird also announced that Karanovic & Partners had served as Serbian counsel to Precision for Medicine on the deal. Karanovic & Partners confirmed that its team included Partner Milos Jakovljevic and Senior Associate Milica Filipovic. 

White & Case has advised Piraeus Bank SA on the sale of its 99.98 percent shareholding in Piraeus Bank Bulgaria AD to Eurobank Bulgaria AD. The buyer was reportedly advised by Milbank.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval of the National Bank of Bulgaria and the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund.

Headquartered in Sofia, Piraeus Bank Bulgaria offers products and services to domestic and international clients, including retail, SME, and corporate banking. As of September 30, 2018 it had total assets of EUR 1.7 billion. It operates through 70 banking units and employs more than 900 professionals.

“This transaction represents the final major milestone towards Piraeus Bank’s implementation of its Restructuring Plan commitments, as agreed with the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission,” said London-based White & Case Partner Gavin Weir, who led the firm’s deal team, which also included Associates Edwina Daws and Paul Harrington.

Weir also led the W&C team advising Piraeus Bank on its sale of Piraeus Bank Romania as reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 28, 2017 which closed in June 2018. 

Editor’s Note: After this article was published CEE Legal Matters learned that Boyanov & Co. had provided local assistance to White & Case in advising Piraeus Bank on the sale of its shareholding in Piraeaus Bank Bulgaria AD to Eurobank Bulgaria AD, and then supported the buyer, Eurobank Bulgaria AD, on the issuance of competition clearance and BNB clearance for the Transaction. T he sale closed on June 13, 2019 following an internal assets reorganization of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria AD and several other pre-closing steps. 

Boyanov & Co.’s team was led by Partner Yordan Naydenov and included Partner Peter Petrov, Senior Associate Borislav Notovsky, and Associate Adriana Bakalova.

Clifford Chance has advised Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka, a. s., as mandated lead arranger, facility agent, security agent, and underwriter on the initial finance documentation and in relation to subsequent syndication and transactional closing with Ceska Sporitelna, a.s. and the EBRD on  financing provided to Karlovarske Mineralni Vody’s for its acquisition of PepsiCo’s assets and operations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Kocian Solc Balastik advised KMV on the financing and on the underlying acquisition, and represented KMV in proceedings before the Czech Competition Authority.

The transaction was approved by the Competition Authority on October 30, 2018, and closed and settled on October 31. As a result of the deal, KMV has become the largest distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in Central Europe.

Clifford Chance’s Prague-based team advising COB on Czech and English law aspects of the financing was led by Partner Milos Felgr. English law advice was provided by Clifford Chance Senior Associate Marian Husar, and Czech law aspects of the transaction were executed by Associate Dominik Vojta.

KSB’s team was led by Partner Dagmar Dubecka and included Partner Pavel Dejl and Associates Jan Beres, Jana Guricova, Martin Vrab, and David Linek.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Cechova & Partners announced that it had advised Slovakia Karlovarska Mineralni Vody “on financing, acquisition and merger clearance in Slovakia.” The firm’s team was led by Partners Katarina Cechova, Tomas Maretta, and Lenka Subenikova.

Subsequently, Hungary’s Lakatos, Koves & Partners announced that it had advised Karlovarske Mineralni Vodi  on the acquisition of distribution rights for and all distribution related assets of Pepsi Co products in Hungary. LKT’s team was composed of Partners Ivan Solyom and Richard Lock and Associate Adrienn Mandoki.

Sorainen has assisted tour operator TUI in preparing a franchise agreement with TT Baltics and entering the Baltic market.

TT Baltics launched operations on September 27 and according to Sorainen, “this move is expected to stimulate growth of 20% in the Baltic tourism market.”

According to Sorainen, “travel organized by TUI guarantees the one-stop-shop principle: all travel services, ranging from hotel bookings to logistic destinations, are provided by one company or its partner. The TUI portfolio consists of tour operators, six airline companies with about 150 aircraft, over 380 hotels and 16 cruise ships, offering travel to 48 countries.”

Sorainen’s team included Partners Agris Repss and Kaupo Lepasepp, Counsels Viktorija Jarkina and Vitalija Tamaviciute, Senior Associate Marika Grunte, and Associate Sidas Sokolovas.

Sorainen did not reply to our inquiries on the matter.

CMS and Karatzas & Partners have advised ALPLA, a global provider of plastic packaging, on the acquisition of Argo S.A. Binder Groesswang in Austria and Kyriakides Georgopoulos in Greece advised the the sellers on the deal. The transaction closed on October 1, 2018, after obtaining regulatory and competition approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Argo, which was founded in 1970, is headquartered in Athens, with a subsidiary and an additional production site near Bucharest, Romania. It specializes in packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical and personal care markets.

“Our goal is to build expertise in the pharmaceutical market at our Greek location in the future,” explained ALPLA CEO Gunther Lehner. “We can see potential for growth in this industry and can make use of existing expertise.”

The CMS Vienna team was led by Partner Alexander Rakosi and included Partners Dieter Zandler and Thomas Bohm, Senior Associates Lisa Oberlechner and Ioanna Ovadias, and Associates Linda Marterer and Marie-Christine Lidl. The CMS Romania team was composed of Partner Horea Popescu, Senior Associates Mircea Moraru, Claudia Nagy, and Raluca Ionescu.

Selih & Partners Slovenia has advised food retail chain Mercator on its sale of ten shopping centers in Slovenia to Supernova Invest GmbH. Wolf Theiss advised Supernova on the acquisition of the shopping centers, which offer around 100,000 square meters of rentable area.

Signing of the transaction took place on October 12, 2018, and thedeal value amounts to EUR 116.6 million. According to the contract Supernova will acquire the Ajdovscina, Celje, Jesenice, Koper I, Kranj Primskovo, Kranj Savski otok, Ljubljana Siska, Postojna, Novo Mesto, and Slovenj Gradec shopping centers and invest in their renovation. Mercator will rent parts of the centers where it performs its core activity. The contract provides Mercator with a rental agreement for a period of 15 years, with the possibility of extending the agreement for another 15 years under the same conditions.

According to Wolf Theiss, Mercator, with a market share of more than 30%, is the biggest food retailer in Slovenia. With the proceeds from this sale, the Mercator Group intends to reduce the group’s debt and enable its long-term development.

Supernova, which is headquartered in Graz and maintains offices in Vienna, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Bratislava, and Belgrade, has been focusing on the development of and investment in real estate and its current portfolio exceeds EUR 1 billion in assets.

Selih & Partners’ team was led by Partner Blaz Ogorevc.

The Wolf Theiss team was led by Partner Markus Bruckmuller and involved Ljubljana-based Partner Klara Miletic, Senior Associate Ziga Dolhar, and Associates Petra Jermol, Neja Nastran, Tjasa Lahovnik, and Larisa Primozic.

Motieka & Audzevicius has advised Kesko Senukai on the acquisition of the “1A” e-commerce business in all three Baltic States from SIA MZ Investments, SIA GS, and SIA KP Investments. Kronbergs Cukste Levin advised the sellers on the deal.

The pan-Baltic 1A e-commerce business is a set of online stores that provide construction, household, electronics, interior, garden, leisure goods, and other goods.

The M&A team included Partner Giedrius Kolesnikovas and Associate Rokas Jankus.

The Kronbergs Cukste Levin team was led by Partner Vineta Cukste-Jurjeva and included Senior Associate Normunds Orols and Associate Reinis Papulis.

TGS Baltic and SSW Solutions have advised CVI regarding the unitranche funding in the sum of EUR 5.2 million to Arsenal Industrial.

According to TGS Baltic, the funding is attracted for the further growth of Arsenal Industrial in the Baltic and Polish markets.

Founded in 2014 and based in Riga, Arsenal Industrial is a specialized construction and industrial machinery rental and trading company with branches in Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland. Arsenal Industrial is one of the Flycap AIFP portfolio companies. 

CVI is a non-bank financing enterprise in Poland and CEE. “By becoming the primary debt investor of the company, we aim to help Arsenal Industrial to simplify its administrative processes, and further improve efficiency,” said CVI Managing Director Radoslav Tausinger.

The TGS Baltic team was led by Partner Inese Hazenfusa, supported by Associate Reinis Grunte.   

The SSW Solutions team consisted of Partner Sebastian Ponikowski and Senior Associate Jakub Kozinski.