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Aequo has advised the EBRD on a diagnostic assessment and restructuring of the Deposit Guarantee Fund (the “DGF”), a Ukrainian bank resolution agency. The firm assessed the DGF’s capabilities and bank resolution procedures from a legal perspective and prepared recommendations on the improvement of the existing regulatory framework to bring it in line with best European and US practices.

According to a statement released by Aequo, “the suggested amendments are supposed to strengthen the Ukrainian deposit insurance system and enable the DGF to efficiently handle the challenges caused by financial crisis and economic downturn in Ukraine, as well as and numerous bank failures. A substantial part of the recommendations proposed within the course of the project has already been reflected in the new version of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Household Deposit Guarantee System’, which was enacted by the Ukrainian Parliament in July 2015.

Aequo acted as a member of consortium of advisors consisting of the Lazard Freres independent financial advisory and asset management firm and Investment Capital Ukraine, all working in close cooperation with international donors and international financial organizations such as the EBRD, the US Treasury, and the World Bank.

The firm’s team was led by Partner Yulia Kyrpa, and included Senior Associates Denys Kulgavyi and Maryna Fedorenko.

Kinstellar has advised ECE European City Estates on the successfully completed acquisition of buildings in Prague, Olomouc, and Liberec, in the Czech Republic, from the Terranova group. The buildings are located along high streets and their main tenant remains the Italian fashion brand Terranova.

Kinstellar reports that it is “an on-going advisor to ECE European City Estates in connection with the building-up of a portfolio of retail and office premises in prime locations in the Czech Republic, mainly in the centre of Prague.”

Kinstellar did not reply to an inquiry for more information, including the identity of the firm representing Terranova on the deal.

Image Source: Northfoto / Shutterstock.com

Clifford Chance has advised CACEIS Bank Deutschland GmbH on the sale of an office building on Brehmstrasse, in Vienna, as part of the liquidation of CACEIS Bank Deutschland’s “Morgan Stanley P2 Value” fund, with Brand Rechtsanwalte advising on Austrian law matters. The office building is the last property still held by the fund. The buyer — the Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate GmbH property investment management company, in Hamburg —  was advised by Lawentus, with Bock Fuchs Nonhoff Rechtsanwalte advising on Austrian law matters.  

The property was built in 2002, extended in 2005 and now offers around 14,000 square metres of lettable space over eight floors. It also provides around 150 parking spaces. The main tenant is the Austrian Ministry of Finance, which uses the building for the offices of the Austrian customs service. Two of the other tenants are laboratories for materials and food analysis.

The Frankfurt-based Clifford Chance team was led by Partner Christine Koziczinski, supported by Partners Christian Keilich and Thorsten Sauerhering, Counsel Henning Aufderhaar, Senior Associates Afroditi Gorgen and Dominik Engl. The Brand Rechtsanwalte team was led by Partner Birgit Harasser.

The Lawentus team advising Warburg-HIH was led by Partner Steffen Leicht, with Partner Johannes Fuchs leading the Bock Fuchs Nonhoff Rechtsanwalte team advising on Austrian law.  

Gessel has advised funds from Resource Partners on a majority buyout of shares from a group of former and current employees of Poland’s Golpasz S.A. industrial feed manufacturer and supplier. Golpasz was advised by DJBW.

Resource Partners, together with the Golpasz management board (which remains a significant shareholder), will use the injection to increase production and expand geographically. 

The Gessel team was led by Managing Associate Maciej Kozuchowski, supported by Turko Carolina.

The DJBW team was led by Partner Ludomir Biedecki.

On July 8, 2015, CEE Legal Matters reported that Clifford Chance announced that it would be exiting the Ukrainian market (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on July 8, 2015), and that its Kyiv office would operate going forward as an independent law firm – Redcliffe Partners.

 

Yesterday we reported that the change had been completed, and that Olexiy Soshenko – the former head of finance at Clifford Chance Kyiv – had taken over as Managing Partner. The firm’s leadership also includes Partner Dmytro Fedoruk – former head of M&A at Clifford Chance Kyiv – and new additions Rob Shantz and Sergiy Gryshko.

CEE Legal Matters talked to Olexiy Soshenko and Dmytro Fedoruk about the change and about their plans for the future. 

D.F.: The Ukrainian market is unique – never more obviously so than at the moment. The conditions on the ground are truly better suited for an independent and flexible firm. Clifford Chance looks to focus on its global strategic priorities whilst operating in Ukraine through Redcliffe Partners. 

O.S.: I think it will allow us to respond to market realities more swiftly. For example, we are very excited to launch a dispute resolution and international arbitration practice. 

O.S.: Dispute resolution is seldom perceived as a strength and core practice for global law firms, whose overall focus is on big-ticket deals and transactions

D.F.: It’s probably worth pointing out that international firms in general have historically avoided litigation/disputes practices in Ukraine, which tend to be a lot more local-centric. It is only a new trend that some of them are turning their attention towards building such practices. 

D.F.: Setting up the right team is the critical first step and we’ve made several key hires to support it. 

As mentioned before, Redcliffe now offers a dedicated Dispute Resolution practice group, led by Sergiy Gryshko, who has recently joined Redcliffe’s team as a Partner. Sergiy joins from CMS Cameron McKenna and has 13 years of experience in Dispute Resolution.

In addition to Sergiy Gryshko, Rob Shantz, a U.S. attorney with more than 27 years of experience – including approximately 19 years in Central and Eastern Europe – is also joining Redcliffe as a Partner and the Head of the Corporate Practice. Rob most recently was the Head of the Legal Practice at PwC Ukraine, and, prior to that, was a tax and legal partner with KPMG Ukraine.  Before relocating to the CEE region, Rob practiced for several years with corporate law firms in the U.S. 

Zoryana Sozanska-Matviychuk is joining as a Counsel and will specialize in M&A and private equity. Zoryana has more than 10 years of experience with leading international law firms in Ukraine and abroad and has advised on many complex M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions, primarily during her time with the Kyiv, Sydney, and London offices of Baker & McKenzie. 

Dmytro Orendarets, admitted in both Ukraine and New York, was promoted to Counsel. Dmytro worked for more than 7 years in the Kyiv, London, and New York offices of Clifford Chance, where he specialized in banking & finance and debt restructuring.

D.F.: We have just recently finalized all the details, and as I mentioned, Clifford Chance is still keen to work in the Ukrainian market while benefiting from the flexibility of a local independent firm on the ground. We’ve set up a ‘best friends’ arrangement and we’ll continue to cooperate on that basis going forward.

D.F.: No, it won’t be an exclusive one since both sides will benefit from the flexibility that a non-exclusive arrangement offers but there is a strong desire from both Clifford Chance and us to work together as much as possible, especially on big-ticket M&A and corporate projects we’ve been working on to date. 

O.S.: Indeed, what I think plays a big part for us is to see the support that is voiced and demonstrated by the Clifford Chance global team, with Jared Grubb [who will be relocating within the Clifford Chance network during 2016] and other Partners being truly supportive in this transition.

D.F.: That support is reflected in a number of ways but one good example of it is that our lawyers will still benefit from the international know-how exchange and will continue to participate in the Clifford Chance Academy to strengthen the links between the two firms as well as ensure that we will keep to the same standard of service clients expect from us.

D.F.: There’s a great deal of work that goes into a transition like this, yes, from communicating with our clients to planning strategically for our future growth but the only bits I would say are truly challenging are not related to the firm per se as much as related to the systems and processes. Small things from re-setting up phone lines (previously calling through London) and other systems need to go independent from London.

O.S.: Yes, I’d say that it is really our IT that had the biggest headaches in the transition – but even on that front, Clifford Chance has been very supportive.

D.F.: If we’ve done everything right, it should be business as usual. Clients have been communicated with, the team has settled in, the new brand is developed – really, unless we missed anything huge, and I like to believe we didn’t, it should be a regular day working on client matters. 

O.S.: That was the whole point of the extensive planning and work in the last few months – to make sure that we keep disruptions to an absolute minimum. We haven’t yet planned for a cork of champagne popping to celebrate the new name but aside from something like that to mark the day, business as usual is the name of the game.

D.F.: Yes, we’ve been busy on that front ever since mid-summer and, by now that process is pretty much wrapped up. In my view, our existing clients are generally convinced that the same service level will be in place and they expect little real change in our working with them. 

O.S.: At the same time many have expressed an interest and excitement over our plans to launch a dispute resolution practice, as many companies in the market need support on that front these days. 

O.S.: I think most care more about the type of work and the team than anything else, and neither of those will change as a result of the new brand. We’re happy to have a solid team in place at the moment that shows real promise. 

O.S.: We aim to grow into a full-service independent team. We are not planning extensive lateral hires further than the ones concluded at the moment but are looking to grow organically on the mid-term. We’re excited to benefit from the flexibility and ease of decision-making that our new set-up offers and look forward to leveraging it to its full potential to better cater to our clients needs. 

Allen & Overy — with Spasov & Bratanov in Bulgaria — has advised Alpha Bank A.E. on the acquisition of its Bulgarian Branch by Eurobank Egasias S.A.’s subsidiary in Bulgaria, Eurobank Bulgaria AD. Shearman & Sterling and Boyanov acted for Eurobank. No further information was provided.

The A&O team was led by London-based Partner Alun Eynon-Evans. 

The Spasov & Bratanov team consisted of Alexander Yankulov, Petar Dyankov, Borimir Tonchev, Mehmed Yaramkashev, Nadia Hadjova, Nayden Raichinov, and Ina Raikova. 

Neither Shearman & Sterling nor Boyanov replied to inquiries about the matter.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Boyanov & Co. announced that its team advising Eurobank Bulgaria on its acquisition was led by Partner Yordan Naydenov and included Counsel Svetlina Kortenska and Senior Associate Georgi Drenski. The firm also reported that the deal was officially announced as completed on March 1, 2016.

The KKLW law firm has represented the Gulermak heavy industry construction and contracting company in proceedings before the Polish National Chamber of Appeals in a case involving the public service contract for the construction of a second metro line in Warsaw.

The City of Warsaw had chosen Gulermak’s offer, submitted in tender proceedings. Two competitive consortia appealed against its selection, but the National Chamber of Appeals rejected all objections to Gulermak’s offer in its ruling of November 27, 2015. 

The KKLW team was headed by Partner Jacek Kosinski.

Wierzbowski Eversheds has announced that Piotr Skurzynski has moved over from Linklaters Warsaw to join Eversheds as Of Counsel and Head of the Competition practice in Poland. The practice was previously headed by Paulina Jozefczuk, who over the next several months will be supporting one of the law firm’s key clients through a secondment.

Skurzynski specializes in Polish and EU competition law. According to a statement released by Eversheds, “he has considerable experience advising on state aid, consumer rights, and a wide range of issues of European Union law. He is also experienced in projects related to regulation of infrastructure sectors, in particular telecommunications, energy and railways.” The statement also reported that Skurzynski’s “broad experience includes advising large international clients from various sectors (in particular energy, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, wholesale and retail chains and manufacturers of FMCG). He has represented clients before the Polish competition authority (the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) as well the European Commission in proceedings concerning alleged agreements restricting competition and abuse of a dominant market position. He also worked on a number of cross-border M&A deals, advising on the compliance of transactional documents with competition law, and represented clients in complex merger control proceedings before the Polish competition authority and the European Commission. He is experienced in preparation of competition law compliance programs and has conducted a number of workshops in this area.”

Skurzynski graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw and completed the course of study at the Centre for English and European Law at the University of Warsaw organized in conjunction with the University of Cambridge. 

“We are very pleased to welcome Piotr Skurzynski to our law firm and expect a lot from this change,” said Managing Partner Krzysztof Wierzbowski. “I believe that Piotr’s knowledge and experience will give us a strong impulse to further strengthen our presence on the Polish and international markets and open the way to working with many new clients. I am also confident that we will find many business synergies with the firm’s other practices, such as the recently launched Regulatory Risk and Compliance practice.”

Skurzynski said, about his decision to join Wierzbowski Eversheds, “I am happy that Wierzbowski Eversheds has entrusted me with the task of heading the Competition practice and developing it further. My own experience to date should complement the extensive knowledge and competencies the firm has already developed, creating a team with great possibilities and able to provide our clients services of the highest quality.”

Sayenko Kharenko has acted as legal advisor to Avangardco Investments Public Limited, the largest producer of shell eggs and egg products in Ukraine, on the restructuring of its outstanding USD 200 million 10% Eurobonds. This is second time the English law scheme of arrangement has been used by a Ukrainian issuer.

On September 17, 2015 Avangardco applied to the High Court of Justice in England and Wales to request sanction for the UK scheme of arrangement. Before the court’s decision, holders of notes representing 99.89% in value voted in favour of the scheme. As a result, the scheme was approved by the majority representing more than a required minimum 75% of creditors by value. By its ruling on October 26, 2015 the English court sanctioned the scheme, which extended the maturity of the Eurobonds from October 29, 2015 to October 29, 2018.

Founded in 2003, Avangardco has become one of the largest agro-industrial companies in Ukraine and Europe. As of June 30, 2015, the Company holds a 36% share of the industrial shell eggs market and a 75% share of the dry eggs products market in Ukraine. The Company’s flock of laying hens — approximately 11.2 million — is one of the largest globally. The Company exports its products to 37 countries, with its primary export markets in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the CIS, and the EU.

Sayenko Kharenko’s team working on the transaction included senior associates Igor Lozenko and Oleksandr Nikolaichyk, associates Taras Shyb, Marta Lozenko and Mykhailo Grynyshyn and was led by partner Nazar Chernyavsky. 

Dentons has advised BGZ BNP Paribas in connection with two loans — one for PLN 37.5 million and one for PLN 17.25 million — granted to Asbud Centrum in order to finance the purchase of two pieces of real estate. The properties, both located on Karolkowa Street in Warsaw, will be used for residential purposes. This transaction closed on November 5.

Dentons Partner, Michal Mezykowski led the transaction, supported by Senior Associate Martyna Markiewicz.

Asbud Centrum was not represented by external counsel on the deal.