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Graf & Pitkowitz has advised the Lukoil Lubricants Group on the merger of its holding company in Amsterdam with Lukoil Lubricants International Holding GmbH in Vienna. According to Graf & Pitkowitz, “the Lukoil Lubricants Group has strengthened its presence in Vienna further and operates the international lubricants business from Vienna henceforward.”

The Graf & Pitkowitz team was led by Attorney Andreas Edlinger, supported by Elisabeth Sperka und Marija Krizanac.

Image Source: JuliusKielaitis / Shutterstock.com

Chadbourne & Parke has announced that real estate and infrastructure lawyer Jaroslaw Grzywinski has joined the firm as an International Partner in its Warsaw office.

Grzywinski moves over from FKA Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz, where he was Partner and Head of Real Estate. He also held a similar position at Taylor Wessing from 2012-2013, and for almost two years before that at PwC Legal. He also has 5 years of experience at Salans, and spent the first seven years of his legal career at Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak.

Grzywinski’s practice focuses on real estate, corporate/M&A, and infrastructure projects. Chadbourne & Parke’s announcement reports that “his knowledge and experience encompass commercial and civil law, as well as project financing for real estate and infrastructure projects,” and that “he also represents clients in disputes related to real estate properties and transactions.”

“Jaroslaw’s extensive commercial real estate and infrastructure experience will be extremely valuable to our clients,” said Wlodzimierz Radzikowski, Managing Partner of Chadbourne’s Warsaw office. “We are pleased to add Jaroslaw to the team and look forward to the important role he will play in growing our practice throughout the region.”

The Jus Aureum law firm has successfully applied to the Arbitrazh Court of the City of Moscow to have a RUB 100,000 penalty levied against a company that had not satisfied its debt to the firm’s client — the Sovinteravtoservis transport company — in the  year since the court had ordered it to do so.

According to a Jus Aureum statement, “the fine recovered into the budget on the basis of Article 332 APC RF, as a form of liability for the debtor’s failure to implement a judicial act, forms one of the instruments of indirect enforcement, along with the institution of indexation (Article 183 APC RF). The failure to implement a judicial act of an arbitrazh court constitutes an ongoing legal infraction. It gives plaintiffs the opportunity to file applications with the arbitrazh court for the levying of a judicial fine multiple times without bearing the expenses for payment of state duty.”

The firm’s team was led by Senior Associate Nikita Shcherbakov. 

Sorainen Estonia has advised Impuls LTU on its acquisition of Spordimaja and its wholly-owned subsidiary Freewill — which operates two 2,500 square meter Arctic Sport fitness center in Tallinn and Tartu. The sellers were represented by Triniti.

The share purchase agreement was signed on November 25, 2015. The acquisition, which depends on the approval from the Estonian Competition Authority, will be financed by Nordea Bank and BaltCap Lithuania SME Fund and is anticipated to be completed by 2015 year-end.

Arctic Sport Club offers a variety of fitness services in Tallinn and Tartu including full-service gyms, group exercise, personal training, and 25 meter swimming pools. The fitness centers employ a total of 89 staff members. After the opening of Lemon Gym fitness club in Riga in January 2016, Impuls LTU will become the first fitness centre operator present in all three Baltic States.

Says Impuls CEO Vidmantas Siugzdinis: “We spent significant time planning and coordinating the acquisition of Arctic Sport Club, one of the leading industry players in Estonia. The Arctic Sport Club chain well complements the Impuls Group’s focus on delivering best experience to clients – the company’s fitness centres offer a complete range of high-quality fitness services, and feature the latest fitness equipment and swimming pools. Arctic Sport Club will remain under the leadership of its current management team. This is because Impuls LTU highly values the achievements of the team members and intends to continue company development in Estonia with their help.” 

Comments Arctic Sport Club shareholder and CEO Rein Reitalu: “We are glad to have reached agreement with Impuls LTU, which manages one of the strongest fitness chains in the Baltic States. We believe that a new shareholder will provide us with a new impulse to grow and expand. On our part, we commit to maintaining the highest-quality fitness centres possible.”

The Sorainen transaction team consisted of Partner Toomas Prangli, Senior Associates Paul Kunnap and Piibe Lehtsaar, and Associate Triin Tigane.

Triniti did not reply to an inquiry on the matter.

Editorial Note: After this article was published Triniti contacted CEE Legal Matters to report that its team advising the selling shareholders was led by Senior Associate Sten Veidebaum.

Serbia’s JPM law firm has advised Delta Holding and Delta Sport on the sale of buildings in Belgrade to Banca Intesa Beograd. According to the firm, “the buildings are located at a prime location in Novi Beograd, on Milentija Popovica Street.”

Banka Intesa was previously renting the lower four floors of the Delta Holding building, which was built in 2003-2004 (and claims 16,500 square meters of space), but will now be able to expand into the upper four floors as well. According to a statement by Banca Intesa, “Banca Intesa signed today an agreement on the purchase of the business premises of Delta Holding at Milentija Popovic in New Belgrade to incorporate under one roof all business functions and create optimal working conditions of its employees.”

Editor’s Note: After this item was published JPM informed CEE Legal Matters that its team on the matter consisted of Senior Partner Nenad Popovic and Partners Uros Markovic and Nikola Vukotic.

The firm also reported that Karanovic & Nikolic represented Banca Intesa.

AstapovLawyers has appointed a new Head of its Moscow office. Anton Zhdanov will take over the role — a move AstapovLawyers says is aimed at “increasing business efficiency of the Moscow office.”

Zdanov has more than 11 years of experience, focusing primarily on investment projects, litigation, and corporate law and governance, as well as working with the public authorities and commercial activities. The firm reports that his “practical experience also includes representation of clients interests at all stages of the occurrence and settlement with regulatory and law enforcement agencies, entities of power: from pre-trial settlement of disputes to appeals of actions and judicial review, including in courts of appeal and cassation instances.”

Firm Managing Partner Andrey Astapov commented on the move. “A combination of professional competencies, extensive experience and leadership qualities of the new head of our Moscow Office will improve the operating efficiency of the firm in the region, increase competitive advantage, strengthen its leading positions and will help forward for further effective business development. We are at a new stage of development of the business and believe that the new appointment will contribute to accelerating the development of the company.”

Gessel has advised Danwood SA on new term loans it has obtained from Bank Pekao SA designed to finance the current activities of the company, including in particular capital expenditure. Bank Pekao was advised by Clifford Chance.

Danwood is the largest producer of ready-made houses in Poland, employing over 900 employees at its headquarters in Bielsko Podlaski and locations in Germany, the UK, and Austria. 

Gessel’s assistance included negotiating the loan and security documentation as well as advising on the implementation of the conditions precedent to the payment of loans. The firm’s team was led by Managing Associate Maciej Kozuchowski, supported by Trainees Anna Fujak and Bartholomew Wozniak.

Clifford Chance did not reply to our inquiry regarding the matter.

Image Source: dan-wood.co.uk

Wardynski & Partners describes the 1965 Meat Scandal as “one of the most notorious commercial affairs in Poland’s communist era.”

The firm reports that “over 400 people were arrested for alleged irregularities in meat trading. The courts conducted summary proceedings, without the right to appeal and without providing defence counsel with a justification for the sentences. Four life sentences and one death sentence were handed down. The death sentence was carried out before the deadline for seeking extraordinary review, which was the only method available for challenging the sentence.”

In 2004 the Supreme Court of Poland overturned the original judgment in its entirety, citing a gross violation of procedural regulations, but the efforts by one of the defendant’s heirs to recover the property that had been confiscated were unsuccessful. Accordingly, the heir decided to sue the Polish Treasury for return of the confiscated property in connection with setting aside of the judgment. The case was taken up in the Strategic Litigation Programme of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and is being pursued pro bono by Wardynski & Partners Advocat Wojciech Marchwicki and Trainee Jakub Baranski.

According to the firm, “one of the fundamental issues in the case is the statute of limitations. Art. 192 of the [Polish] Criminal Enforcement Code cross-references the statute of limitations provisions of the Civil Code, but does not specify whether the general 10-year limitations period applies, or the 3-year period for tort claims.”

“We believe that the liability in such situations is not based on tort,” said Wojciech Marchwicki. “The case is much closer to unjust enrichment. Even though the death sentence was overturned, the State Treasury continues to benefit from the assets seized pursuant to the judgment. This is unacceptable for ethical reasons and from a purely legal point of view.”

Fiebinger Polak Leon (FBL) has overseen the Austrian elements of the German industrial group ADCURAM’s acquisition of the building components division of the Haas Group. The sale price was not disclosed.

The Haas building components division consists of Bayerwald and Hoco (both manufacture windows and doors) and Wo&Wo (a solar lighting design company) — the third of which is located in Graz, Austria. The three companies employ a total of 800 employees, and boast a combined annual turnover of more than EUR 100 million. The privately-owned industrial group ADCURAM is headquartered in Munich, employs a 2,000-strong workforce, and has a global turnover of around EUR 480 million. 

The FBL team overseeing the Austrian part of the transaction for ADCURAM was led by Partner Bert Ortner.ADCURAM was advised in Germany by Thorsten Steinhaus of TRACC Legal.The sellers were advised by Karsten Gschwandtner of KPMG Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft.

CMS has advised Amica Wronki S.A., the Poland-based manufacturer and wholesaler of household appliances, on the purchase of the entire issued share capital of The CDA Group Limited, a UK-based retailer of high quality kitchen appliances, from its shareholders, for GBP 24.3 million (approximately EUR 34.4 million). The shareholders — three individuals — were represented by the Gateley law firm. The financing of the acquisition was partly funded from Amica’s own funds and partly via a bonds issue.

According to CMS, “the transaction will expand Amica’s existing network which spans across Poland, Germany, the Russian Federation, the Nordic countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and now the United Kingdom.” 

The CMS team advising Amica was led by Warsaw-based Partner Graham Conlon and Associate Valentina Santambrogio, with assistance from CMS lawyers Paulina Lasocka-Wysoczacska, Grzegorz Paczek, Kyle Abrey, Charlotte Higgins, Robert Lammiman, Anna Spichenko, Vitalii Mainarovych, Dawid Koruba, Simon Howley, Jakub Lerner, Eileen MacMahon, Fraser Vandal, Sally Badham, Marcin Patrzala, Alexandra Tuck, Arkadiusz Michaliszyn, Jim Hillan, Tair Hussain, Agnieszka Saluda, Lukasz Dynysiuk, Anna Burchner, Philip Reid, Caroline Hobson, Jacek Liput, Krzysztof Sikora, Michal Derdak, Agnieszka Starzynska, Alistair Hill, Mathew Boyle, and Valentina Keys.