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Varul Lithuania has advised the Lithuanian archiving company Dokdata on negotiations with Reisswolf regarding two master franchise agreements for Lithuania in the field of document archiving and destruction.

Reisswolf is a major service provider for data security in more than 34 countries. According to Varul, its strategic move to enter Lithuanian market was dictated “by the growing demand for professional data security, archiving and destruction services.” Varul also reports that Dokdata was chosen as a partner, “for their experience in providing high quality archiving, document destruction, storage, scanning and consulting services in [the] Lithuanian market.”

Varul’s lawyers represented Dokdata in negotiations with Reisswolf and advised on the requirements for using Reisswolf’s title in Dokdata’s company name. The firm’s team included Managing Partner Robert Juodka and Partner Tomas Venckus.

Varul declined to identify Reisswolf’s counsel on the deal.

The Pepeliaev Group has launched a Chinese Desk to provide legal assistance for Chinese investors in Russia and has announced that the firm is opening associated offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The Pepeliaev Group’s representative offices will operate in association with the Chinese law firm China Window.

The Pepeliaev Group’s Chinese Desk will be managed by Ning Wang, and the Chinese practice in general will be led by Senior Partner Rustem Ahmetshin.

“We have been developing our business in China for many years now,” said Pepeliaev Group Managing Partner Sergey Pepeliaev. “Over the last few years we have been actively doing business with Chinese clients, such as Alibaba, Lifan, Huawei, ZTE Corporation, China UnionPay, and other corporations. We advise them on IP, employment and migration, tax, corporate and customs law. Our Chinese Desk and associated offices in China represent yet another step to bring us closer to our current and future clients.” 

Cleary Gottlieb represented Lenta in a USD 275 million public offering of global depository receipts dually-listed in London and Moscow, conducted under Regulation S / Rule 144A.  

The offering involved a USD150 million primary tranche comprising 4.3% of all Lenta shares and a USD 125 million secondary tranche representing a sale by the EBRD, reducing its stake in Lenta from 11.5% to 7.4%. The transaction closed on October 26, 2015.  

Lenta is one of the largest retail chains in Russia and the country’s second largest hypermarket chain, operating 122 hypermarkets in 63 cities across Russia and 27 supermarkets in the Moscow region. The company is using the proceeds of its GDR public offering largely to fund the acquisition of 11 hypermarkets and a distribution center for its growing supermarket business. According to Cleary, Lenta’s March 2015 primary offering (on which the firm also advised) and this offering are the only significant international capital markets primary issuances by a Russian business since 2013. Cleary Gottlieb also represented Lenta in its all-secondary March 2014 IPO. 

The Cleary team for the transaction was led by Moscow-based Partners Scott Senecal and Yulia Solomakhina and London-based Partner Raj Panasar, with the support of Moscow-based Associate Alexey Koshelev, London-based Associate John Kwan, and Moscow-based stagiaire Alexander Golovkin. London-based Partner Richard Sultman, New York-based Associate Josiah Child, and London-based Lauren Murrell provided tax advice.

Editorial Note: After this article was published, Skadden announced that it advised the underwriters on the deal.

Image Source: shinobi / Shutterstock.com

Baker & McKenzie has announced that former White & Case lawyers Lukasz Hejmej and Sebastian Pabian have joined the firm in Warsaw. Both Hejmej and Pabian were Local Partners at White & Case, and both join Baker at that level. The move is expected to strengthen Baker’s Polish Litigation and Arbitration Practice.

Hejmej, who will head Baker & McKenzie’s Litigation and Arbitration Practice going forward, focuses on financial institutions’ liability and securities litigation, advising mainly insurance companies, banks, and securities brokers on issues related to D&O, IPO, BBB, and PI insurance claims, professional malpractice claims, currency and commodity derivatives, as well as on restructuring and bankruptcy. In addition, he specializes in corporate disputes. He graduated from the School of Law and Administration at the Warsaw University, then completed his postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York.

Pabian advised clients on a wide range of litigation and arbitration matters. He focuses on financial institution litigation (including class actions) and regulatory disputes. He also provides day-to-day legal advisory services to insurers in product, regulatory and consumer protection matters. His professional practice includes advising on transactions involving big insurance companies. Pabian began his career as an Associate at the Tomczak & Partners Law Office in 2001, where he worked for three and a half years. In 2007 he joined CMS Cameron McKenna, where he stayed until joining White & Case in the spring of 2011. He graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the Warsaw University, and completed Postgraduate Studies of Insurance at the Warsaw School of Economics. 

In a formal statement released by Baker & McKenzie, Managing Partner Marek Rosinski described the addition of Hejmej and Pabian as “a tremendous support for the team,” as “both Lukasz and Sebastian have extensive experience in various kinds of commercial disputes, in particular in the banking and insurance sectors.”

Baker & McKenzie’s news followed shortly after Greenberg & Traurig’s announcement that former White & Case Poland co-head Pawel Pietkiewicz and Local Partner Daniel Kaczorowski had joined that firm’s Warsaw office (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on October 30, 2015). White & Case declined to comment on the departures.

White & Case has advised the global investment firm Rockaway Capital on its acquisition — for more than EUR 200 million — of Netretail Holding B.V. and Heureka from Naspers, the South African-based Internet services provider with a particular focus on ecommerce. Allen & Overy reportedly represented Naspers on the deal.

Rockaway is an investment firm based in San Francisco, Prague, and Sao Paolo focused on building the Internet economy in emerging markets via venture capital, private equity, and its own incubation. Netretail Holdings is a leading online retail business in Central & Eastern Europe. Heureka is the leading online price comparison business in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Financing for the acquisition, which remains subject to regulatory approvals, was provided by Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech businessman and Chairman of the Central European energy group Energeticky a Prumyslovy Holding, along with Slovak businessman Patrik Tkac, and the PFF Group.

“This is a significant acquisition for Rockaway because the revenue from its ecommerce holdings is now expected to exceed EUR 1 billion in the years ahead,” said Prague-based White & Case partner Michal Smrek, who co-led the firm’s deal team. “The transaction underlines the strength and capabilities of the White & Case private equity practice in EMEA.”

London-based White & Case partner Ross Allardice, who co-led the team with Smrek, said: “Rockaway’s acquisition of Netretail and Heureka fulfils its vision to be the leading ecommerce player in Central & Eastern Europe.”

In addition to Smrek and Allardice, the White & Case team consisted of Prague-based Partners Damian Beaven and Ivo Janda, all supported by London-based Associates Tony Brown and George Kanelos, Prague-based Associates Jakub Mencl and Magda Olysarova, and London-based trainee lawyer Oliver Trotman. 

Editorial Note: Subsequent to publication, Allen & Overy confirmed to us that it had advised Naspers on the deal. The firm’s team was led by Amsterdam-based A&O Partner Justin Steer with support from Corporate Associate Nick Conway. The due diligence team was led by Prague-based Corporate Associate Ondrej Kramolis.

Cleary Gottlieb has promoted Russian corporate/M&A lawyer Mikhail Suvorov to Partner, making him the only CEE lawyer among the 7 joining the partnership worldwide. The firm also announced that fellow Corporate/M&A lawyer Maxim Izvekov has been promoted to Counsel, also in Moscow.

According to Cleary, the 7 new Partners and 7 new Counsel are resident in the firm’s Buenos Aires, London, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris, and Washington offices, and their election brings the firm’s total worldwide Partners to 197 and Counsel to 51.

Suvorov specializes in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, corporate restructurings, and Russian regulatory matters. He has significant experience in oil and gas matters, having advised Gazprom and other clients on a number of complicated transactions, including Gazprom’s recent USD 2 billion swap transaction with Wintershall involving an exchange of interests in Russian gas fields for interests in European gas distribution and storage and in North Sea oil and gas fields (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on September 17, 2015). Mikhail has advised on the restructuring of the ownership of Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, Russia’s largest airport, and related joint venture arrangements between the Russian government and private interests, and advised Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company, in establishing a joint venture with CGG, the world’s leading Geoscience company, to provide maritime geophysical exploration services. He also advised Rosneft Oil Co. in its USD 55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP. He graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and subsequently earned an LL.M. from Harvard Law School in 2008. He joined Cleary as an Associate in 2004.

Izvekov focuses on international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, securities offerings, and antitrust. He advised Lafarge in the sale of its cement production units in the Urals region (reported on by CEE Legal Matters on April 9, 2014), advised Rosneft in its USD 55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP and in the subsequent tender offer (the largest in Russian history), and in the squeeze-out with regard to remaining minority shareholders. He also advised MegaFon in its USD 1.18 billion purchase of 100% of Scartel and Yota from Garsdale Investments (which made MegaFon the leading 4G LTE operator in Russia). 

Izvekov graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2003, and obtained an LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2005. He began his career in 2005 with one year at Lovells (now Hogan Lovells), and in 2006 moved to Cleary. 

“It is with great pleasure that I introduce our new global partners and counsel,” announced Mark Leddy, Cleary Gottlieb’s Managing Partner. “Our new class of partners and counsel reflects the internationalism that has always been at the core of our firm and underscores our commitment to all the regions and markets in which we operate. These exceptional lawyers are resident in our offices on four continents and, collectively, speak English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu. This diverse and dedicated group exemplifies Cleary Gottlieb’s commitment to delivering the highest-quality legal service to our clients around the world.”

DLA Piper has advised the shareholders of Pharma Start on the sale of a 100% stake in the company to Acino Pharma. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed and both DLA Piper and Acino Pharma declined to identify the firm advising the buyer in the deal.

Pharma Start is a major Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturer with a portfolio that includes 35 products in the cardio, CNS, and OTC segments. It covers the entire value chain: development, manufacturing, registration, marketing. and distribution.

Commenting on the deal, DLA Piper Partner Margarita Karpenko said: “It is a landmark transaction in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. Despite the volatile political and economic situation, Ukraine is a market with good growth potential for international investors, and we are happy to have helped the shareholders of Pharma Start bring this project to a successful completion.”

The DLA team working on the transaction was supervised by Karpenko and Partners Svitlana Musienko and Natalia Pakhomovska, and included Legal Directors Alla Kozachenko, Galyna Zagorodniuk, and Illya Sverdlov.

Greenberg Traurig has announced that former White & Case Poland co-head Pawel Pietkiewicz and Local Partner Daniel Kaczorowski have joined the firm’s Warsaw office.

Pietkiewicz, who co-headed White & Case’s Warsaw office and headed its litigation and arbitration practice, will head Greenberg Traurig’s 10-person litigation and arbitration team, taking over from Partner Andrzej Wysokinski (who remains head of Banking/Finance at the firm). Lejb Fogelman, Senior Partner at Greenberg Traurig, explained.”The recent successes of our banking and finance practice, including reaching a top-tier position in this year’s IFLR ranking for the first time, led to our decision to separate the leadership of the banking and finance practice from that of the litigation and arbitration practice.”

“With the management of the litigation and arbitration practice being taken over by such an excellent lawyer as Pawel Pietkiewicz, Andrzej Wysokinski will be able to concentrate on the further development of the banking and finance practice,” said Jaroslaw Grzesiak, the Managing Partner of Greenberg Traurig in Poland.

After almost three years at White & Case, Kaczorowski returns to the office he worked at (when it was still associated with Dewey & LeBoeuf, and before that, with Hunton & Williams) from May 1998 to December 2012. “Daniel Kaczorowski is an excellent lawyer who started his legal career on our team. We are therefore pleased that he has come back to us,” said Grzesiak.

With Pietkiewicz gone, Marcin Studniarek becomes the new Office Executive Partner at White & Case, while Local Partner Michal Subocz takes over as head of the firm’s Warsaw dispute practice.

Poland’s GFKK firm has advised the 3S Group in connection with the acquisition of medium-term financing by ING Bank Slaski SA — which was advised by White & Case.

3S is a group of telecommunication companies headquartered in Katowice and present on the market since 2002. It has its own fiber-optic network spreading over 2,700 kilometers and data center facilities with an area of 2200 square meters. The group consists of 3S SA and 3S Data Center SA. The funds from the financing will be used to refinance the existing debt of the Group and planned acquisitions in the telecommunications industry.

The GFKK team consisted of Partner Michael Grzybczyk and Lawyer Michael Zachariasiewicz. 

The White & Case team was led by Partner Tomasz Ostrowski, supported by Associates Ilona Fedurek and Sylwia Opiatowska.

The AGP Law Firm in Russia has successfully defended BMW Rusland Trading in the Arbitrazh Court of Moscow against a subrogation claim filed by an unnamed insurance company in a case involving damages caused by a fire to a car being shipped by train.

The insurance company claimed joint liability against BMW Rusland Trading and the forwarding agent who had arranged the shipment of the car. Both the trial and appellate courts ruled for the insurance company and awarded damages in full.

In the cassation appeal AGP lawyers contested the previous decisions, arguing that there was no legal basis for joint liability of the co-defendants, and that the car owner should not be held liable for the damages. The firm’s lawyers insisted that the forwarding agent, as lessee, should bear contractual liability for its failure to ensure that the rail car in which the car was being transported was safe, and that “liability for damages caused by a source of special danger should not be imposed on the car owner because the forwarding agent had physical possession of the car.”

The Arbitrazh Court of Moscow Circuit, following AGP’s arguments, overruled the previous court decisions accordingly. 

The AGP team consisted of Partner Valentin Moiseev and attorney Olga Zelenskaya.

Image Source: Pres Panayotov / Shutterstock.com