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Czech lawyer Tereza Simanovska has become the Head of Legal and Compliance at APS Holding SE, a distressed debt investment manager & servicer in Central and South Eastern Europe. At the moment she is the sole lawyer at APS Holding, though she expects to hire a junior colleague soon.

Simanovska, who received her Master’s in Law from Charles University in 2010, worked at both Gide Loyrette Nouel, Allen & Overy, and Clifford Chance before becoming a full Associate at the Magic Circle firm in May 2014. She left Clifford Chance this month to go in-house at APS Holding.

Simanovska tells CEE Legal Matters that “I made the move because I wanted to try the other side of the table, take active part in the business and be involved in expansion — it is quite a dynamic area. At this position I will have my own ongoing agenda and will be also coordinating and managing our legal counsels across Europe.”

The Warsaw office of Wolf Theiss has advised PORR Bau GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of PORR AG, on the purchase of Bilfinger Infrastructure S.A. from Bilfinger SE, which was advised by A&O Frankfurt. Closing is expected by year end, subject to antitrust clearance.

The PORR Group is one of Austria’s largest construction companies and a leading participant in the sector throughout Europe. Bilfinger Infrastructure employs around 800 staff and operates in the road and bridge construction, civil engineering, and power plant construction sectors. In 2014 PORR generated construction output of around EUR 300 million in Poland. 

Wolf Theiss Partner Siegfried Seewald, who led the firm’s team on the matter, explained that Wolf Theiss has regularly advised PORR on procurement and other matters in Poland. “With this complex cross-border transaction,” he added, “Wolf Theiss has helped PORR further strengthen its position in the Polish construction market in in a significant way.”  Siegfried was assisted by Counsel Daniel Klementewicz and Associate Joanna Wajdzik.

The Allen & Overy team consisted of Partners Astrid Kruger, Heike Weber, and Ellen Braun, Counsel Bettina Scharff, Senior Associates Dorothea Tachezy, Anna Osinska, Zofia Piekarczyk, Rene Galle, and Associates Gregor Janisch, Gunnar Harlacher, and Lukas Rengier. 

The transaction was supported in-house by Bilfinger SE Head of Corporate Legal Andreas Lamping and lawyer Peter Ratz.

Image Source: bilfinger.com

Aequo has advised the EBRD on various issues related to the restructuring of its loans to Ukrainian borrowers operating in the territories affected by military actions, as well as assisting with corporate, tax, and compliance matters.

The legal advice provided by Aequo within the course of the project included advising on the complex set of legal and integrated business solutions in respect of various borrowers operating in the affected territories, and preparation of the step-by-step plan for their implementation.

The firm’s team was led by the Partner Yulia Kyrpa, Head of the Banking & Finance Practice Group of the firm, and included Associates Denis Kulgavyi and Vasyl Mishchenko.

Image Source: ebrd.com

Paksoy has announced that Counsel Sera Somay will be promoted to Partner at the firm, effective July 1, 2015.

Somay specializes in Banking & Finance, with a special focus on Islamic Finance. She advises conventional and Islamic banks and other financial institutions in their funding from the debt capital markets and loan markets as well as in their corporate finance transactions. Among other deals, Somay advised on the first international Sukuk issuance by the Republic of Turkey and the first Sukuk issuance by a Turkish Islamic bank. She also advises corporate borrowers in acquisition finance, corporate finance and other structured finance transactions. 

Somay graduated from Istanbul University in 2000, and obtained an LL.M. from the New York University School of Law in 2004.  She spent the first 10 years of her professional career at the Somay law firm in Istanbul, including the last two as Partner, before she joined Paksoy as Counsel in September of last year.

Paksoy has served as Turkish legal advisor to Opera Mediaworks, the mobile advertising subsidiary of the Norwegian browser maker Opera, on its May 2015 acquisition of a majority stake in the Mobilike mobile advertising network. Weil Gotshal & Manges advised Opera on US law, and the Aykan Acar Ergonen law firm advised Mobilike on the deal.

Mobilike — which was founded by Sekip Can Gokalp and Volkan Bicer in 2009 — has the largest premium mobile advertising network in Turkey, with over monthly 3.5 billion page impressions on mobile devices. 

Paksoy Partner Elvan Aziz, supported by Senior Associate Selin Barlin Aral, advised Opera on all Turkish aspects of the transaction, including due diligence, the share purchase agreement, and completion of the sale.

Partners Omer Yigit Aykan and Duygu Acar Yucesoy led the Aykan Acar Ergonen team advising Mobilike, supported by lawyer Asli Tezcan.

KPD Consulting has been engaged by Greek-based Autohellas in connection with the establishment of a Ukrainian subsidiary — Autotechnica Fleet Services LLC — and commencement of rent-a-car business activity in Ukraine.

Autohellas is the largest rent-a-car company in Greece and is the biggest national franchisee of Hertz International in Europe. It represents the Hertz brand in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and now Ukraine.

KPD Consulting assisted the company in establishing its corporate presence and airport rental counters in Ukraine, as well as advising on office lease agreements and labor law and other matters related to day-to-day business activity.

The firm’s team advising Autohellas was headed by Partner Vladyslav Kysil and included Partners Irina Podlesnaya and Kyrylo Kazak, Senior Associate Yuliya Podolskaya, and Associate Mykhailo Semka.

Karanovic & Nikolic has advised The Royal Group from Abu Dhabi on obtaining a full Banking License from the National Bank of Serbia for the establishment of Mira Bank in February 2015. The new bank will provide services in commercial banking.

The Royal Group is a conglomerate of 60 large and medium sized companies based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was launched in the late 1990’s, and currently employs over 10,000 people.

The Karanovic & Nikolic team, led by Partners Dejan Nikolic and Darko Jovanovic, provided full legal assistance to The Royal Group, including regulatory, corporate, and tax advice, as well as representation before the National Bank of Serbia for the USD 300 million investment.

On May 22, 2015, Vladimir Sayenko, Partner at Sayenko Kharenko, was elected to the Board of the Ukrainian Bar Association. Sayenko was one of the founding members of the UBA back in 2002, and served on its Board until 2005.

Before being elected to the Board, Mr. Sayenko held the post of the UBA International Relations Officer, coordinating collaboration and establishing ties of the UBA internationally. According to a Sayenko Kharenko statement, in his current capacity, “he will be responsible for expanding the international efforts of the organization.”

“The legal environment in Ukraine as well as the legal profession are facing a period of important changes,” said Sayenko. “The role of lawyers and the standards of legal practice should make a huge leap towards the European standards. My decision to invest time into serving on the UBA Board evidences the commitment and willingness of Ukraine’s legal community to contribute to the development of legal profession and to increase the international awareness about the UBA as the leading association of lawyers in the country.”

The Ukrainian Bar Association was founded in 2002, and since 2006 has been a member of the International Bar Association. It also maintains close relations with the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe and the American Bar Association.

Effective June 15, the Polish law offices of Bieniak, Wielhorski, Wojnar Adwokaci i Radcowie Prawni Spolka Partnerska (BWW Law & Tax) and Wojnar Smoluch i Wspolnicy have merged. The resulting firm will operate under the name of Bieniak Smoluch Wielhorski Wojnar i Wspolnicy Spolka Komandytowa, or BSWW Legal & Tax.

According to the newly combined firm, the “aim of the merger is to create a larger firm that is better-placed to guarantee comprehensive legal services to its business clients.” 

The new team will consist of 5 Managing Partners — Jacek Bieniak, Piotr Smoluch, Michal Wielhorski, Piotr Wojnar, and Marek Wojnar — and 14 Partners at the head of an almost 50-strong legal team.

Red Legal has advised EfTEN — a leading Estonian fund manager — on the initial public offering of shares in its new alternative real estate investment fund EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS.

The public offering is organized by EfTEN’s fund management company EfTEN Capital AS and the subscription of shares is organized by AS Swedbank. The partners and employees of the fund manager have already invested EUR 3.3 million in the fund. In addition to the initial investments, the new fund plans to raise up to EUR 36 million through the issue of new shares, which will be invested in cashflow yielding business real estate in the Baltic States.

The firm advised and assisted EfTEN in connection with the drafting of the offering prospectus and the structuring of the offering.