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Kinstellar has announced that Jitka Logesova, a Partner in the firm’s Prague office, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and appointed to serve as chairperson of the association’s Tax & Legal Committee working group.

The CVCA represents the interests of private equity and venture capital companies active in the Czech Republic.

Logesov serves as head of Kinstellar’s firm-wide Compliance, Risk & Sensitive Investigations practice and is co-head of the firm’s Private Equity group. Her expertise includes corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and compliance. On the CVCA Board, Logesova’s focus will be on promoting changes to Czech legislation in support of private equity and venture capital investments in the Czech Republic and, more broadly, to improve the conditions for the development of the Czech and regional equity market.

Dentons reports that the Kemerovo Oblast Arbitration Court has rejected a claim by Sibkonkord, shareholder of Siberian Cement, against France’s Ciments Francais, seeking the annulment of a 2008 transaction in which Sibcem acquired its Turkish assets. 

Sibkonkord had demanded that a transaction to acquire three Turkish cement and concrete producing companies (Afyon Cimento, SET Group, SET Beton) from Ciments Francais — a division of the Italcementi Group — be invalidated and an advance payment of EUR 50 million be returned. Sibkonkord’s claim in this case had previously been rejected twice.

Ciments Francais was successfully represented in court by Dentons Partner Mikhail Ivanov, the Head of the firm’s Russian Litigation and Arbitration practice. Ivanov commented, “In 2011 we successfully obtained for Ciments Francais the unprecedented recognition in Russia of an ICC arbitral award that had been set aside in the seat of the arbitration in Istanbul. We are delighted that we have been able to achieve another victory for our client.”

ODI has advised a consortium of banks on the financial restructuring of Cimos, the Slovenian automotive component manufacturer. The financial restructuring was carried out as part of a compulsory settlement proceeding that began in June 2014 — the first such proceeding petitioned by the creditors following the latest change of Slovenian insolvency legislation.

After negotiations between Cimos and its key stakeholders, the banks, the major customers and suppliers, a financial restructuring plan was filed in November 2014. The proposed compulsory settlement included a 60% haircut and the repayment of the rest of the unsecured financial claims in 10 years after the final confirmation of the compulsory settlement, a change of applicable interest rates, and a D/E swap. The compulsory settlement is expected to be confirmed in the beginning of May.

Numerous other agreements were also concluded within the restructuring process, including two master agreements (on restructuring of claims not affected by the compulsory settlement and D/E swap), a collateral sharing agreement, a shareholders agreement, a funding agreement, and several bilateral agreements. 

The business and operational reorganization of the Cimos group (which has more than 7 thousand employees and generates more than EUR 400 Million annual revenue) will occur before the end of 2016. It includes, among other things,  lay-offs, change of the production structure, and reduction of operating costs. The privatization of Cimos is envisaged for 2016.

The ODI team advising the bank club was led by Managing Partner Uros Ilic, who was assisted by Senior Associate Katarina Skrbec.

Image Source: vladimir salman / Shutterstock.com

Lavrynovych & Partners has successfully persuaded the Kyiv Commercial Court that the contract between the Kyiv City State Administration and firm client the “Trade Board” company was valid and should be upheld. 

According to a L&P statement, the Kyiv Prosecutor General’s Office was attempting to invalidate a 2011 agreement between Trade Board and the KCSA under which the former would “implement measures to improve pedestrian subways in Kyiv.”  Acting in reliance on the contract, according to L&P, Trade Board has already invested about USD 7 million in the project, and the final cost is expected to be over USD 11 million.

According to the firm, “in consequence of a more than five-month dispute trial, a panel of judges of the local commercial court agreed with the legal opinion of the firm’s lawyers [as to the] baselessness of requirements of the prosecution and completely refused to meet [its] claims. The result of the firm’s successful work was the protection of Trade Board’s multimillion-dollar investments and the possibility of further fulfillment of contractual obligations to the Kyiv local community.” Finally, according to the L&P statement, the “Lavrynovych & Partners Law Firm will defend the rights and interests of business during the confrontation with the authorities, that neglect the principles of justice and equity.”  

The firm’s team was led by Partner Stanislav Skrypnyck and Senior Associate Arthur Kiyan. 

Image Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com

Sorainen Estonia has advised Cofi, a new Estonian financial institution specialising in consumer credit and hire purchase, on its successful application for a credit institution licence from the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority.  

The EFSA granted a licence to Cofi on April 10, and the newly established bank will be named Inbank. The credit institution license issued by the EFSA allows Inbank to attract deposits and other refundable financial resources from the public. Customer deposits are subject to the Estonian deposit guarantee scheme. 

According to Sorainen, “Inbank’s competitive edge lies in thorough knowledge of the needs of individual customers and businesses as well as expertise in financial technology. In addition to the usual fixed deposits, the new bank also plans to offer flexible deposit options with attractive interest rates and innovative niche services. Inbank development was encouraged by the success of innovative start-up Cofi.”

Cofi, which operates in the field of payment solutions and financial technology, was founded in 2010 by Priit Poldoja, current Chairman of the Inbank Supervisory Board, and Jan Andresoo, Chairman of the Inbank Management Board. Cofi was the architect of a technical banking services system for Estonia’s largest locally-owned food and grocery retail group, ETK, and Cofi assisted the group in building an extensive financial services network in 2011-2015. Sorainen reports that the company “has established partner relations with 250 traders and over 100,000 customers and has a financial services portfolio amounting to over EUR 30 million.”

Sorainen Estonia’s advice included establishing banking activity systems as required by Estonian law, drafting internal rules and guidelines, addressing shareholding structure issues, and participating in discussions and negotiations with the EFSA. The firm’s team was led by Partner Reimo Hammerberg and Senior Associate Jane Eespold.

Hedman Partners has helped Jobbatical, an Estonian start-up focused on creating a marketplace for short-term jobs with life-changing experiences, to collect a EUR 260,000 investment round in October 2014. The investors participating in the financing round included the Estonian Development Fund’s investment arm SmartCap, Estonian and Finnish business angels, and investors from Latvia, Russia and the UK.

The project aims to match those who wish to take a work sabbatical with employers seeking potentially short-term but skilled hires. Karoli Hindriks, the CEO and founder of Jobbatical, asserts that the funds will be used for product development and market expansion. 

The Hedman Partners team was led by Partner Merlin Salvik, and included Attorney Valter Vohma, and Advocate Toomas Seppel.

A team led by Oleg Bychkov has joined the Liniya Prava law firm in Russia. Bychkov specializes in equity and debt capital markets, banking, and corporate/M&A work. He also, according to a Liniya Prava press release, “has wide experience in providing legal support for corporate restructurings and bankruptcy proceedings.” At Liniya Prava he will lead the firm’s securities practice and provide legal support for corporate and M&A projects.

Bychov has worked for KPMG, PWC, Allen & Overy, the Legal Accent law firm, the ATON Group, and Alfa Bank. He was also an Associate at Liniya Prava from 2006-2008. Before rejoining Liniya Prava, he was the Head of Althaus Legal, a law firm within the Althaus Group. 

Commenting on the new appointment, Liniya Prava Managing Partner Andrey Novakovsky said: “We are glad to welcome the team headed by Oleg Bychkov. It is a perfectly timed joining. With the help of the new team we are able to boost market coverage. Currently there is an increased number of clients seeking our services. We are not able to satisfy them without additional support. I am sure that his excellent professional skills combined with thea vast experience of his team will allow Liniya Prava to succeed even more.”

Bychkov said: “I’m very glad to join one of the best Russian law firms together with my team, to add extra strength and affection to our profession, and to provide our clients with additional opportunities to achieve their goals.”

The Sajic law firm has advised LSA Brcko, a company with primarily Italian capital, on the acquisition of real estate, machinery, and equipment located in Prijedor.

According to Sajic, the property previously belonged to the now-bankrupt Impro meat producing company. LSA wants to reinstate the production of meat and meat products for the purposes of export.

The Sajic team was led by Managing Partner Aleksandar Sajic, assisted by Junior Associate Milica Karadza.

Dentons has advised Aventicum Capital Management (Switzerland) on its acquisition, through affiliates, of two Polish companies from the Layetana Group (SPVs): the Mozaika Mokotow and sPlace residential projects in Warsaw. Baker & McKenzie advised the Layetana Group. As part of this transaction, Aventicum also acquired certain loan facilities and receivables towards SPVs from the banks financing the development of both projects: KBC Bank and Bank Zachodni WBK. Clifford Chance advised the banks.

According to a Dentons statement, “several phases of the residential developments have been completed, and a significant number of apartments have been sold.”

The Dentons Warsaw Real Estate team, led by Partner Tomasz Stasiak and assisted by Associate Paulina Czostek, was responsible for the legal due diligence of the project companies and their assets and for drafting the share acquisition documentation. The Warsaw Banking and Finance team on the matter, led by Senior Associate Piotr Nerwinski, Associate Mateusz Krajewski, and Junior Associate Monika Kowara, negotiated the loan documents and the broad amendments to the financing documentation. 

Partner Ireneusz Stolarski led the Baker & McKenzie team advising the Layetana Group.

The Clifford Chance team advising KBC Bank and BZ WBK included Counsels Marcin Krysa and Rafal Zakrzewski, Senior Associates Maciek Bochenski and Dominki Kepinski, and Associates Tomek Jaroszewski, Tomek Walerowicz, and Pawel Zagorski.

Schoenherr has advised Cimpress, the Dutch-listed printing group, on its acquisition of the lower Austrian online printing group druck.at, which was represented by Wolf Theiss.

The base purchase price of the transaction is reported to be EUR 23.3 million, with EUR 20 million payable in cash upon the close of the transaction, and a deferred payment of EUR 3.3 million to be paid in cash or stock in 2017 at the earliest. Cimpress plans to fund the transaction using an existing debt facility.

Druck-at — one of the leading web-to-print businesses in Austria — was established in Leobersdorf, Austria, in 2001, and produces an annual turnover of approximately EUR 34 million. It has 240 employees. This is Cimpress’s second acquisition in Austria, following its 2014 acquisition of the Italian printing company Pixartprinting, which included Austrian subsidiaries. 

The Schoenherr team advising Cimpress was led by Partner Robert Bachner, and Associate Manuel Ritt-Huemer. They were assisted by Partner Franz Urlesbeger and Stefan Kuhteubl, and Christian Schumacher, and Associate Stefan Ruech.

The Wolf Theiss team was led by Corporate Partner Christian Hoenig, assisted by Senior Associate Doris Buxbaum.