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The MZS law firm, acting for Mining and Chemical Concern (MCC) — a member of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation — obtained a reversal of the judgment of the lower court against its client, which was in excess of RUR 1 billion (approximately EUR 16.7 million as of April 7, 2015).

The MCC is the leader in Russia in the complete technological complex for processing of used nuclear fuel from power reactors and nuclear fuel cycle closure.

On January 30, 2015 the Russian Third Arbitrazh Appellate Court set aside the October 27, 2014 judgment of the Arbitrazh Court of the Krasnoyarsk Region on recovery of RUB 1.061 billion in damages from Federal Nuclear Enterprise “Mining and Chemical Concern” in favor of OJSC “Semiconducting Silica Production Plant.” MZS was not involved in the initial trial, and was retained by MCC to assist in the appellate proceedings. The MZS team achieved dismissal of the claim in full. 

Dentons has advised AIG/Lincoln on the sale of its Campus Square retail park in Brno’s Bohunice district to a fund managed by CBRE Global Investors. CBRE was represented by Kinstellar and E&Y.

The 22,000 square meters Campus Square is designed in the “town center” retail park format and is occupied by Tesco and 55 retail chains, including the likes of Marks & Spencer, DM, and New Yorker.

The Dentons team was led by Partner Jiri Strzinek, who co-heads the firm’s real estate practice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Strzinek commented: “Once again we are delighted to have assisted our long-standing client AIG/Lincoln with this key disposal. The project was a success on all fronts.”

SSW Spaczynski, Szczepaniak i Wspolnicy has announced that Corporate/M&A lawyer Pawel Chyb and Capital Markets lawyer Szymon Okon have been promoted to the Polish firm’s partnership.

Chyb specializes in corporate law (with particular emphasis on mergers, restructurings, and acquisitions) and commercial law. According to SSW, Chyb “has extensive experience in legal analysis of corporate entities and as regards M&A transactions, joint-venture projects and restructuring processes.” He joined SSW in January, 2013, after spending five years at Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, and 2 months at M. Furtek i Wspolnicy. He graduated from Warsaw University in 2007, and obtained a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Law at Warsaw University in 2013.

Okon specializes in capital markets law, finance, and banking. He participates in projects to secure financing and to publicize companies, and he offers ongoing advise to issuers, inter alia as regards compliance with their disclosure obligations. According to the firm, “he has considerable experience in regulated financial markets, including the creation of investment funds, and with the licensing and supervision of financial institutions.” He joined SSW in July, 2010.

Wolf Theiss has announced that former Allen & Overy Equity Partner Jan Myska has agreed to join the firm’s Prague office as Co-Managing Partner.

According to Wolf Theiss Managing Partner Erik Steger: “We are very pleased that Jan Myska has joined us as a Partner in our Prague office. Although Jan is certainly a very important addition to that office, we are also confident that he will be a significant contributor to our entire partnership and each of its 13 offices throughout Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.”

Myska was a Partner in Allen & Overy’s Prague office for the last 13 years and headed its corporate practice. He recently advised UniCredit on its acquisition of a 100% stake in the Transfinance factoring business from mBank.

In a press release distributed by Wolf Theiss, Myska is quoted as saying: “Czech clients remain active at home and are also increasingly looking abroad for opportunities. I have long followed the way Wolf Theiss has positioned itself to best serve this business in our region and I am delighted to now join the firm so that we can pursue it together.”

Tomas Rychly, a Partner with Wolf Theiss in Prague focusing on energy matters, said: “The timing of Jan’s coming on board is perfect. He is an undisputed ‘go to’ corporate lawyer who will help us maintain and accelerate our momentum and the value we add for our clients. I am particularly pleased that he has agreed to serve with me as the Co-Managing partner of our office which will best allow us to both benefit from his experience and run things efficiently at the same time.” 

Ron Given, who has been serving as Senior Partner in Prague and will now move to the Wolf Theiss office in Warsaw, added: “Jan has played a key role for a number of years in most of the significant corporate transactions occurring in the Czech Republic. We know that his experience and contacts will be of great benefit to our clients throughout our CEE/SEE footprint.”

Image source: allenovery.com

The Sysouev Bondar Khrapoutski law office has announced its April 1, 2015, merger with Archer Legal in Belarus; the newly-combined firm will continue to operate under the Sysouev Bondar Khrapoutski name.

As a result of merger, Sysouev Bondar Khrapoutski — one of two legal successors to the “Businessconsult” law firm, which itself was one of the very first firms established in the Republic of Belarus, back in 1991 — expands to 4 partners and 30 associates, making it the largest firm in the country. 

The Firm’s clients include Coca-Cola, Volvo, the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, British American Tobacco, and Renault.

“Merging teams of associates will provide extremely important opportunity to expand more effort for the development of business,” said new SBH Partner Ivan Martynov, the former Managing Partner of Archer Legal.

An interview with Ivan Martynov was published in the February 2015 issue of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. 

Dentons Real Estate team has acted as legal counsel to a fund managed by GLL Real Estate Partners on the preliminary acquisition of the Kazimierz Office Center in Krakow, Poland, from Globe Trade Centre, a leading commercial real estate company focused on CEE and SEE. Weil Gotshal Manges advised GTC on the deal. The transaction was valued at EUR 42 million.

Completed in 2009, Kazimierz Office Center includes 15,000 square meters of office space on five floors. The building is placed in a rapidly developing part of Krakow, in direct proximity to the city center, close to the Galeria Kazimierz shopping mall and multiple hotels.

The Dentons team was led by Partner Pawel Debowski, who said: “In addition to advising GLL on the Kazimierz Office Center acquisition, in the last few months, the Dentons team assisted two other institutional clients with their office complex investments in Krakow – the purchase of Quattro Business Park and the sale of Kapelanka 42.” He added: “Krakow, Poland’s second largest city after Warsaw, is rapidly becoming the most sought after location for companies in the modern business services sector. Developed office infrastructure and transport, skilled professionals and local authority support, together with high quality of life, all make Krakow a key office investment market in Poland.”

Debowski, the Chairman of the firm’s European Real Estate Group, was supported by Senior Associate Agnieszka Nagorska. 

Brandl & Talos has recently achieved a positive guidance from the Austrian Financial Markets Authority for its client Coinfinity GmbH, an Austrian start-up active in the Bitcoin sector. Binder Groesswang advised Coinfinity on sales tax issues.

Coinfinity, which is located in Graz, operates the first Bitcoin ATM in Austria and offers the sale of Bitcoin via more than 600 retail shops selling vouchers.The virtual currency can be exchanged for 25, 50, or 100 Euros. Customers receive a voucher that can be converted into Bitcoin through a website.The price for the digital currency depends on supply and demand, which may be subject to fluctuation. 

Brandl & Talos formally requested guidance from the FMA on behalf of its client to determine whether there was any obligation to obtain a concession under Austrian legislation and provided the authority with a legal opinion on Coinfinity’s activities (sale of Bitcoin via the Internet, via a Bitcoin ATM, and via retail shops selling vouchers). The FMA provided a decision stating that these activities do not trigger the requirement of a concession for banking, payment services, or the issuance of e-money. According to a Brandl & Talos statement, “while the FMA’s decision is binding only for Coinfinity, it is of great value to the entire Bitcoin industry and is an important step towards making Austria an attractive market for innovative cryptocurrency business models.”

Arthur Stadler, attorney at Brandl & Talos who led the firm’s team on the matter, explained that: “This recent clarifying statement of the FMA resolved a set of uncertainties regarding banking and regulatory matters and cleared the way for Bitcoin business models. We expect a significant increase of innovative products in connection with the virtual currency and the Bitcoin network protocol.”

In addition to Stadler, the team at Brandl & Talos advising on all regulatory matters, including on banking, payment and e-money services included Nicholas Aquilina and Raphael Toman. 

The Binder Groesswang team representing Coinfinity on sales tax issues was led by Partner Christian Wimpissinger, assisted by Associate Walter Loukota.

Allen & Overy has advised Turkish Airlines on the USD 328 million enhanced equipment trust certificate (EETC) financing secured against three new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The Bookrunners were Citibank Global Markets, Goldman Sachs — both advised by Milbank — and Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas, with BNP Paribas acting as Liquidity Facility Provider and Depositary.

London-based A&O Partner Paul Nelson explained the significance of the deal: “It’s an exciting time for the aviation financing market with innovative and ground-breaking deals happening in many jurisdictions. This is particularly interesting as it is the first EETC issued by a Turkish airline. Although we are seeing large pockets of bank liquidity and reduced commercial debt pricing, the capital markets remain an attractive source of large scale financing, whether in the EETC, the ABS or the ECA supported markets.”

Alongside Nelson were London-based Partner Tim Conduit, New York-based Partner John Hwang, and Istanbul-based Partner Gokhan Eraksoy, with support from Senior Associates Deanna Smith, Karen Lee, and Chris Mitchell, Senior Counsel Umut Gurgey, and Associates Derek Poon, Andrew Page, and Mirae Yang.

The Milbank team advising Citibank and Goldman Sachs included Partners Arnie Peinado, Brett Nadritch, Drew Fine, Helfried Schwarz, and Andrew Walker.

Image source: SpaceKris / Shutterstock.com

CMS has advised Advent International, the global private equity investors, on the sale of Partner in Pet Food (“PPF”), a leading European manufacturer of private-label pet food, to Pamplona Capital Management for an enterprise value of EUR 315 million. Kirkland & Ellis and Citibank advised Pamplona on the deal.

Headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, PPF offers a full range of cat and dog food products, including dry food, cans, alucups, pouches, and snacks. Through its eight production facilities across Europe, PPF supplies international and local retailers in over 37 countries. 

The CMS team was led by Graham Conlon, Co-Head of International Private Equity, and involved a team of lawyers in 6 jurisdictions, including David Butts, Valentina Santambrogio, Anela Musat, Rob Lammiman, Sean Bruns, Barbora Dubanska, Radka Lorincova, Roman Tarlavski, Christian Delgado, Zoltan Poronyi, Agnes Solyom, Orsolya Szilagyi, Marek Sawicki, Tomasz Waligorski, Frances Gerrard, Martina Poliacikova, and Martina Novysedlakova.

Graham Conlon commented: “Having advised on the acquisition of PPF four years ago, and advised on PPF portfolio work since then,  it has been a real pleasure to watch PPF grow and consolidate its position over the years, and to help Advent International to reach a successful exit.”

The transaction is subject to competition approval and consultation with PPF’s works council.

The Varul law firm has announced that Senior Associate Marko Kairjak has been promoted to Partner in the Baltic firm’s Estonia office. Kairjak joined Varul in 2005 and leads the banking and finance law and white-collar crime teams.

Kairjak has advised credit institutions, fund managers, and investment firms on financing transactions and other legal issues, and participated in the drafting of sector-specific legislation. He also practiced capital markets at the London office of Covington & Burling. He is a member of the regulatory working group of the Legal Committee of the Estonian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, and an advisor with the Baltic alternative market First North of NASDAQ OMX.  Among other things, Marko has long-standing experience in advising clients on economic criminal law matters, including solving cases involving corporate criminal liability and taxation and competition offenses. 

In February of this year Kairjak defended his doctoral thesis in criminal law in the University of Tartu in Estonia. In addition to his doctorate, he has an LL.M. degree from the University of Cambridge in the field of capital markets, and he has been a visiting researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin, the University of Osnabruck, and the University of Gottingen. He is an economic criminal law lecturer at the University of Tartu and a financial ethics lecturer at the Estonian Business School. 

According to Paul Varul, the Senior Partner of Varul, becoming a Partner represents a natural progression in Marko’s career. “His remarkable academic and practical knowledge of financial and criminal law are of great value to both the firm and our clients,” Varul said. “I’m also very proud of Marko’s newly acquired doctorate, which clearly indicates that in addition to providing top quality legal assistance, we are also striving for academic excellence.”