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Monica Constantin has been hired as the new SEE Legal Affairs Manager at Danone.

Based in Romania, Constantin will oversee the legal matters of Danone for Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, and Romania. She joins the company after holding the position of Legal Manager with Caroli Foods for over 6 years. Her experience also includes positions with Wienerberger and European Drinks.

Constantin told CEE Legal Matters: “I’m optimistic as to my new path with Danone!” She remembered fondly her almost 7 years spent with Caroli Foods and spoke with pride about successfully closing several interesting projects at the company, including the merger between Caroli Foods and Spanish Campofrio, a deal that made Caroli Foods the number one player in the Romanian processed meats sector.

Prica & Partners has announced that Senior Associate Marijanti Babic has been promoted to Junior Partner at the Serbian firm.

Babic specializes in Corporate law with a particular focus on healthcare and data protection issues, as well as Employment and Immigration law. She advises both Serbian and Macedonian clients. 

After graduating from the Faculty of Law, Skopje University, Macedonia in 2005, Babic joined Prica & Partners in 2006. 

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen (NNDKP) has assisted Lafarge in connection with the sale of its assets in Romania as part of a selection process won by the Irish company Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH). As a consequence of the expected USD 40 billion merger between Lafarge and Holcim, one of the largest worldwide deals on the construction market, CRH will take over the shares of Lafarge and Holcim in several jurisdictions, including France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, UK, Canada, US, the Philippines, and Brazil.

In a joint statement, Holcim and Paris-based Lafarge said they entered negotiations with CRH to sell cement factories and other facilities to CRH for EUR 6.5 billion (USD 7.34 billion), part of a selloff required to get approval from various global antitrust authorities.

NNDKP’s involvement consisted in carrying out a thorough due diligence analysis of Lafarge in relation to all eight of the companies it owns in Romania, in providing legal advice during the due diligence process conducted by the interested investors, and assisting in connection with the Romanian aspects of the transaction documentation.

The project was coordinated by Partner Ruxandra Bologa (Partner and Co-head of the Corporate, Energy and Natural Resources practice) and Senior Associate Anca Mihailescu, and the due diligence process was conducted by a cross-disciplinary team of attorneys from the firm.

Schoenherr has announced that two of its lawyers — Vienna-based Thomas Kulnigg and Bucharest-based Adriana Radu — joined the firm’s partnership on February 1, 2015.

Thomas Kulnigg, a specialist for M&A transactions and corporate law matters, has worked for Schoenherr in its Vienna office since 2006, advising clients primarily from the IT, technology, industrial, and financial sectors on their national and international transactions. Kulnigg’s recent work includes advising Heta Asset Resolution on the sale of the South-Eastern European banking network of the former Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International to Advent International, advising Osterrechische Volksbanken and VR-Leasing on the sale of their leasing businesses in Poland and Romania to Poland’s Getin Holding and in the Czech Republic to GE Money Bank, Daimler on the reorganization of its joint-venture with the Austrian Pappas family, and  Brau Union/Heineken on the sale of Pago to Eckes Granini. In addition, he has been advising the Styria-based industrial specialist INTECO special melting technologies for many years, particularly on transactional matters both within Austria and abroad (most recently, in the USA). Prior to joining Schoenherr in 2006, Kulnigg worked for, among others, the European Center for E-Commerce and Internet-Law (E-Center).  

“Thomas Kulnigg is an extremely talented and experienced young lawyer and we’re very glad to promote him to partner,” said Christoph Lindinger, Schoenherr’s Managing Partner. “Thomas stands out on the basis of his hard work, his drive and his comprehensive know-how. He is undoubtedly one of the most promising transactional lawyers and corporate law practitioners of his generation.” 

Bucharest-based Adriana Radu specializes in M&A, especially in the TMT sector. Before joining the firm in 2010, she worked as Legal Manager of SBS Broadcasting Romania, and between 2003 and 2005 she was an Associate with Musat & Asociatii. Radu becomes the 11th partner in the Bucharest office.

Holman Fenwick Willan has advised NewLead Holding in relation to the recent delivery of five bitumen tankers (the Captain Nikolas I, the Nepheli, the Sofia, the Ioli, and the Katerina L.) to NewLead’s fleet.

Four of the five vessels were built in 2009, with the Sofia built in 2008. The acquisition of three out of the tankers is to be funded through a combination of equity and debt financing, with the Ioli and the Katerina L. added to NewLead’s fleet following two separate bareboat/leasing agreements. 

The quintet of tankers were added to NewLead’s fleet together with associated debt and in exchange for NewLead’s issuance of shares of common stock.  

NewLead has been managing the Captain Nikolas I and the Sofia for over a year. The remaining three vessels were delivered to NewLead’s fleet at various times during the fourth quarter of 2014. 

Piraeus-Based HFW Corporate and Ship Finance Partner Jasel Chauhan said of the deal: “Corporate transactions involving both equity and debt finance are a core and growing area for HFW in Piraeus. Despite the challenging market conditions both in Greece and internationally, we are delighted to have been able to assist NewLead on their latest acquisition.”  HFW’s team consisted of Chauhan, Partner Dimitri Vassos, and Associate Holly Foster.

White & Case and Karanovic & Nikolic have advised Mid Europa Partners on its acquisition of a controlling stake in the Danube Foods Group B.V. and Clates Holding B.V. The value of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2015, was not disclosed. Jones Day advised Danube Foods Group, and JPM advised the warrantors during the transaction, “including negotiations on representations and warranties and disclosure exercise.”

Mid Europa Partners is a leading buyout investor focused on the growth markets of Central & Eastern Europe. The Danube Foods Group, which achieved revenue of more than EUR 400 million in 2014, is a leading branded fast moving consumer goods platform in the former Yugoslavia. It includes the region’s largest independent dairy business as well as a leading confectionery producer and a leading producer of mineral water and other non-alcoholic beverages in Serbia.

“The complexity and scale of a transaction of this nature in Serbia presented many challenges,” said London-based White & Case Partner Ian Bagshaw, who led the team advising on the acquisition. “We’re very pleased to have been mandated by MEP on the deal and to have helped our client and its co-investors successfully navigate its issues,” he said, and noted that “on a personal note, the deal represents a landmark for me as I originally worked on the sell side some five-plus years ago before Salford entered administration and it is a pleasure to execute a buy side mandate where I failed to do so on the sell side!”

Mid-Europa Partners’ Senior Partner Robert Knorr, who leads the firm’s consumer investments, said: “This has been one of our most exciting but also most complex transactions to date. White & Case was perfectly positioned to help us navigate the complexities given its focus on complex buyouts and its market leading practice in the region.”

White & Case previously advised a consortium of investors, 75 percent controlled by funds managed or advised by Mid Europa Partners, on the EUR 828 million sale of its stake in T-Mobile Czech Republic to Deutsche Telekom. 

The White & Case team in London included Partners Bagshaw, Ross Allardice, and Martin Forbes, with support from Associates Mark Evans, Tom Leslie, Will Summers, and Amita Patel and Trainee Lawyers Oliver Arnott, Ali Auda, Gabe Tan and Charlie Mercer. Karanovic & Nikolic Partner Rastko Petakovic acted as the lead legal counsel for Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

Image source: unisign.rs

The Dentons real estate team has acted as legal counsel to AEW Europe on the acquisition from Panattoni Europe of a 255,000 square meter logistics development in Prague. The transaction value was EUR 150 million.

AEW Europe, through its LOGISTIS Fund and in cooperation with Panattoni, will develop a standalone warehouse facility in the district of Dobroviz, near Prague. Dentons reports that the facility is set to be completed during this summer, and that it is already fully pre-let to Amazon and will serve as a new location in Amazon’s European Fulfilment Network. The remaining 130,000 square meters consists of a logistics development comprising seven Grade A assets. Four of the assets — totaling 102,000 square meters will be built to let as multitenant units, while the remainder will be developed for the owner occupier market. 

Dentons’ team was led by Partner Stewart Middleman, Head of CEE Real Estate at the firm, and included Counsel Michal Hink, Co-Head of Prague Real Estate, as well as Counsels Jana Matiskova and Marketa Tvrda and several unnamed associates. Middleman commented: “Last year the property market witnessed multiple significant strategic investment transactions in the logistics sector across Central and Eastern Europe, with single country and cross-border acquisitions and sales. We are pleased to have assisted AEW Europe on this project which affirms that the positive trend in the industrial sector continues.”

JPM Senior Lawyer Ivan Petrovic has been elected Vice President of the Foreign Investors Council’s Real-Estate Committee.

According to a statement released by JPM, “the main aim of this Committee is to influence the improvement of the legislative system pertaining to real-estate and to establish a dialogue between foreign investors and state authorities.”

The firm also explained that “the Foreign Investors Council is a business association set up to assist Serbia in fully accepting and nurturing a market economy and introducing a system of positive business attitude. By taking an active role in the transition process, FIC contributes to the improvement of the Serbian investment climate, engaging in a dialogue with the stakeholders and voicing the positions of investors.”

Petrovic is completed his legal education at the University of Belgrade in 2004 and was admitted to the Serbian bar in 2008. He specializes in Real Estate and Litigation.

Image source: jpm.rs

Baker Botts has announced that it successfully defended Gazprom against a claim for USD 1.37 billon lodged in the United States by Moncrief Oil International.

According to a statement released by Baker Botts, “the Fort Worth, Texas jury trial, which was in its fourth week of testimony presented to 14 jurors from the Fort Worth area, was suddenly dismissed with prejudice by Moncrief on Monday, February 2, 2015.”  Lawyers from the Kelly Hart law firm in Ft. Worth, Texas, represented Moncrief Oil.

Moncrief was claiming that Gazprom backed out of a deal for rights to develop a natural gas field in Siberia, sabotaged the business agreement, and stole its trade secrets. According to BloombergBusiness, the case was dismissed upon the revelation that a key piece of evidence the U.S. company relied on was revealed to be fake, which Baker Botts Trial Partner Van Beckwith described as “stunning” and his personal “Perry Mason moment.” Gazprom has claimed in a January 29 filing with the court that Moncrief had “brazenly fabricated evidence and knowingly offered false testimony.”

Michael Calhoon, a Trial Partner with Baker Botts, declared it a “major victory for our client Gazprom.” According to Calhoon, “the dismissal of this case during trial puts an end to years of litigation by Moncrief Oil International over alleged trade secrets and supposed interference with its business, none of which had merit. It took a long time to get here, but this is the right result.”   

Van Beckwith concurred, saying: “This was a difficult case from the start, which was tried in Moncrief’s hometown but we worked hard to share our side of the story with the dedicated and hard working women and men of the jury. The jury did a great job understanding the complexities of the global liquified natural gas business.” 

This was the third attempt by Moncrief to litigate its claim against Gazprom. Earlier attempts in 2007 before a Texas federal court and in 2010 in Germany were both dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. “After years of litigation losses in federal court, Moncrief Oil decided their hometown state court offered the best opportunity for victory,” said Partner Michael Goldberg, another member of the Baker Botts team representing Gazprom. “I am proud of our trial team for not backing down and ultimately getting to the truth which resulted in this dismissal with prejudice.”  

In addition to Calhoon, Beckwith, and Goldberg, other members of the Baker Botts team included Partnera Ryan Bangerts, Aaron Street, Macey Stokes, and Tom Phillips, Senior Associate John Lawrence, and Associates Eddie LaCour, Kristin Cope, Monica Hughes, Melissa Hurter, Chequan Lewis, Mark Little, and Russ Herman. 

Image source: Merkushev Vasiliy / Shutterstock.com

Sorainen has announced that firm founder and Senior Partner Aku Sorainen has been appointed co-chair of the Law Firm Management Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) along with Hermann Knott, a Partner at Luther.

The two began their terms on January 1, 2015. The IBA is the world’s leading organization for the legal sector, gathering 55,000 individual lawyers and over 200 bar associations and law societies spanning all continents.

Sorainen had already been Senior Vice-Chairman of the IBA Law Firm Management Committee, contributing to building the “Managing Partner Toolkit” know-how sharing platform, which — according to a Sorainen statement — “helps legal practices worldwide obtain information on best practices in law firm management.”

In that same firm statement, Aku Sorainen explained his commitment to information sharing: “Teamwork and know-how sharing is one of the core values of the firm we have embedded in our culture from ground-up. Initially it was strange even for lawyers working with Sorainen – why share their specific expertise which adds to their individual value? I’ve seen how it has helped us grow internally, and so in 2009 when I was honored to be invited to the Committee, I welcomed the possibility to add my little drops of wisdom to progress in the international legal landscape.”