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Glimstedt has provided legal support on the October 2nd, 2014 sale of the bankrupt state-owned Liepajas Metalurgs factory to “KVV Liepjas metalurgs”, a subsidiary of the Ukrainian KVV Group, for EUR 107 million.

The KVV Group plan to restore the factory by investing approximately EUR 30 million euros in the working capital. The metallurgy factory — the only one of its kind in the Baltic States — was founded in 1882.

Glimstedt Partner Ivars Pommers, who heads the firm’s Companies and Restructuring group, led the team advising the sellers.

The deal was originally reported on by CEE Legal Matters on September 8, 2014, when AstapovLawyers announced it will represent KVV Group on the deal. 

Katarzyna Wozniak-Mrygon has accepted the offer to join the BUNGE Group as Head of Legal in Poland. 

   

Katarzyna Wozniak-Mrygon (Linkedin)

She comes to BUNGE from Michelin Polska, where she was Legal Counsel in the Commercial Division for the past three years, responsible for all commercial issues, competition and anti-trust policy in Poland, Baltics, Czech and Slovakia. Before going in-house with Michelin in 2011 she spent three years with CMS Cameron McKenna, followed by 7 years with Squire Sanders (now Squire Patton Boggs). She received her law degree from the University of Warsaw in 2000.

Bunge is an agriculture and food business company originally founded in 1818 in the United States. It operates in five segments: Agribusiness, Sugar and Bioenergy, Edible Oil Products, Milling Products, and Fertilizer.

On September 30, the Vegas Lex law firm persuaded The Commercial Court of the Stavropol Territory to compel NPO Saturn to fully repair the gas turbine engine (GTD-110) it had supplied to the Second Generating Company of the Wholesale Power Market (OGK-2) after a breakdown, free of charge.

NPO Saturn, a major Russian gas turbine manufacturer, had supplied the GTD-110 engine as part of gas turbine equipment for OGK-2’s Ryazanskaya thermal power plant. However, the engine failed to meet the quality requirements stipulated by the supply contract, which led to several engine shutdowns during its service, and finally to a serious breakdown. OGK-2 claimed it was entitled to free repair of the substandard equipment.

The Commercial Court of the Stavropol Territory considered OGK-2’s claim that the engine had been substandard in quality for more than two years and ordered an expert evaluation of the equipment, which revealed that the materials used for the engine’s components had been of low quality and other flaws in the equipment’s assembly.

Based on its evaluation the Court ruled in favor of OGK-2, and denied NPO Saturn’s claim of an overdue RUR 10 million payment under the purchase agreement. The Court also ordered the supplier to repair the engine within seven months free of charge. 

The Vegas Lex team was led by Managing Partner Alexander Sitnikov and Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice Kirill Trukhanov.

Dentons’ real estate team has advised Atrium European Real Estate, a leading owner, operator, and developer of shopping centers in Central and Eastern Europe, on the acquisition of the Focus Mall shopping center in Poland from Aviva Investors for EUR 122 million.

The transaction was financed using Atrium’s existing cash resources.

Focus Mall is currently the largest shopping center in Bydgoszcz, one of the ten largest Polish cities. Constructed in 2008 it comprises 41,000 square meters of retail space on two floors. It is nearly 100% let to anchor tenants, including a Saturn electronics store and a Cinema City, as well other high profile international and domestic retail fashion brands. It now becomes part of Atrium’s EUR 2.5 billion portfolio of 153 primarily food-anchored retail properties and shopping centers located predominantly in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Russia. 

Dentons’ team on the acquisition was led by Partner Tomasz Stasiak, supported by Senior Associate Anna Garbula-Wegrzynowska.

Commenting on the transaction, Stasiak said: “Last year we represented Atrium on the acquisition of another shopping center—Galeria Dominikanska in Wroclaw—from JV partners, a private investor, and Deutsche EuroShop AG for EUR 152 million. We are happy to have once again supported the client in building its portfolio and strengthening its position on the retail market across the CEE region.”

Weinhold Legal has advised the shareholders of CS MTB in connection with the sale of an interest in the Company to Czech Republic and Chelsea soccer goalkeeper Petr Cech and the owners of SPORT INVEST.

CSB MTB is the organizer of successful sports projects in the Czech Republic such as “Bike for Life,” “Clue for Life,” “Enduro Series,” and “Prague Stairs.”

Weinhold Legal’s advice consisted mainly of representation in negotiating the share transfer agreement, the shareholders’ agreements, and other related contracts. The firm’s team included partner Ondrej Havranek, Senior Lawyer David Emr, and Concipient Vaclav Smetana. Commenting on the transaction, Havranek said: “We have a few active cyclists in our office and he Kolo pro zivot [“Bike for Life”] project is close to our hearts – we have therefore contributed to the entry of new partners in this successful project.” 

Bird & Bird has announced the appointment of Rafal Dziedzic as a Partner in its Warsaw office, where he becomes the head of its Corporate and M&A practice in Poland.

Dziedzic specialises in mergers and acquisitions and has 17 years of experience in handling large transactions on Polish and international markets, including those conducted in other jurisdictions. He has also advised on numerous privatizations in the Polish market.

According to Bird & Bird, his clients include companies from the agricultural, chemical, FMCG, pharmaceutical, health, mining, public services, real estate and steel sectors. He also advised financial institutions on M&A transactions.

Dziedzic joins from Gide Loyrette Nouel — where he worked since obtaining his degree from the University of Warsaw in 1997 —  where he was head of the Mergers and Acquisitions department. 

Maciej Gawronski, head of Bird & Bird’s Warsaw office, claimed that: “Our clients who have worked with Rafal before congratulated us on winning him for our firm. He is well-known for his in-depth experience, knowledge and market understanding, which combined with the know-how and reputation of the whole Bird & Bird team will allow us to build a strong and stable corporate practice in Poland, focusing in particular on M&A transactions. Rafa? will help us strengthen our market advantage in the areas where Warsaw office is already a proven leader – advising on transactions where new technologies and intellectual property play a key role. We hope that with Rafal on board we will welcome many new exciting challenges and interesting projects.”

For his part, Dziedzic said: “I am very excited about joining Bird & Bird and especially its energetic and forward-thinking Warsaw team. I do believe that I will contribute to the development of corporate practice both in Poland and at the international level. I am convinced I will successfully combine my professional experience with the possibilities offered by Bird & Bird’s international network.”

Lawyers from White & Case’s Ankara, Istanbul, Warsaw, Moscow, and Prague offices were among the 37 world-wide elected to the partnership at the White Shoe firm. According to the firm, “the promotions are effective January 1, 2015 and span 12 of the Firm’s global practices and 16 countries.”

The 37 new partners at the firm include: Yalin Akmenek, a litigator in Istanbul; Ivo Janda, an Anti-trust lawyer in Prague; Tomasz Ostrowski, a Banking lawyer in Warsaw, and Maxim Kobzev and Cagdas Evrim Ergun, Finance specialists in Moscow and Ankara, respectively.

According to White & Case Chairman Hugh Verrier: “I am pleased to announce a partner class that is truly global and demonstrates our confidence in the future. Our new partners have all shown their commitment to working together with their colleagues to help our clients be successful in an increasingly complex and more interconnected world.”

This year’s class is primarily male, as 34 of the new partners are men, and only 3 are women. Based on the firm’s report, it appears 10 of the new partners are based in the Americas, 23 in Europe, 1 in the United Arab Emirates, and 3 in Asia.

BWW Law & Tax has advised the international construction company Strabag on the acquisition of the Astoria office-commercial project in Warsaw.

The 28 thousand square meter complex includes 17.6 thousand square meters offered as office space and 1.4 thousand square meters as commercial space. A subterranean car park for 100 cars will be also available. The investment, worth EUR 75 million, will be completed in the first half of 2016

BWW performed due diligence of the real estate, advised on the transaction and related tax matters, and negotiated with sellers and financial institutions. The firm’s team was managed by Partner Marek Wojnar, supported Marta Kosiedowska, Katarzyna Marzec, and Magdalena Banaszczyk-Glowacka.

According to Marek Wojnar: “The purchase of the plot located at Przeskok St. is yet another real estate project within which we have been advising the STRABAG group in Poland. This transaction is undoubtedly a confirmation of the corporation’s dynamic development in Poland. BWW Law & Tax is honored to provide legal advisory to the benefit of Strabag continuously throughout a dozen or so years, both in the scope of issues connected with the real estate law as well as within advisory concerning the development process, court proceedings and arbitration proceedings, including issues connected with expressways’ investments and the energetic sector.”

Freshfields and Schoenherr have advised the Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA) and Austria Glas Recycling GmbH (AGR) recycling companies on the creation of a new common basis for a future co-operation. 

According to Freshfields, “from January 1, 2015, the amendment to the Austrian Waste Management Act and the recast of the Packaging Ordinance 2013 will bring some major changes regarding packaging waste obligations and the collection and recovery of packaging. By the introduction of increased competition in the market for dispensation of household packaging a new era will commence in the recycling of packaging. ARA was founded in 1993 as a non-profit company for the collection of packaging waste from households and businesses, being a joint venture of industry, trade and disposal companies. ARA offers full service to all domestic and foreign manufacturers, importers, packers, fillers, wholesalers and retailers of packaging who are subject to the Austrian Packaging Ordinance. By entering a license agreement with ARA, these companies transfer to ARA the legal obligations they have under the ordinance.”

Freshfields reports that, against this background, ARA and AG, “have decided to interlock strategically and to work even more closely together in their customers’ interest. While ARA acquired 51% of AGR from the former shareholders Vetropack Austria AG and Stolzle – Oberglas GmbH; Vetropack Austria AG and Stolzle – Oberglas GmbH obtained 3.3% of the shares in ARA through a subsidiary.”

Freshfields advised AGR (and its shareholder Vetropack) for many years, mainly from a regulatory perspective. The transaction was led by Partner Stephan Denk, who leads Freshfields’ regulatory group in Vienna, along with Partners Farid Sigari-Majd and Dora Rendessy.

The Schoenherr team was led by Partner Sascha Hodl, working with ARA advisors Alfred Feitsch and Stefanie Woss.

Mayer Brown and CHSH have advised Raiffeisen Bank International as arranger and dealer on the establishment of a EUR 5 billion Debt Issuance Programme of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG as issuer. CSSF in Luxemburg approved the respective prospectus.  

Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG is the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group — one of Austria’s largest banking groups.  

The Debt Issuance Programme includes among standard instruments also AT1 instruments which are supposed to enable the issuer to raise Additional Tier 1 capital. Since the beginning of 2014, AT1 instruments structured in compliance with the new capital adequacy requirements of Basel III and the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD IV) and the related Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) are becoming increasingly popular. The AT1 instruments are characterized by their unlimited term and the possibility to cancel interest payments and to write down the nominal amount of the securities, if the Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio falls below a certain threshold.  The Debt Issuance Programme enables Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich to issue debt instruments, including AT1 instruments, at short notice and to react flexible to market conditions.

The Mayer Brown team was led by Partner Jochen Seitz, assisted by Partners Ralf Hesdahl and Ingo Kleutgens and Associate Markus Bruschand. Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich’s Head of Legal is Christoph Lehner. Raiffeisen Bank International’s lawyers Ulrike Toscani and Matthias Pusch worked with Jorg Liesenfeld and Michaela Domnanovich from RBI’s Transaction Management team. 

Transaction advice on Austrian law was provided by Cerha Hempel Spielfeld Hlawati Partner Volker Glas and Associates Christian Aichinger and Gernot Wilfling.