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Sorainen Estonia has advised Creditinfo Group on its acquisition of Estonian credit bureau Krediidiinfo from the Experian group. Raidla Ellex advised Experian on the sale.

Krediidiinfo, which was launched in 1993, is engaged in corporate economic and financial data collection, processing, and analysis. It hosts Estonia’s largest corporate and private database, and currently more than 16,000 companies, both domestic and outside Estonia, use its credit reporting services.

The Experian group is a global provider of information services, operating in more than 39 countries and employing more than 16,000 people. In 2014 Experian’s total turnover was over USD 4.8 billion.

Hakon Stefansson, Chief Operations Officer of Creditinfo Group, stated that: “This acquisition is a strategic investment for Creditinfo and plays an important role in creating a Pan Baltic credit bureau service. Creditinfo is the sole shareholder of Creditinfo Lithuania and a minority shareholder in AS Kreditinformacijas Birojs Latvia where banks hold the majority of the shares. This acquisition will enable us to speed up the Baltic expansion, while also providing us with indispensable knowledge of local specifics through the existing employees.”

Stefansson added, “Creditinfo will continue to deliver an effective Credit Bureau service, whilst providing new ideas and best practice which can be implemented by the customers to provide effective and efficient solutions for their customers. We will actively bring greater structure and strategic direction with the aim of further increasing the stability of the Estonian financial system and stimulating investment and financial inclusion, to create an environment in which the Estonian lenders can provide improved facilities for all borrowers, ranging from small enterprises and micro enterprises. Creditinfo will grow the business in Estonia by introducing various value added products and innovative solutions.”

The Sorainen team was led by Partner Toomas Prangli, supported by Senior Associates Paul Kunnap and Tanel Molok.

The Raidla Ellex team consisted of Partner Sven Papp and Lawyer Sven Bottcher.

CMS has announced that, on January 1 of this year, Zbigniew Kozlowski, the head of the environmental law team, and Pawel Zalewski, who leads the renewable energy team — both within the CMS Energy and Projects Department — were promoted to Of Counsels in the firm’s Warsaw office.

Kozlowski has been associated with CMS since 2007. He advises on industrial emissions, trading in allowances for CO2 emissions, environmental impact assessments, waste management, water and wastewater management, permits for the use of the environment, and environmental pollution. According to CMS, while with the firm he has provided legal assistance to ENEA Wytwarzanie in matters relating to a leakage of fuel oil from the Kozienice power plant, decisions on environmental conditions, integrated permits, and authorizations to participate in the ETS. He has also developed scenarios of conduct for several power plants belonging to the Veolia group, aimed at obtaining additional free allowances for CO2 emissions, and he has advised ArcelorMittal Poland in relation to deviations from BAT conclusions. He also took part in preparing the strategy of the implementation of the IED directive in a network of a power plant and a heat and power plant from a leading energy group and has successfully represented clients in a number of administrative and administrative judicial proceedings. 

Zalewski, who joined CMS in 2009, specializes in providing legal advice to entities operating in the energy industry. According to CMS, “he has advised on matters related to the prospecting and exploring of hydrocarbons, in particular in relation to the regulatory and administrative issues in the context of obtaining administrative decisions necessary to conduct this type of activity. His experience also includes M&A transactions – he has prepared and negotiated M&A agreements for major wind energy projects. Additionally, he has many years of experience in the provision of ongoing support in relation to wind power projects.”

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAM) has won a tender as legal counsel for issuing mortgage-secured bonds for the Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending (AHML) under a pilot project entitled “Mortgage Securities Factory” — a new tool launched by the AHML to refinance mortgage loans.

As per the Terms of Reference, EPAM will be involved in drafting standard documents for single-tranche issuance of mortgage-secured and AHML guaranteed bonds secured with AHML’s obligation to repay defaulting mortgages out of the mortgage security and to support the pilot mortgage-secured bond issue.

The firm’s Banking & Finance and Capital Markets team, headed by Partner Dmitriy Glazounov and Senior Associate Oleg Ushakov, will handle the matter.

Hungary’s Jalsovszky Law Firm has introduced a Banking & Finance practice group. The firm’s new three-person team is headed up by Partner Gabor Pazsitka, who has 20 years’ of professional experience, including 10 years at the finance practice groups of Clifford Chance and Linklaters. The firm also announced that Istvan Csovari has been promoted to Partner, with a primary focus of further developing its tax practice.

Pazsitka moves to Jalsovszky from his own law firm, Hajdu & Pazsitka Law Office, where he spent the past 9 years. Before launching that firm in 2007, he spent over 7 years at Linklaters, leaving only when that firm closed its Budapest office. He received his law degree from the Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest in 1998, then an LL.M. from University College London in 1999.

Csovari has been with Jalsovszky since 2006, when he moved over from Reczicza White & Case, where he had spent the previous two and a half years. He has also spent over a year and a half as a Tax Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers Budapest. He received his law degree from the University of Szeged in 2001, and then an LL.M. in International Tax Law from the Vienna University of Economics and Business in 2013.

“Reaching our 10th anniversary has brought us to a significant milestone, with the firm moving to the partnership model that is used successfully at international law firms,” said Managing Partner Pal Jalsovszky. “The launch of the banking group means we can depart from the ’boutique law firm’ concept, successfully used over the past 10 years, and cover the full range of business law services. I am particularly pleased that the new partners of the firm can represent our values both professionally and personally. Gabor has unrivalled professional experience and market recognition in the financial law sector, while his mentality fits very well with the spirit of the firm. Istvan’s contribution to our success to date is beyond all praise. During the past nine years he has proved in many ways that he is ready to take on greater responsibilities.”

Dentons is advising Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE), Poland’s state-owned transmission system operator, on implementing an opinion issued by the Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).

According to a Dentons’ statement, on September 23, 2015, ACER issued an opinion on compliance with EU regulations on allocation of cross-border transmission capacity and management of restrictions in CEE. Dentons reports that, in that opinion, ACER “reported breaches of these regulations in electricity exchanges between Germany and Austria. The irregularities translate into unscheduled loop flows and have an adverse impact on other transmission systems in the region.”

To implement the solutions recommended in the ACER opinion, local systems that allocate transmission capacity and manage restrictions must be redesigned, and new rules must be devised for transmission system operators that manage grid restrictions and thus counteract the consequences of loop flows in the CEE region.

The Dentons’ team advising PSE was led by Poland Managing Partner Arkadiusz Krasnodebski, who was supported by Michal Motylewski, Agnieszka Kulinska, Jan Dubinski, and Magdalena Brodawka.

Krasnodebski commented on the significance of ACER’s opinion: “ACER’s opinion is unique, entirely without precedent, and at the same time of crucial significance for the safety of Poland’s energy system. In the summer of 2015, Poland was heavily hit by unscheduled cross-border flows through its transmission grid. ACER’s recommendations aim to prevent situations of this kind from recurring in the future.”

Sorainen Lithuania has advised a company from the Inreal group on its acquisition of a business center in Vilnius from Litectus. Valiunas Ellex advised Litectus on the deal.

The nine-storey business center, located at 92, Zalgirio street, in what Sorainen describes as “a convenient and rapidly developing part of the city,” covers a total area of 14,850 square meters

The Sorainen team included Partner Ausra Mudenaite, Senior Associate Arturas Kojala, and Associates Mantas Kuslys and Karolis Kunigelis.

The Valiunas Ellex team was led by Associate Julija Nikitaraviciene.

Image Source: inreal.lt

The Kovacs Reti Szegheo law firm has announced the addition of Hungarian lawyer Adam Keri, who joins the firm to lead its Labor Law team.

At KRS, Keri will specialize in labor law and social security.

Keri joins from the LIGA Trade Unions, where he was a Legal Expert for two and a half years. Before that he spent five years as a Senior Staff Attorney at Hungary’s Equal Treatment Authority, and three years as an Attorney at Eurocenter Shopping Center and Real Management. He began his legal career with two years at the SBGK Law and Patent Office. He got his law degree from the Law Faculty of Eotvos Lorand University of Sciences in 2001. 

Three lawyers from DLA Piper’s Vienna office have worked on the firm’s team providing advice to the Saudi Arabian Alfanar Group on its acquisition of all shares in Heinrich Kopp GmbH from Luxembourg-based private equity fund Palero Invest. The two parties involved have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 22,000+ employees and USD 2.5 billion turnover, Alfanar is a major player in the electrical manufacturing business, including the manufacturing of electrical construction products as well as related engineering services. Alfanar operates construction and manufacturing businesses, design & development centers, and a number of facilities in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Heinrich Kopp GmbH, which is based in Kahl am Main (Germany), is one of the leading companies for electrical installation products in the German-speaking world. The company develops, manufactures and sells electronic products to specialist retailers, the DIY sector, industrial clients and also the automotive industry in various European countries. The company has production sites in Kahl am Main, Germany and Messadine, Tunisia and sells its products in various European countries. Kopp currently employees a workforce of approximately 550 and last recorded a turnover of EUR 75 million. 

Vienna-based Partners Christoph Mager and Stephan Nitzl and Senior Associate Suzy Park participated in the multi-jurisdictional DLA Piper team, which was led by Frankfurt-based Partner Kirsten Girnth and Counsel Carlos Robles y Zepf. The team also included lawyers from DLA offices in Munich, Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, and Casablanca.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that a Frankfurt-based White & Case team had advised Palero Invest on the deal. The firm’s team was led by Local Partner Hendrik Roehricht and included Partners Andreas Stilcken and Bodo Bender and Associates Jan Ole Eichstaedt and Hugo Jorge Saraiva Leite.

Kronbergs & Cukste has represented Monetizators in obtaining a payment institution license from the Financial and Capital Markets Commission of Latvia.

According to Kronbergs & Cukste, “the case is noteworthy because Monetizators is the first entity to receive a license in Latvia as a payment institution. Since the payment services offered by Monetizator are innovative and clearly fall within the booming FinTech sector, a significant number of novel issues in such areas as, for example, application of AML legislation to customer identification and customer due diligence, had to be resolved.” 

Clifford Chance advised the Empik Media & Fashion group on its sale of the Smyk Group to Coortland Investments (a special purpose company of global private equity fund Bridgepoint). Weil Gotshal & Manges acted on behalf of Bridgepoint on the EUR 247 million sale, and Travers Smith advised the management of Smyk.

Founded in 1952, Smyk is a retailer focused on children’s clothing, toys, and accessories. The company operates 125 stores in Poland and also has a presence in Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Germany. The company has four store formats comprising a combination of megastores, city stores, small stores in mid-sized cities and local malls, and outlets. It has also recently introduced an apparel-only ‘shop-in-shop’ format for its international markets. Its revenues are expected to reach PLN 1.45 billion in 2015.

According to Clifford Chance, the total value of the transaction takes into account the agreed repayment of a certain part of the Smyk Group’s external indebtedness. Financing for the transaction was provided by Pekao. Cornerstone Partners of Poland will take a small minority in the Bridgepoint-led acquisition.

Smyk CEO Mark Rollman commented on the deal: “Smyk has a proven track record of success and enjoys high appreciation amongst its customers, especially in relation to its exciting fashion and toys offer. With the introduction of a new shareholder who is experienced in retail and is very supportive of our ambitions, we now have the opportunity to roll out our proven store concept, develop our exciting multichannel proposition and accelerate our international franchising and wholesaling expansion.” 

Khai Tan, Partner responsible for Bridgepoint’s investments activities in the CEE, added: “Smyk is the market leader in a fast growing sector and is well positioned to seize future opportunities for expansion. It has a strong brand heritage and is run by an experienced and talented management team. This business has established a strong foundation for progress based on a brand that is well-known for its superior quality, range and leading service levels. In partnership with Bridgepoint, we have the opportunity to grow into a larger, more efficient and more international business.”

Krzysztof Rabianski, CEO of EM&F Group concluded: “Smyk has been our long-term investment and I am proud of this unique concept and shareholders’, business value that we created over the years of consistent development of this asset. Our mission in Smyk has come to an end and I wish the new owner and the management team of Smyk further success.”

The Clifford Chance team was led by Partner Agnieszka Janicka and included Counsels Slawomir Czerwinski, Milosz Golab, and Jaroslaw Lorenc, Senior Associates Jaroslaw Gajda, Mateusz Stepien, and Aleksandra Lis, and Associate Antoni Wandzilak.

Senior Partner Chris Hale led the Travers Smith team, which also included Associates Adam Martin and Adrian Duncan.

Weil did not respond to requests for confirmation and details. 

Editorial Note: After the publication of this article Weil contacted CEE Legal Matters to confirm its involvement in the deal. The Polish team consisted of Partners Pawel Zdort and Iwona Her, Counsel Monika Kierepa, and Associates Filip Uzieblo, Jakub Leszczynski, Lukasz Targonski, Tomasz Bakowski, Bartosz Gryglewski, Karol Kicun, Magdalena Medynska, Karolina Janus, Wojciech Czyzewski, Lukasz Blazejczyk, Jerzy Rostworowski, Marcin Gruszka, Jakub Kutzmann, and Irmina Trybalska. Volkmar Bruckner led the German due diligence team, while London-based Mark Donald and Paris-based James Clark assisted Warsaw-based Marcin Iwaniszyn, who led the team advising Bridgepoint on the acquisition financing.

Image Source: smykgroup.eu