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Clifford Chance has advised W.A.G. payment solutions (“Eurowag”) on the sale of a 33% stake in the company to the TA Associates private equity firm. Kinstellar and Travers Smith advised TA Associates. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Eurowag is a leader in cash-free payment systems for passenger and freight carriers and the operator of a chain of express filling stations. According to Clifford Chance “the company’s flagship product is the Eurowag fleet card, which allows professional transport companies and hauliers to make cash-free payments for fuel, tolls and other related services under advantageous terms. Founded in 1996, Eurowag is headquartered in Prague, with additional offices in the Czech Republic and in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey.”

The Clifford Chance team that advised Eurowag on the investment was led by Prague Managing Partner Alex Cook, who commented on the matter: ”I was extremely pleased to have worked on this transaction. Our client is an ambitious company with a very bright future and this investment will further help to grow its business and expand the company’s footprint in Europe. I wish the management team every success.”

Cook was primarily supported by Clifford Chance Senior Associate Michal Jasek and Associate Michal Jendzelovsky. 

The Kinstellar team was led by Counsel Jan Juroska and Associate Michal Kniz. 

The Travers Smith team was led by Partner Paul Dolman, who was assisted by Corporate Senior Associate Emma Havas and Associate David Wall. The team also included Tax Partner Kathleen Russ and Tax Associate Joseph Sheldrick.

Image Source: Philip Lange / Shutterstock.com

Sorainen is providing legal assistance to Latectus regarding the company’s intended reconstruction of a multi-story office building in Riga’s historical city center.

Sorainen reports that it “developed the design and author supervision contracts for several stages of the development and advised on different legal issues arising from a change to the main construction law, including the validity of permits, designer’s liability and insurance, and intellectual property rights.”

Latectus was advised by Sorainen Partner Agris Repss, Specialist Counsel Lelde Lavina, and Associates Jorens Jaunozols and Natalija Sestakova. 

BDK Attorneys at Law has announced the promotion of Bogdan Ivanisevic to Partners.

Ivanicevic has led the firm’s Intellectual Property practice since 2012. He co-heads the firm’s Data Protection & Privacy team with Ana Jankov (whose promotion to Partner was reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 18, 2016).

Commenting on the promotions of both Ivanisevic and Jankov, BDK Managing Partner Tijana Kojovic said: “This latest round of promotions validates our commitment to high-quality legal work and devotion to the development of new practices, sectors and approaches to client service.”

The Ukrainian office of Wolf Theiss has announced that Oleg Mazur, former Partner at Chadbourne & Parke, has joined its office as Counsel.

Mazur has been practicing law for over 17 years, and has specialized in Banking & Finance and other extensions of Credit / Capital Markets, Structured Finance, Foreign Investments, Insolvency, Debt Restructurings, and M&A with a number of firms in Ukraine. In 1998, when he graduated from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Mazur joined Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, where he stayed for four years before moving to Credit Lyonnais, where he spent a year and a half. In June 2005 he moved to Baker & McKenzie, and 16 months later moved to Chadbourne & Parke, where he worked from September 2006 to November 2012. He left Chadbourne to found his own firm, Oleg Mazur & Partners, then moved to Marchenko Danevych in April, 2015.

“We are delighted that Oleg has joined our office and the firm,” commented Taras Dumych, the Managing Partner of Wolf Theiss Kyiv. “Oleg is a seasoned and highly reputable lawyer. His expertise and experience will work out greatly for the firm’s clients and further reinforcement of the banking and finance practice.”

Oleg Mazur said: “I am honoured to join one of the most reputable law firms in Europe and will gladly contribute my expertise and experience working with highly demanding clients and continue providing service of the highest possible quality. Ukraine like never before is in need of foreign investment, debt capital as well as sound deregulation efforts and we are very well equipped to assist our clients with any challenges associated with doing business in Ukraine.” 

The Czech Republic’s Z/C/H Legal firm has advised Hoffmann a Zizak spol. s r.o. and EWT spol. s r.o. “and prepared overall template contractual documentation covering their entire business operations, in particular purchase agreements concerning the sale/purchase of vehicles, consignment contracts, vehicle leasing contracts and contracts to loan vehicles for use, including the respective business terms and conditions.”

Hoffmann a Zizak is an authorized dealer and service facility for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, while EWT is an authorized dealer of Schmitz Cargobull trailer technology.

The firm also provided training to dealers at the two companies to “acquaint them with the new contractual documentation.”

Image Source: Silvia Pascual / Shutterstock.com

CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz has announced that Darina Baltadjieva and Rasko Radovanovic have been appointed to the firm’s partnership in its Sofia and Belgrade offices, respectively.

Darina Baltadjieva, who joined CMS in Sofia in 2005 after spending three years with Bouzeva and Partners, specializes in corporate and commercial law and in real estate matters. She graduated from Sofia University in 2003.

Rasko Radovanovic has worked for CMS in Belgrade, where he heads the Competition practice, since 2010. He graduated from the University of Belgrade in 2008, and obtained an LL.M. from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich in 2009.

“It is a sure sign of the successful development of an organisation when its best members can be given the opportunity to advance from associate to partner,” said Peter Huber, CMS Managing Partner. “We are very proud that right at the start of the year, two outstanding legal experts, who are valuable advisors to our clients, have joined the ranks of partners.”

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPAM) has persuaded the Rostov Region Arbitrazh Court to overturn a decision holding Yakhta-club Center LLC administratively liable for alleged customs violations.

According to EPAM, in July 2015, administrative proceedings were initiated against Yakhta-club Center LLC involving an alleged violation of customs rules when importing goods to the Russian Federation. Russian customs authorities imposed a fine of over RUB 78 million on the company.

EPAM successfully demonstrated that the actions of the customs authority were based on an incorrect interpretation of applicable legislation. 

“This is a key project within the customs-related activity of our white collar crime practice,” said EPAM Partner Victoria Burkovskaya, who led the firm’s team on the matter.  “Our client was charged for customs liability, then administrative liability and further held criminally liable for the actions of its employees. The most important factor contributing to success in this project was following the proper procedure for appealing decisions and, of course, our firm’s ability to implement a comprehensive protection of the client’s interests in relation to the customs, administrative, and criminal responsibility. A victory in one instance served as the basis for victory in the next.”

Burkovskaya and supported by Senior Associate Andrey Bastrakov on the matter.

Linklaters and Avellum Partners have advised UniCredit Group in connection with its agreement to sell its Ukrainian unit, Ukrsotsbank, to Alfa Group’s Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings SA. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised ABH Holdings. The deal, which awaits regulatory approval, is expected to close sometime in 2016.

The transaction involves the sale of UniCredit’s shares in Ukrotsbank to ABH Holdings S.A., in exchange for newly issued shares representing 9.9% stake of ABH Holdings post transaction. In other words, according to an Avellum Partners statement, “as a result of the transaction, UniCredit Group will cease to be a direct owner of shares in PJSC Ukrsotsbank and will become a shareholder of a diversified banking business of Alfa Group instead.”

Ukrsotsbank is one of the largest multifunctional banks in Ukraine, with 287 retail branches. Alfa Group is one of Russia’s largest privately owned financial-investment conglomerates, and operates mainly in Russia and the CIS. 

The Avellum Partners team was led by Managing Partner Mykola Stetsenko and Counsel Yuriy Nechayev, with significant support from Associates Andriy Romanchuk, Dmytro Tkachuk, and Dmytro Symbiryov. 

The Linklaters team was led by Warsaw-based Corporate Partner Daniel Cousens, supported by Corporate Associate Pavlos Kaimakliotis.

Image Source: unicreditgroup.eu

Poland’s Galt law firm has announced that, on January 12, 2016, Founding Partner Partner Adam Milosz was elected to a three-year term on the Supervisory Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The Supervisory Board — consisting of between 5-7 members — oversees the activities of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

According to a statement issued by the firm, Milosz has 14 years of experience in real estate and is a licensed restructuring advisor. At Galt,”he coordinates work related to companies law, restructuring and insolvency. He is a vice-president of the Regional Chamber of Restructuring Advisors in Warsaw. He is also a member of INSOL Europe (international association of insolvency specialists) as well as National Chamber of Restructuring Advisors (previously National Chamber of Insolvency Practitioners). Prior to founding Galt he worked for Clifford Chance,  CMS Cameron McKenna, and German developer ECE.”

Milosz graduated from the faculty of law at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and completed LL.M. studies at the Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel and Intellectual Property Law studies at the University of Warsaw.   

Sorainen’s Latvia office has assisted AJ Produkti in “solv[ing] multiple issues related to the planned extension of its premises.”

Sorainen advised AJ Produkti “regarding the extension of its office and warehouse with a total project value of approximately EUR 1.2 million.” In particular, the firm represented the client in a design dispute with the complex’s architect and developed the construction contract and supervision contract, which “were tailored to fit the company’s specific needs to ensure the parallel operation of the existing buildings and the reconstruction work.” Sorainen also represented AJ Produkti in contract negotiations. 

The Sorainen team was advised by Specialist Counsel Lelde Lavina and Associate Jorens Jaunozols.