Reals has advised the Mint Residential Fund on its acquisition of a 168-apartment built-to-rent residential project in Prague 9 from Czech developer Finep. Clifford Chance advised the seller.

Clifford Chance has advised a club of banks led by Ceska Sporitelna, Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka, and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia and including Komercni Banka, Raiffeisenbank, and Raiffeisen Bank International AG on financing Carlyle's acquisition of Czech optical specialist Meopta.

Taylor Wessing has advised the Shape Corporation on its built-to-suit rental agreement in the Panattoni Park Pilsen West II industrial park. 

The latest amendment to the Labour Code implemented, among other things, the EU Directives on Work-life Balance and on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions into Czech law. The amendment was enacted by the President of the Czech Republic on 17 September 2023 and entered into force shortly thereafter, on 1 October 2023. The deadline for transposing these directives had already passed, so it is a case of better late than never.

Wardynski & Partners, working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has advised the Bauer Media Group on the merger of its online comparison platform business with that of the Netrisk Group.

Clifford Chance has advised a club of banks led by mandated lead arranger and sole global coordinator UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia on their green and sustainability-linked long-term secured club financing for a Heimstaden Czech-owned residential portfolio in Ostrava and Pilsen.

BPV Braun Partners and Komarevski Dimitrov & Partners have advised Witte Automotive on its acquisition of a majority stake in Ruse-based Forez BG from FH Holding. PwC Legal advised FH Holding on the deal.

Gomez-Acebo & Pombo has advised Czech Republic-based Energo Pro on its expansion to Spain via the acquisition of Xallas Electricidad y Aleaciones (Xeal) and Feroe Ventures & Investments from Sixth Street. Perez-Llorca advised Sixth Street.

JSK and Majernik & Mihalikova have advised the Genesis Private Equity Fund IV on its investment in the PFX visual effects, advertising, animation, and post-production studio based in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Peyton Legal reportedly advised PFX.

On 23 September 2023, the Act on Preventive Restructuring came into force, which brought a new legal institute into the Czech legal environment – preventive restructuring, through which companies will be able to resolve their unfavorable economic situation.

Schoenherr has advised the BHS Private Equity Fund on participating in the acquisition of Altran alongside BHS's general partner Versute Investments and Altran managers Petr Havlik, Jaromir Kejval, and Milan Krovina. CMS advised the Capgemini group on the sale. Arrows reportedly advised the managers on the deal.

Weinhold Legal lawyers Zbysek Kordac and Anna Bartunkova have been appointed as Associate Partners.

With ESG having been a buzzword in the Czech real estate market for a few years now, Clifford Chance Partner Emil Holub, Kocian Solc Balastik Partner Jiri Hornik, VIDD Partner Ondrej Hampl, Taylor Wessing Counsel Radka Nenickova, and Act Legal Czech Republic Partner Tomas Slaby look at how ESG principles are being applied in practice and in what areas there is still room for improvement.

Pfizer Eastern Europe Cluster Legal Lead and Legal Director Lucie Kubenova talks about her career leading to her current role and managing her team at Pfizer.

Skoda Group General Legal Counsel Karol Marsovszky talks about the Skoda Group’s legal team and what shapes his in-house team’s workload.

The impact and perception of ESG considerations in the CEE region, and specifically in the Czech Republic, is still in the early stages of its evolutionary path, compared to, say, the U.K., the U.S., or larger Western European economies. There is certain skepticism and uncertainty as to what this new trendy acronym means and if, at the end of the day, it will really impact a Czech industrial family business, a hotel, or a high-tech start-up. ESG considerations, policies, and metrics are likely to be more familiar (and implemented to a certain degree) to a large Czech company – moreover, when it’s a part of an international corporate group – rather than a smaller Czech enterprise, but of course, there are exceptions to the rule.

After several unsuccessful attempts, the Czech Republic has finally adopted a law that introduces institutional protection for whistleblowers in accordance with European legislation. The Whistleblower Protection Act (Act) will come into force on August 1, 2023.

An in-depth look at Jonathan Weinberg of White & Case covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.