CMS has advised a syndicate of banks led by ING and UniCredit as mandated lead arrangers on the extension and USD 100 million increase of a pre-export credit facility to Ukraine’s Kernel Group. The total available limit under the amended facility was increased to USD 390 million.

Sorainen has advised Baltic Mill, a Baltic grain processing group, on its issuance of a two-year bond with a total value of EUR 3 million that was organized by Siauliu Bankas.

Sorainen has successfully represented Valdas Sarunas, a former manager of Lithuania's Kedainiu Aruodai grain collecting company, in the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, which upheld a first instance ruling in a case concerning damages related to company losses.

Ceren Yildiz, former Senior Lawyer at ELIG Gurkaynak, has been promoted to Partner, effective January 1, 2020.

Vassilev & Partners has helped Cyprus's JFD Group Limited register its branch in the Bulgarian Commercial Register and the Investment Intermediary Register kept by the Financial Supervision Commission.

Dentons has helped GPW Benchmark obtain permission from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority to administer all stock exchange indices, including the WIG20, mWIG40, sWIG80, and NCIndex, as well as the TBSP.Index.

Schoenherr has advised the EIB on its loan of up to EUR 20 million to Austrian start-up Bitmovin. The borrowers were reportedly advised by Herbst Kinsky and Cooley.

Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii has advised BRD Groupe Societe Generale on its co-investment with Raiffeisen Bank and BCR in CIT One. The transaction is pending regulatory approval. BCR and CIT One were advised by Filip & Company, while Raiffeisen Bank was advised by Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen.

Greenberg Traurig has helped Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. obtain a PLN 1 billion incremental facility from unnamed Polish and foreign institutions. Norton Rose Fulbright advised agent and lenders UniCredit Bank AG London Branch. 

Wolf Theiss has advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG on the issuance of EUR 500 million 0.125% extendable covered bank bonds 2019-2029 and the bonds' listing on the Official Market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, Mediobanca-Banca di Credito Finanziario S.p.A., Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Societe Generale, and UniCredit Bank AG were joint lead managers.

Sorainen has helped JP Morgan and BNP Paribas organize a five-year bond issue with a total value of USD 300 million for Avia Solutions Group – a Lithuanian aviation services group ‒ at an annual interest rate of 7.875% and a maturity date of 2024. The bonds were issued in US dollars and distributed in the US and European markets. The Avia group was advised by TGS Baltic and Dentons.

RTPR Allen & Overy has advised Autonom Services S.A. on its issuance of corporate bonds. The bonds, which will be traded under the symbol AUT24E on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, have a nominal value of EUR 1,000, a maturity of five years and a fixed interest of 4.45% p.a., payable annually.

Ceren Yildiz, former Senior Lawyer at ELIG Gurkaynak, has been promoted to Partner, effective January 1, 2020.

Avellum has helped Ufuture obtain merger control clearance from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for the partial sale of its stake in LvivTech.City to unnamed buyers.

SPCG has persuaded Poland's Supreme Court to dismiss a cassation complaint from the President of UOKiK (Poland's competition authority) regarding the alleged anti-competitive agreement of telecommunications providers.

Former ELIG Gurkaynak Attorneys-at-Law Senior Associate Bulut Girgin has joined Kinstellar’s Istanbul office as Counsel and Head of Competition and Compliance.

Peter Paroczi, the former Director Counsel for Harman International, has left the Budapest office of the US-based consumer electronics company toa become the Compliance Officer of the Qatar Fertiliser Company in Doha, Qatar.

Burcu Tumer has left Accenture in Turkey, where she was Legal Counsel Associate Manager, to become Public Affairs, Legal and Compliance Manager at the Adecco Group, responsible for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

Sorainen Latvia and Herbert Smith Freehills have advised MM Capital Infrastructure Fund I, a Marubeni-backed fund, on the acquisition of a 29.06% interest in JSC Conexus Baltic Grid, a unified natural gas transmission and storage operator in Latvia, from Marguerite Gas I. Marguerite was advised by CMS London and Cobalt on the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.

Ellex Raidla has advised IM Arvutid AS on its sale to UP Invest OU, an investment company controlled by Margus Linnamae. Eversheds Sutherland advised the buyers.

Taylor Wessing has advised the German Wefox Group on its merger with DIE Maklergruppe Versicherungsmakler GmbH. KWR Karasek Wietrzyk Rechtsanwalte advised DIE Maklergruppe.

Sorainen Latvia and Herbert Smith Freehills have advised MM Capital Infrastructure Fund I, a Marubeni-backed fund, on the acquisition of a 29.06% interest in JSC Conexus Baltic Grid, a unified natural gas transmission and storage operator in Latvia, from Marguerite Gas I. Marguerite was advised by CMS London and Cobalt on the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.

Bird & Bird has advised ForVEI II, a joint venture vehicle set up by Foresight and VEI Green, on its acquisition of 35 photovoltaic plants in Italy and Slovakia from the Origis Group. K&L Gates advised Origis on the deal, while Norton Rose Fulbright advised the financing banks, Deutsche Bank, Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A., and Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg.

BDK Advokati has advised Eldorado Gold on the sale of its two Serbian mining companies, Tara Gold and South Danube Metals, to Ibaera Capital, an Australian PE focused on exploration and project development. Ibaera Capital was advised by PWC Legal.

The Maric & Co Law Firm has represented former employees of Aluminij d.d. Mostar in an ethnic discrimination case against the company and the Government of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Clifford Chance, acting pro bono on behalf of LGBTQ Groups in Poland, has persuaded a Polish court to order the conservative Gazeta Polska newspaper to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers.

Avellum has successfully represented a UK citizen in Ukraine's Supreme Court in a dispute regarding the return of a wrongfully retained child.

CMS has advised the Local Government Investment Fund, managed by the Polish Development Fund, on its approximately PLN 100 million acquisition of a 25% stake in the Wodociagi I Kanalizacja water utility company from the city of Opole in Poland. Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka advised the city of Opole.

Anita Palukiewicz and Hubert Wysoczanski have been promoted to Partner at SSW Pragmatic Solutions.

Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka is set to advise the Ministry of Investment and Development of Poland and the Zarzad Morskiego Porty Gdynia on the construction of an outdoor port in Gdynia, Poland.

Debevoise & Plimpton has advised the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Nasdaq-listed Yandex N.V. on a restructuring of the company's corporate governance. Kemperink Maarschalkerweerd Wouters acted as co-counsel.

Binder Groesswang has advised British private equity fund Enact on backing the management team of Qualter, Hall & Company Limited in its buyout of the business from the insolvency estate of Waagner-Biro AG. Womble Bond Dickinson advised Enact on matters of English law. Kosch & Partner advised Waagner-Biro.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has successfully defended the interests of the founders of Transaero in a dispute over a loan that partially led to the air carrier's bankruptcy proceedings.

SMM Legal has helped the Polish Branch of Coventry University open a campus in Wroclaw.

Former Arzinger Partner and Head of Tax and Labor Law Pavel Khodadovsky has been appointed Deputy Minister of Finance by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Gessel has advised Black Forest, an investment fund controlled by Polish businessman and rally driver Michal Solowow, on its investment in Polish startup Tikrow.

Crido Legal has advised PZU Zdrowie on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Tomma Diagnostyka Obrazowa, a network of diagnostic centers, from the Tar Heel Capital private equity fund.

Dentons has advised the Stada group on a USD 660 million purchase of more than 20 prescription and over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements from the Takeda group in 11 countries.

MCL has helped America medical startup SurgLogs establish a subsidiary in Slovakia, transfer copyrights and other rights concerning the company's medical app to that subsidiary, and set up a contractual structure for further development and funding of the medical app.

Andrey Gorlenko has joined Ivanyan & Partners, where he will focus on investment and commercial arbitration as part of the firm's newly formed International Arbitration practice, as well as on cross-border commercial disputes.

Ilyashev & Partners has successfully represented the Ukrrichflot Shipping Company before the Supreme Court of Ukraine in a dispute with JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrainian Railways.

Milica Savic, a former Senior Associate at Karanovic & Partners, has been promoted to Partner in the firm's Belgrade office.

CMS has advised CEE Equity Partners — the investment advisor to the China Central and Eastern Europe Investment Co-operation Fund II — on its acquisition of a majority stake in EuroWagon Sp. z o.o. Grant Thornton's Poznan-based transaction advisory and legal arm advised the unidentified sellers.

Dominika Nosackova, the former Senior Legal Counsel at Coca-Cola HBC Czech Republic and Coca Cola HBC Slovak Republic, has join CHEP as Regional Legal Counsel for CEE.

Dorda has advised Berlin-based electric scooter sharing company Emmy on its expansion into Austria.

Ilyashev & Partners has successfully represented the Ukrrichflot Shipping Company before the Supreme Court of Ukraine in a dispute with JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, Ukrainian Railways.

Georgiev, Todorov & Co. has successfully represented BMF Port Burgas EAD, the concessionaire of Bulgaria's Bourgas East 2 and Burgas West port terminals, before the European Court of Justice in a matter initiated by the Administrative Court of Sofia regarding the interpretation of Directive 2009/72/EC regarding the common rules for the internal market in electricity.

Ilyashev & Partners has opened a new office in Odessa, a port city on the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. The new office will be headed by attorney Sergey Nedelko.

Paksoy and Shearman & Sterling have advised DBAG Fund VII and Deutsche Beteiligungs AG on the acquisition of a majority stake in Cartonplast Group from London-based financial investor Stirling Square Capital Partners. The Ozbek Attorney Partnership advised Stirling Square Capital on the transaction, as well as, reportedly, Latham & Watkins, J&A Garrigues, Pinheiro Neto Advogados, and Noerr Biedecki.

Orrick has advised Sprint Capital on its investment in Vinted, a website marketplace for second-hand fashion. The entire investment round has a total value of EUR 128 million, with other backers including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Accel, and Burda Principal Investments. Taylor Wessing and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Vinted and Cooley reportedly advised Lightspeed Venture Partners on the deal.

BTS & Partners has advised Biznet Bilisim Sistemleri ve Danismanlik Sanayi Ticaret and its former shareholder, FVD AS, on FTA Bilisim Hizmetleri’s investments in the company and SR Bilisim Yonetim Hizmetleri Ticaret Securrent.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has provided pro bono legal consulting to Big Brothers Big Sisters in Russia.

Clifford Chance, acting pro bono on behalf of LGBTQ Groups in Poland, has persuaded a Polish court to order the conservative Gazeta Polska newspaper to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers.

RASK attorney-at-law Siret Saks has provided pro bono advice to the Estonian National Culture Foundation, helping it resolve issues concerning the will and testamentary estate of Tiiu Alliste, important to the launch of the new Harmatali scholarship fund dedicated to the support of Estonian children’s literature.

CMS has advised Karimpol on the sale of Greenline, a 15,500 square meter office building in Prague to Wood & Company. Dentons advised the buyers on the deal.

Kambourov & Partners has advised Akropolis Real Estate BV on the sale of a 197,000 square meter residential development lot in Sofia to the Galaxy Investment Group.

Allen & Overy has advised Vseobecna Uverova Banka on the sale and leaseback of its real estate portfolio to the Czech Republic's Franco Real Estates s.r.o. Stanek Vetrak & Partneri advised Franco Real Estate on the deal, which was signed on June 12, 2019, and closed on October 7, 2019. 

Avellum has advised Kernel Holding S.A. in connection with an offering of USD 300 million 6.5% guaranteed notes due 2024. Joint lead managers ING Bank N.V., London Branch, and J.P. Morgan Securities plc were reportedly advised by Latham & Watkins and Sayenko Kharenko.

DLA Piper has acted as lead tax advisor to several shareholders of Familia, Russia’s leading off-price apparel and home fashions retailer, on the USD 225 million sale of a 25% stake to the TJX Companies Inc.

Former KPMG Moscow Senior Lawyer Irina Orlova-Panina has joined Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners as a partner in the firm's Tax and Tax Dispute Resolution practices.

Sorainen has advised Moomin Characters Oy Ltd, a company established by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson that is responsible for Moomin copyright and trademark protection, in pre-trial proceedings regarding a copyright infringement issue.

Schoenherr has advised the EIB on its loan of up to EUR 20 million to Austrian start-up Bitmovin. The borrowers were reportedly advised by Herbst Kinsky and Cooley.

Greenberg Traurig has helped Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. obtain a PLN 1 billion incremental facility from unnamed Polish and foreign institutions. Norton Rose Fulbright advised agent and lenders UniCredit Bank AG London Branch. 

Russia's Prime Advice law firm has opened a new Criminal practice.

The European Council has agreed to the appointment of prominent Romanian prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi as the first European chief prosecutor. The appointment now awaits the confirmation of the European Parliament.

GoLaw has successfully represented Vita Solar LLC, a Ukrainian subsidiary of TIU Canada, in criminal proceedings.