Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, Sorainen’s Mantas Petkevicius has worked on a market-leading five reported M&A deals so far this year in Lithuania?

Cobalt has advised Karma Ventures on its investment in employee relocation management start-up Jobbatical.

Cobalt has successfully represented Martins Jansons before the European Court of Human Rights in a case regarding his arbitrary eviction during a legal dispute over apartment tenancy.

Cobalt has advised PRFoods on the sale of its Swedish business to Vattudalens Fisk.

Cobalt has advised Nordea on the sale of its last remaining 11.6% stake in Luminor to a consortium led by private equity funds managed by Blackstone.

Cobalt has advised Trophy Games Development on its acquisition of Piu-Piu.

On September 1, 2022, Cobalt announced that Bewi's Acquisition of BalPol (reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 22, 2022) has now closed.

Cobalt has advised FN-Serviss on a cross-border merger of its group of companies in which the company's Estonian subsidiary was acquired by its Latvian parent company.

In March 2022, the European Commission announced that the blending proportion of biofuels, as applied by member states, may be reduced so that less agricultural land is used for the production of biofuel feedstocks. It was clear by then that Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine would put pressure on the food and feed commodities markets.

Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, Sorainen Partner Rudolfs Engelis has worked on 16 reported Latvian Banking & Finance deals since 2013 – far and away the most of any lawyer in Latvia?

A slowdown in capital market transactions and some M&A activities, a governmental crisis and tensions with the Russian-speaking population, and rising energy prices and inflation were all hallmarks of Estonia’s past six months. While the geopolitical situation and economic situation remain tough, direct investments in Estonia seem to be getting back on track, across a number of sectors, according to Cobalt Partner Marina Kotkas.

Cobalt has advised venture capital fund Change Ventures on its seed investment in Estonian recruitment platform RecruitLab. Triniti advised RecruitLab.

Cobalt has advised Braitin on its acquisition of the Prie Vilneles project in Markuciai from developer Realco.

As the main trends of the transaction market in the first half of 2022, the boom of startups and the changes in their valuations, the undiminished confidence of foreign investors despite the geopolitical situation, and the ongoing consolidation of the health care and renewable energy sectors can be singled out.

Cobalt has advised Coffee Address Holding on its EUR 5 million unsecured bond issuance. Eversheds Sutherland Bitans advised on collateral agent matters and undertook collateral agent functions for the term of the bonds. Signet Bank was the arranger of the issuance.

The first half of 2022 has not (yet) yielded such high profile deals as seen in 2021 (like Printful becoming the first Latvian “unicorn”) but there has been a steady trickle of transactions following the larger wave of 2021.

The resilience of the transactions market and the trust of investors in the Baltic region has proved remarkable, although figures show a 15% decrease in global mid-market M&A deals (according to the Refinitiv published M&A Review of the first half of 2022). Despite the Ukraine war and mounting global challenges the deal flow, although at a much calmer pace, continues and remains promising for the second half of the year. Looking back on the first six months, COBALT experts highlight the main trends in each of the Baltic countries.

ESG has moved from conference halls to a daily function for many companies worldwide. In Estonia, stakeholder expectations for corporate ESG are still evolving, yet rising. Some companies are already incorporating ESG into their daily business, as they understand its value. Along with stakeholder expectations, regulatory scrutiny is also increasing, showing a dramatic increase in ESG reporting requirements worldwide.