BPV Braun Partners has advised a fund managed by Aventicum Real Estate on renovations and the expansion of the Prague Marriott Hotel.

White & Case lawyers Jan Jakoubek, Karel Petrzela, Ida Kucerova, Jakub Wolkowicz, and Vladimir Ivanco have been promoted to Local Partner by the firm as part of its global promotion round, with those promotions becoming effective on January 1, 2020.

Bond financing has recently become quite popular in the Czech Republic and companies often finance their business needs by issuing corporate bonds instead of the more usual credit financing. Obviously, the popularity of corporate bonds is also associated with the greater willingness of investors to buy them. Bonds are perceived by the general public as a safe and conservative investment instrument. Nevertheless, recent market developments show that corporate bonds issued by private companies may not always be a safe investment, as evidenced, for example, by the insolvency of online fashion store Zoot, which funded its expansion by issuing bonds.

Frances Gerrard, a member of CMS’s Corporate and M&A team in Prague, is a long way from her home in Australia. We spoke to her about the path that brought her to the Czech capital.

One of the challenges of introducing class actions to the Czech legal system is the finding of a proper balance between the interests of clients and those of attorneys. While the default position is that attorneys are to protect the justified interests of their clients and place them before their own (within statutory limits, of course), a careful balancing exercise will need to be carried out if class actions are to be allowed. While class action law is still at the stage of an initial proposal in the Czech Republic, this proposal is demonstrative of the direction the Czech Ministry of Justice intends to take.

The Deal: Earlier this year, CEE Legal Matters reported that Clifford Chance Prague had advised CTP, an industrial developer in the CEE region, on a EUR 1.9 billion underwriting package agreement with Erste Group Bank AG; Ceska Sporitelna a.s.; Societe Generale S.A. and Komercni Banka a.s.; and UniCredit S.p.A. and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia a.s. White & Case advised the lenders on the agreement, which covered CTP’s Czech industrial portfolio consisting of over 200 buildings and covering 2.7 million square meters of industrial space.

Schoenherr has advised Facebook, Inc. and Facebook Technologies, LLC on the acquisition of Czech games studio Beat Games s.r.o., which develops and upgrades the Beat Saber virtual reality game. Beat Games was advised by BBH.

In the 36 years since its launch in 1993 by Marek Prochazka as a Prague banking and finance boutique, PRK Partners has added offices in Bratislava and Ostrava and grown into one of the largest and most successful law firms in the Czech and Slovak Republics. That growth, the firm’s partners maintain, is a by-product of the firm’s traditions of flexibility, professionalism, and innovation, rather than the result of a predetermined plan.

No doubt we all agree that a good lawyer should not only have extensive legal knowledge and experience, but should also constantly monitor the market. In reviewing the state of the Czech legal market over the past six months, I would like to point out several issues I personally find interesting or important.

It’s not easy to get to the top of a profession. Among lawyer in particular, there is fierce competition, great pressure, slim margins of error, and a number of people waiting to capitalize on mistakes. Making it to the top, and staying there, is a tightrope that must be walked over and over. And yet, the Hanslik family has not one but two such high achievers, in two different countries, as Austrian brothers Erwin and Guenther Hanslik have senior positions at offices of two of the most respected and successful international law firms in Europe.

White & Case has advised PPF Arena 1 B.V. on the issuance of EUR 500 million 2.125% notes due 31 January 2025, which were admitted to trading on the Global Exchange Market of Euronext Dublin.

ODI has advised the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Finance and its two state-owned subsidiaries IMOB and PRISKO on the cross-border sale of the majority stake in Vipap Videm Krsko, a large Slovenian paper mill and newsprint manufacturer, to Czech-based Ridg Holding.

MCL has advised Air Ventures, a start-up investment fund, on the acquisition of a 15% stake in Czech mobile provider Cross Network Intelligence from two unnamed individuals, who were advised by Abraham & Partners.

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.

Kinstellar, Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak, and Cobalt have advised Stada Arzneimittel on the acquisition of Walmark from Mid Europa Partners. White & Case and Weil, Gotshal & Manges reportedly advised the sellers on the deal.

Dentons has advised CPI Property Group on its issuance of Regulation S EUR 750 million 1.625% green bonds due 2027. Allen & Overy reportedly advised joint lead managers Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Raiffeisen Bank, and Societe Generale.

Kinstellar has advised Czech real estate fund Investika on its acquisition and refinancing of the Galerie Butovice shopping center in Prague.

Former Managing Associates Lukas Sommer and Jiri Votrubec have been promoted to partner at Rowan Legal.