BBH has advised the CEZ Energy Group on its acquisition of the Skoda JS nuclear servicing and engineering company along with its subsidiary Middle Estates.
Skoda JS is a Czech engineering and manufacturing company with experience in the construction and servicing of nuclear power plants.
The CEZ Group operates in the Czech Republic, as well as Western, Central, and South-Eastern Europe. The company specializes in electricity and heat generation, distribution, trading, and sale, as well as the trading and sale of natural gas.
"With the purchase, CEZ solved the problem of its major supplier, which several years ago became part of the Russian engineering group OMZ, controlled by Gazprombank," a company press statement read. "This put the company at risk of sanctions, which had a potential impact on securing key supplies for the CEZ Group's nuclear power plants."
According to BBH, the transaction was completed in two stages – the first occurring in June 2022 when the shareholdings in Skoda JS and Middle Estates were temporality acquired by Wood & Company as an independent broker – and the second occurring at the end of November 2022, when the shareholdings in Skoda JS and Middle Estates were finally acquired by CEZ, after obtaining antitrust approval in four jurisdictions.
"Skoda JS is our key supplier and by gaining control of this company we have significantly strengthened our energy security," CEZ Nuclear Power Division Director Bohdan Zronek commented. "The antitrust proceedings were not easy, especially in view of the state of war in Ukraine. We are pleased that we have successfully completed the transaction."
The BBH team was led by Partner Vladimir Uhde and Senior Associate Andrea Adamcova and included Senior Associates Adam Necas and Ondrej Stanek and Legal Trainees Dominik Liska and Tomas Ulip.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that CMS advised Skoda JS.