Magnusson has advised Ortofina on its acquisition of the shares of a majority shareholder in Ortopedijos Technika, an orthopedic products manufacturer in the Baltic States. The Vilnius office of CEE Attorneys advised the selling shareholder.

Cobalt and Sorainen have advised NEPI Rockcastle on its acquisition of 100% of shares in JSC Ozantis from Arena Zweite Verwaltungs GmbH, a company in the Hamburg-based ECE group. Ellex reportedly advised Arena Zweite Verwaltungs on the sale. The transaction value is approximately EUR 124.6 million.

Ellex Valiunas has assisted Swedbank in the Lithuanian Competition Authority's investigation of charges that Swedbank had abused its dominant position by including certain provisions in Bank Link service agreements concluded with undertakings providing online payment collection services to e-shops.

Sorainen has advised real estate management and development company MG Valda on the sale of the Verslo Trikampis business complex. The buyer, real estate fund LIM Verslo Trikampio NT Fondas, controlled by fund management company Lewben Investment Management (which in turn is owned by the Lewben Group), was represented by Cobalt.

The Vilnius office of CEE Attorneys has advised a shareholder on the sale of his shares in OrtopedijosTechnika, a manufacturer of orthopedic products in the Baltic States, to Ortofina, another shareholder, which was advised by Magnusson.

The Vilnius office of Fort Legal has represented EfTEN Real Estate Fund III AS on its EUR 9 million acquisition, made through subsidiary EfTEN Evolution UAB, of the Evolution business center in Vilnius from Evolution Office System UAB, owned by Audrone Petraitiene ir Nordija UAB. The deal was finalized on May 31, 2018. The sellers were advised by Vilnius Law Firm No 9.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is, according to the EU-hosted GDPR website, “the most important change in data privacy regulation in the past 20 years.” The Act, which was approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016 and will become fully effective on May 25, 2018, was designed “to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.”

The new Lithuanian Concessions Law came into force on January 1, 2018. With the new legislation, Lithuania has adopted European Parliament and Council Directive 2014/23/EU on the award of Concession Contracts, which establishes a balanced and flexible legal framework for the award of concessions and ensures effective and non-discriminatory access to the market for all economic operators. The new Lithuanian legislation aims to ensure transparency and fair competition in the development of infrastructure and the provision of services of general economic interest, as well as the attraction of national and EU-wide private investors to the public sector.

The winners of the 2017 CEE Deal of the Year Awards were announced at the first ever CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year Awards Banquet last night in Prague. The biggest smiles in the joyous and music-filled celebration of CEE lawyering, perhaps, were on the faces of Partners from Avellum and Sayenko Kharenko, which, along with White & Case and Latham & Watkins, won the award both for Ukrainian Deal of the Year and CEE Deal of the Year for their work on the 2017 Ukraine Eurobond Issue (a story initially reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 2, 2017).

Ellex has advised Eesti Energia subsidiary Enefit Green AS on its acquisition of 100% f the shares in Nelja Energia AS from Vardar Eurus AS and Nelja Energia's minority shareholders. The sellers were represented by Norway's Thomessen law firm.

Sorainen has successfully represented dairy products producer Luksiu Pienine in a dispute against Pieno Zvaigzdes, a Lithuanian manufacturer of milk and dairy products, over the use of the Liliputas brand.

Ellex Valiunas has advised Estonia's Inbank on its acquisition of 100% of the shares of UAB Mokilizingas from shareholders AS LHV Group and UAB Inovatyvus Prekybos Sprendimai. The transaction, which is valued at EUR 15 million, is expected to close before May 31, 2018.

Tvins has successfully represented the interests of the BTA Baltic Insurance Company in a dispute regarding what the firm describes as "a double insurance matter."

Working via a Chinese Wall, Ellex Valiunas has assisted both Urban Inventors and the Lithuanian branch of the US-information technologies company Intermedix negotiate and conclude a lease agreement between the two in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Cobalt has advised Wallter in obtaining an electronic money institution license for non-limited activity. This is the 34th time that this type of license has been issued by the Bank of Lithuania.

The European Commission has just published its comprehensive proposal for the so-called "New Deal for Consumers", which aims to strengthen EU consumer rights and enforcement. This includes the proposal for a new Directive enabling certain qualified entities to seek redress on behalf of consumers who have been harmed by an unlawful commercial practice.

Sorainen has advised Nordcurrent, a Baltic game development studio, on its acquisition of Blam! Games Studios, a Ukrainian game development and animation studio. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The Motieka Audzevicius arbitration team has represented Serbian state company JP Srbijagas to secure enforcement of four ICC and VIAC awards in the Republic of Lithuania against the Lithuanian corporation Arvi.