CEE Legal Matters
In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets
Noerr has advised NEI, an Indian bearings manufacturer and exporter that is part of the CK Birla Group, on its acquisition of international bearings producer Kinex Bearings and bearing trading company Global Supply. The sellers were reportedly advised by Ernst & Young.
On 16 December 2019, new provisions regarding the minimum gross salary guaranteed at national level were announced in the Romanian Official Gazette.
2019 has been an eventful year for anti-corruption compliance in Russia with an extension of enforcement actions against companies, the strengthening of anti-corruption laws and new domestic compliance requirements. The crucial developments for companies are summarised below:
Regulation (EU) 2018/1912 and Directive (EU) 2018/1910 amending Regulation (EU) No 282/2011 and Directive 2006/112/EC regarding certain exemptions for intra-Community transactions entered into force on 1 January 2020
Noerr had advised Papierfabrik Adolf Jass GmbH & Co. KG on the acquisition of 100% of shares in the share capital of Convert PL sp. z o.o., owned by Ostoja I Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamknięty Aktywow Niepublicznych, a closed-end investment fund backed by the Giermaziak family. Convert PL was advised by Deloitte Legal on the transaction, which closed on December 5, 2019.
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.
Noerr has advised TAG Immobilien AG on its EUR 85 million acquisition of Vantage Development S.A., a real estate developer operating in Western Poland.
On 11 November 2019, the European Union adopted a legal framework for restrictive measures against Turkey. The EU is thus responding to Turkish exploratory drilling for natural gas deposits off the Cypriot coast, which Cyprus and the European Union consider illegal. The legal framework will make it possible to sanction individuals or companies responsible for or involved in drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. However, no specific measures have been imposed yet.
Noerr, working with Itay's LMCR law firm, has advised the Nidec Corporation on the sale of its Secop Compressors division to ESSVP IV, advised by Orlando Management AG.
Noerr has advised Hungarian-based online travel portal Szallas.hu on its take-over of the MaiUtazas Group travel portal in a combined share and asset deal transaction. The acquisitions were financed with Szallas.hu's internal resources, as well as capital from the equity funds of Szallas.hu’s owner, OTP Bank. The Csetneki Law Firm advised MaiUtazas Group on the deal.
Former Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners lawyer Vyacheslav Yugai has left that firm after eight years to become a local partner in Noerr’s Moscow office.
State aid has always been a success story in Romania, with a lot of companies developing medium-sized investment projects based on money coming from Romanian authorities. And the success story continued through 2018 and into 2019. But let’s look at this story from the beginning.
Noerr has advised Merkur Sportwetten, a member of the Gauselmann Group, on the acquisition of a majority stake in Totolotek, a member of the Intralot Group. Totolotek was advised by Dubois & Wspolnicy.
Noerr, together with the Austria's Arnold law firm, has advised SignaRetail on the sale of Kika’s Eastern European business to XXXLutz. XXXLutz was represented by CHSH on the purchase and by Wolf Theiss on the merger clearance process.
Dorda has advised the Kapsch Group on the sale of CarrierCom and PublicTransportCom to S&T AG, a Linz-based technology group and provider of IT services in Central and Eastern Europe. Schmutzer & Ott-Sander Rechtsanwalte and the Munich office of Noerr advised S&T.
The current state aid system in Poland provides for preferential treatment of investors who set up their business in the territory of one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ), i.e. within a legally designated part of Polish territory. The SEZ benefits include, in particular, exemptions relative to corporate income tax for corporations or personal income tax for non-corporate entities. However, in recent years this system has failed to keep up with ever-changing socio-economic challenges. The zones have proved to be a rather inadequate instrument for sustainable development and the rules of support in Poland have become less attractive compared to those offered by foreign competitors.
Schoenherr, working with lead counsel Hengeler Mueller and Belgium's Bredin Prat, China's JunHe, Mexico's Galicia Abogados, and Wuersch & Gering in New York, has advised Sweden's Ericsson on its acquisition of Germany's Kathrein SE's antenna and filters division. Noerr and Ziems & Partner acted as lead counsel to Kathrein, assisted by, among others, Eisenberger & Herzog, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, and Gleiss Lutz.
Former PWC Legal Prague Managing Partner Borivoj Libal has joined Noerr, bringing a team of four other lawyers with him.
Noerr stands for excellence and entrepreneurial thinking. With well-versed teams of strong characters, Noerr devises and implements solutions for the most complex and sophisticated legal matters. United by a set of shared values, the firm’s 500+ professionals are driven by one goal: the client’s success.
Listed groups and multinational companies, large and medium-sized family businesses as well as financial institutions and international investors all rely on the firm.
As one of the top European law firms, Noerr is also well established internationally with offices in eleven countries and a global network of top-ranked “best friends” law firms. In addition, Noerr is the exclusive member firm in Germany for Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in 100+ countries worldwide.