Alrud has advised Russia's state-owned VTB bank on the acquisition of more than 70% of shares in grain trading company Mirogroup Resources.

BPV Braun Partners has advised CEMOS, a.s. on the sale of shares in the Czech Republic's Unesovsky Statek agricultural company and the transfer of extensive agricultural land to an unnamed buyer. Financial details were not disclosed.

Estonia is probably best known for its IT businesses and startups. At the same time its population density is among the lowest in Europe, which means that forestry and agriculture are also topics to look into. Due to the country’s geographical location and climate, Estonia is well-suited for dairy farming, and the Estonian islands and seaside regions are also very good for beef cattle farming. Agricultural subsidies provided by the European Union and the Estonian government have resulted in some of the most modern dairy production facilities in the world, making the Estonian average cattle herd size the second-highest in Europe. As a result of state-of-the-art genetics, the average milk production per cow is over 9,300 kilos per annum – the second highest result in Europe, right after Denmark. As a consequence, foreign investors have turned to Estonia for investment possibilities. Here we would like to look more into the possibilities of investing in Estonian agriculture and what to bear in mind.

Walless has helped Simplex obtain an e-money license from the Bank of Lithuania.

Adon Legal has helped UAB Kredito Partneris set up business operations and be placed on the list of lenders with the Bank of Lithuania.

DLA Piper has successfully represented the Qubus Hotel in its claim for damages from the City of Warsaw resulting from what the firm describes as its "unlawful refusal to issue a building permit for a hotel."

McDermott Will & Emery has advised German automotive supplier Borges on its restructuring. Latham & Watkins acts as coordinating counsel to the bank syndicate on the restructuring, with the Prague and Warsaw offices of Clifford Chance advising the syndicate and Dentons lawyers in Frankfurt and Berlin advising Bank Ceska Sporitelna.

Estonia's Coop Pank has selected Ellex Raidla to assist with it preparations for its upcoming IPO.

Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner, working with Linklaters, Wolf Theiss, and Gleiss Lutz, achieved the successful implementation of a "Company Voluntary Agreement," paving the way for the financial restructuring of the Steinhoff Group. Binder Groesswang and Allen & Overy advised the international creditor coordinating committee consisting of banks and funds. Latham & Watkins and Dorda advised the Secondary creditor committee, while Eisenberger & Herzog and Kirkland & Ellis advised the convertible bondholder.

Estonia's Coop Pank has selected Ellex Raidla to assist with it preparations for its upcoming IPO.

Akin Gump has advised Turkish participation bank Kuveyt Turk Katilim Bankasi A.S., majority-owned by Kuwait Finance House, on its debut issuance of USD 200 million perpetual Tier 1 Capital Certificates, listed on the regulated market of the Irish Stock Exchange plc, trading as Euronext Dublin. Clifford Chance reportedly advised the sole manager on the transaction, KFH Capital.

Papapolitis & Papapolitis has advised lead underwriters Eurobank S.A. and Piraeus Bank S.A. on the EUR 175 million Attica Holdings bond issuance.

Acting on behalf of the Incab manufacturer and seller of fiber-optic cables, Arzinger has successfully protected the interests of it and six other producers of optical cables from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in an antidumping investigation initiated in 2018 by Rosnano's Optic Fiber Systems JSC in the Eurasian Economic Commission against US and Japanese producers of optical fiber.

Asters has successfully defended the interests of international healthcare and agriculture company Bayer Ukraine before the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko has represented the interests of JSC Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol, a Ukrainian producer of galvanized sheets, in an anti-dumping investigation related to imports of galvanized sheets originating from Russia and China.

KPD Consulting in Ukraine has conducted an external assessment of corruption risks at Energoatom, the largest electricity power producer in Ukraine.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised Huhtamaki Foodservice Ukraine, a subsidiary of Huhtamaki Oyj, the world’s largest packaging manufacturer for foodservice, regarding the launch of production in Ukraine.

Schoenherr, working with SafeReach, has launched the Dawn Raid App – a legal tech solution for clients to ensure a controlled process in the event of a dawn raid.

Turkish Constitutional Court granted a decision on April 17, 2019 regarding an applicant’s claims on violation of his freedom of expression and press due to access ban of a news article (which is taken from a newspaper) posted by his social media account with the comment “Interesting confession from the judge of the July 22th investigation”. The decision was published on the Official Gazette on May 15, 2019. The Constitutional Court accepted the applicant’s claim by stating that the access ban of the news article violated the applicant’s right to freedom of expression and press.

DGKV has advised Patisha AD, a Bulgarian infrastructure construction company, on the sale of a 90% stake in the company to Zavodski Stroeji PS Pazardzhik EAD, a construction company in the Pazardzhik region of Southern Bulgaria.

JPM has advised C.D Holding Internationale SAS, Groupe UP on its entrance into a partnership with the current owners of Serbian company Emergo Sport, which operates under the FitPass brand. Emergo Sport was advised by Bojovic Draskovic Popovic & Partners.

Alrud has advised China Gold, a state-owned Chinese enterprise, on its entrance into a development agreement related to the Klyuchevskoye gold deposit in Russia's Mogochinsky district. Deheng advised China Gold on matters of China and Hong Kong law.

Asters has advised Dobrobut, a Ukrainian network of private medical centers, on its acquisition of Kyiv's Boris medical center from unidentified sellers.

Dechert has advised the Kinross Gold Corporation on its USD 283 million acquisition of the Chulbatkan heap leach development project from N-mining. Debevoise advised N-mining on the deal.

Clifford Chance, acting pro bono on behalf of LGBTQ Groups in Poland, has persuaded a Polish court to order the conservative Gazeta Polska newspaper to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers.

Avellum has successfully represented a UK citizen in Ukraine's Supreme Court in a dispute regarding the return of a wrongfully retained child.

Soltysinski Kawecki Szlezak successfully represented pro bono Stowarzyszenie Twoja Sprawa ("Your Case Association") in a case brought against the producer of Devil Energy Drink.

DGKV has advised Patisha AD, a Bulgarian infrastructure construction company, on the sale of a 90% stake in the company to Zavodski Stroeji PS Pazardzhik EAD, a construction company in the Pazardzhik region of Southern Bulgaria.

CMS has advised construction company Warbud S.A on its entrance into a public-private partnership investment project involving the reconstruction and expansion of a secondary school in Piastow, Poland. Warbud's participation will be funded by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

Bird & Bird has assisted Siemens Mobility with its successful participation in a tender for the supply of an intelligent traffic management and control system in the Polish city of Tychy.

McDermott Will & Emery has advised German automotive supplier Borges on its restructuring. Latham & Watkins acts as coordinating counsel to the bank syndicate on the restructuring, with the Prague and Warsaw offices of Clifford Chance advising the syndicate and Dentons lawyers in Frankfurt and Berlin advising Bank Ceska Sporitelna.

Fellner Wratzfeld & Partner, working with Linklaters, Wolf Theiss, and Gleiss Lutz, achieved the successful implementation of a "Company Voluntary Agreement," paving the way for the financial restructuring of the Steinhoff Group. Binder Groesswang and Allen & Overy advised the international creditor coordinating committee consisting of banks and funds. Latham & Watkins and Dorda advised the Secondary creditor committee, while Eisenberger & Herzog and Kirkland & Ellis advised the convertible bondholder.

Egemenoglu has advised DRD Fleet Leasing regarding its debt restructuring negotiations with 45 financial institutions as creditors including Credit Europe Bank, Abraaj Group, and ICD. Negotiations resulted in the restructuring of 97% of the outstanding debt with 42 of the 45 creditors and amounts to EUR 570 million. Kinstellar advised the banks on the deal.

A common solution to the chronic workforce shortage seen in the entire region nowadays is that one company provides labour to another. However, one should be careful with these agreements: depending on the circumstances, the tax authority (NAV) may reclassify these contracts, which could result in major tax expenses.

Georgiev, Todorov & Co has advised Gazprom Export LLC on the termination of employment contracts with some of the company's employees in Bulgaria.

During a posting, the employee is bitten by a tick. He throws his back out while loading. He gets sunburnt while working outside. A common feature of these cases is that they are all accidents at work. Yet, if the employer does not pay attention to these, he can find himself at a serious disadvantage.

Gessel has advised Stemlab, a subsidiary of the Polish Stem Cell Bank on its acquisition of the remaining 65% of the shares of Portuguese stem cell bank Bebecord, giving it sole ownership of the company.

Asters has advised Dobrobut, a Ukrainian network of private medical centers, on its acquisition of Kyiv's Boris medical center from unidentified sellers.

Former Schoenherr Partner Florian Kusznier will be joining the Corporate/M&A team of Wolf Theiss at the beginning of September 2019.

Ilyashev & Partners has advised the Kraft Heinz Company in connection with its business development in Russia.

Acting on behalf of the Incab manufacturer and seller of fiber-optic cables, Arzinger has successfully protected the interests of it and six other producers of optical cables from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in an antidumping investigation initiated in 2018 by Rosnano's Optic Fiber Systems JSC in the Eurasian Economic Commission against US and Japanese producers of optical fiber.

Clifford Chance, acting pro bono on behalf of LGBTQ Groups in Poland, has persuaded a Polish court to order the conservative Gazeta Polska newspaper to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers.

Clifford Chance has advised CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited, on a long-term lease of three Airbus A320neo aircraft to Ural Airlines.

Alrud has advised Ctrip, the largest online travel agent in Asia, on its acquisition of a minority share in Russia's Avia Center. Fangda Partners provided Chinese law advice to Ctrip on the deal, which closed in July 2019, while McFarlanes provided English law advice.

Derling Primus has advised Skoda Vagonka on its agreement with Pasazieru Vilciens for the production and supply of 32 electric trains in Latvia. The contract for the purchase of electric trains, which includes staff training, equipment for maintenance and a spare parts fund, is worth almost EUR 242 million.

Wolf Theiss has advised Swiss logistics group Kuehne & Nagel on the takeover of Austrian freight forwarding and transportation company Joebstl. RPCK Rastegar reportedly advised Joebstl.

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised the Baltic Maritime Logistics Group on its acquisition of Stivis OU, a company operating in the Port of Muuga in Tallinn, Estonia. The sellers were reportedly represented by Laus & Partners.

Paksoy has advised ISS Global Forwarding Tasimacilik A.S. on its acquisition of assets from OSF Uluslararasi Lojistik Hizmetleri Dis Ticaret A.S. PKF Izmir reportedly advised OSF Uluslararasi Lojistik on the deal.

Former K&L Gates Partner Michal Petz has re-joined White & Case Warsaw as a Local Partner, bringing Senior Associates Wanda Kudrycka and Artur Kloc along with him.

Walless provided Lithuanian counsel and Israel's Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co. was lead counsel to BLender P2P Israel Ltd on its generation of a total of USD 22 million in debt financing from Eiffel Investment Group SAS and equity investment by Asia Plus Group Holdings PCL, Blumberg Capital, and the Aviv Group. Glimstedt advised Eiffel on the debt financing.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised Cogito Fund I on its first investment in MarketInvoice, a London-based online invoice finance platform. Taylor Wessing advised MarketInvoice on the deal.

Clifford Chance, acting pro bono on behalf of LGBTQ Groups in Poland, has persuaded a Polish court to order the conservative Gazeta Polska newspaper to halt the distribution of "LGBT-free zone" stickers.

RASK attorney-at-law Siret Saks has provided pro bono advice to the Estonian National Culture Foundation, helping it resolve issues concerning the will and testamentary estate of Tiiu Alliste, important to the launch of the new Harmatali scholarship fund dedicated to the support of Estonian children’s literature.

Dentons Prague is providing pro bono assistance to the Eduzmena Endowment Fund regarding its establishment and rules of operation.

Dominik Geyer has been promoted to Partner at bpv Huegel and will co-head its Real Estate division with Partner Michaela Pelinka.

SPC Legal has advised East Capital Investment on the sale of an unidentified piece of real estate in Lithuania to a group of unidentified buyers. The buyers were represented by Relegal.

DLA Piper has advised a consortium of South Korean investors working with asset manager Mastern Investment Management on the EUR 375 acquisition, made as part of a joint venture with Munich-based asset manager Wealthcore Invester Management, of the Hilton Parkview Vienna. The sellers — two Austrian family firms — were represented by Invester United Benefits and advised by Schoenherr.

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen has successfully defended the interests of the Baylor Black Sea Foundation before the Court of Appeals in Romania in relation to a dispute with the fiscal authorities.

Tax and Disputes specialist Anna Peczyk-Tofel and Transfer Pricing expert Michal Szwed have been promoted to partner at Crido.

A recently released NAV guidance gives a list of those signs that could indicate that a security firm is involved in VAT fraud. The list will certainly help companies that accept invoices from such security firms, but it’s still a pity that the guidance wasn’t issued ten years earlier.

Evris has advised Vetropack, a European manufacturer of glass packaging for the food and beverages industry, on matters related to an intellectual property dispute in Ukraine.

DGKV and Greenberg Traurig have advised QuickBase Inc., backed by Vista Equity Partners, on its acquisition of CloudPipes Group Ltd. Tokushev & Partners and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe advised CloudPipes and the company's sellers — four institutional investors, three founders, and four employees — on the deal.

On July 25, 2019, CEE Legal Matters reported that Competera, a Ukrainian pricing platform for e-commerce and omni-channel retailers, had established its headquarters in the United States. We reached out to Competera's Senior Legal Counsel Denis Boshko for details.

Ukrainian lawyer Yevgeniy Solodko has merged his white collar criminal defense boutique with Sayenko Kharenko.

Jan Rysinski has been promoted to partner at Laszczuk & Partners in Poland.

Rokas Daugela and Mindaugas Bliuvas have been promoted to Partner and Eva Suduiko and Arturas Kojala have been promoted to Associate Partner at Cobalt in Lithuania.