“There were no major changes in the structure of the Latvian legal services market in 2019,” says Lauris Liepa, the Managing Partner of Cobalt in Latvia. “As before, three firms – Cobalt, Sorainen, and Ellex – have dominated both the transactions and the corporate advisory market. While some lawyers have changed firms, there have been no major moves regarding teams or senior lawyers. One of the reasons might be a relatively good situation in the legal services market, with growth in all practice areas.”

Cobalt has advised the European Investment Bank on a EUR 50 million venture debt facility to Bolt, the Estonian developer of a ride-hailing app. The borrowers were advised by Sorainen on the financing, which is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.

Walless has advised the Affidea Group on its acquisition of 100% of the shares of UAB Kuncu Ambulatorine Klinika, the operator of the Vetrunge clinic in Klaipeda, Lithuania. Cobalt advised the unidentified seller on the deal, and financial details were not disclosed.

Cobalt is representing UAB Niklita in a dispute related to a procurement process organized by the Prisons Administration of the Ministry of Justice of Latvia involving the supply of catering services to prisoners.

Former Associate Partners Eva Suduiko and Arturas Kojala have been promoted to full Partners at Cobalt Lithuania, and former Senior Associate Vydmantas Grigoravicius has been made Associate Partner.

Cobalt has successfully represented jewelry artist Keiu Kulles in a copyright infringement dispute with AS Saaremaa Piimatoostus and advertising agency La Ecwador.

Cobalt has advised BaltCap portfolio company Coffee Address Holding, a vending and coffee service company in the Baltics operating under the Coffee Address brand, on its acquisition of SIA Kafe Serviss – a vending operator in Latvia. Solo practitioner Lauris Leja represented Kafe Serviss on the transaction, which remains subject to the approval of the the Latvian Competition Council.

“The Estonian general election took place in March this year, and we are finally able to see the results,” says Martin Simovart, Partner at Cobalt in Estonia. “Politics in Estonia is now quite a mess. The new government is a populist coalition – this means that the situation is unstable and a polarized sentiment has been created.”

Cobalt has advised Workday, Inc. on Latvian issues related to its cross-border acquisition of online procurement platform Scout RFP. The sellers were advised by Sorainen.

Cobalt has advised Karma Ventures on its follow-on investment in career app MeetFrank. Eversheds Sutherland reportedly advised MeetFrank.

Cobalt has advised the INVL Baltic Forests Fund I, managed by INVL Asset Management, on the sale of 100% of shares in UAB Aukstagire and UAB Aukstasile to Silvestica Green Forest Lithuania, which was reportedly advised by 3Law Miskinis & Partners.

Cobalt has advised Danske Bank on the sale of its main building in Tallinn to KEK Arendus OU, a company controlled by local entrepreneur Neinar Seli.

Cobalt has advised Salv, an anti‑money laundering startup founded by ex-TransferWise employees, on its successful raising of USD 2 million in seed funding.

Sorainen Latvia and Herbert Smith Freehills have advised MM Capital Infrastructure Fund I, a Marubeni-backed fund, on the acquisition of a 29.06% interest in JSC Conexus Baltic Grid, a unified natural gas transmission and storage operator in Latvia, from Marguerite Gas I. Marguerite was advised by CMS London and Cobalt on the transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval.

Cobalt has advised French real estate investment fund Corum on the acquisition of 22,000 square meter large Depo DIY store in Kaunas.

Earlier this year the Estonian parliament enacted long-awaited dedicated covered bond legislation, finally allowing local banks to enter both regional and European-wide covered bond markets and to gain access to a reasonably priced and stable source of long-term funding for their key banking businesses (most importantly for funding the issuance of mortgage loans). Additionally, under the new legislation, local covered bond issuers able to meet prudential requirements under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) will be able to benefit from certain forms of preferential treatment afforded to covered bonds. For the local banking sector that, at the moment, remains dominated by Scandinavian banking groups, the new legislation also creates a viable alternative to the parent funding.

Amazingly, the Lithuanian FinTech ecosystem report of 2018 revealed that there were 170 FinTech companies based in Lithuania – reflecting 45 percent growth over the previous year – with some 2,600 employees working in FinTech companies, more than 700 of which were newly-employed in 2018. The numbers are still growing this year.

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.