Havel & Partners has advised Investown Technologies shareholder Ceska Sporitelna Seed Starter on the sale of a stake in the company to Finbus.

Glatzova & Co has advised SNP Invest on obtaining permission from the Czech National Bank to operate as a self-managed investment fund of qualified investors.

As the amendment is effective as early as 1 October 2023, we provide below an overview of the main changes, indicating the necessary or recommended steps for employers to be taken:

Former Briza & Trubac Partner Ondrej Hampl – together with former Rohlik Group Chief Legal Officer Ivo Hartmann and Attorneys-at-Law Jakub Kucera of Briza & Trubac, Ladislav Murin of Squire Patton Boggs, and Lukas Novopacky of Badokh – has launched the VIDD independent boutique law firm in Prague.

M&A in the CEE region has been a captivating theater of evolving trends and geopolitical dynamics of late. Schoenherr Partner Markus Piuk shares his insights on the current market trends and delves into the influence of the US-China relationship, the status of Russian-based transactions, the resilience of the CEE M&A market, and the prospects of industry consolidation and growth.

BBH has advised the Kaprain Group on its acquisition of a 53,000-square-meter brownfield site next to Prague's O2 arena.

Glatzova & Co. has advised the municipality of Poricany on the approximately CZK 160 million agreement with a Hecht Group project company for the sale of development land near the D11 highway. Baroch Sobota reportedly advised the Hecht Group.

With a delay of over a year, Czech Act no. 284/2023 on preventive restructuring implemented the EU Restructuring Directive 2019/1023 into Czech law with effect as of 23 September 2023. This publication explains some of the key choices made by the Czech Republic upon the Directive’s implementation.

Tomas Skoumal has been elected as the new Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie’s Prague office, taking over from Martin Hrodek.

Dentons has advised the CPI Property Group on its EUR 635 million three-year bridge loan from Santander, Societe Generale, Komercni Banka, Raiffeisen, SMBC, Barclays, and Erste Bank to replace the group's existing loans related to its recent acquisitions of Immofinanz and S Immo. Linklaters reportedly advised the banks.

Havel & Partners has advised the Czechoslovak Capital Partners investment group on the acquisition of five properties in Hradec Kralove.

Cobalt has advised Binalyze on its USD 19 million series A financing round with Molten Ventures, Cisco Investments, Citibank Ventures, and Deutsche Bank Corporate Venture Capital as well as existing investors Earlybird Digital East and OpenOcean. Ellex Raidla advised Molten Ventures on leading the round.

Clifford Chance has advised Vseobecna Uverova Banka on its EUR 500 million issuance of covered bonds that were subsequently listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Allen & Overy reportedly advised the managers handling the issuance.

Clifford Chance has advised Ceska Sporitelna and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia on their financing for the Oriens holding's Moravia Containers in relation to the acquisition of Steelmart. Havel & Partners advised the borrower.

A long-awaited amendment to the Czech Competition Act (Act) is now on the horizon as it was approved by the Chambers of Deputies and is ready for sign-off by the Senate and the president. Covering primarily the implementation of the ECN+ Directive, it also incorporates changes to the Act. At the same time, the Czech Competition Authority (CCA) has been updating its policies on compliance programs and vertical leniency. From this perspective, how the CCA treats vertical (distribution) agreements will probably change considerably.

Attorney At Law Jan Exner has joined the Briza & Trubac team in Prague as Head of the firm's Sports Law practice. The move became effective on September 1, 2023. 

BBH has advised the Kaprain Group on its acquisition of Mafra Publishing and Synthesia from Agrofert Holding in a package deal.

During the Three Seas Initiative annual general meeting in Bucharest in September 2023, Austria's Dorda, Bulgaria's Boyanov & Co., Croatia's Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka, the Czech Republic's Kocian Solc Balastik, Estonia's Ellex Raidla, Hungary's Lakatos Koves & Partners, Latvia's Ellex Klavins, Lithuania's Ellex Valiunas, Poland's Wardynski and Partners, Romania's Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen, Slovakia's Barger Prekop, and Slovenia's Selih & Partnerji announced they formed the Three Seas Legal Alliance, in recognition of the progress made by the Three Seas Initiative.