“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.”

Andris Taurins and Valts Nerets, the Co-Heads of the Dispute Resolution and Risk Management practice at Sorainen in Latvia, have joined the firm's partnership.

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.

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.

Ellex Klavins has advised Eastnine AB on the acquisition of an 11,500 square meter land plot in Riga from the MCity real estate development company.

Sorainen is advising UniCredit on its disposal of UniCredit Leasing and its operations in Lithuania and Estonia to Citadele Bank.

Sorainen has advised investment firm Ardian on the sale of the Competence Call Center Group to TELUS International, a subsidiary of the TELUS Corporation.

Sorainen and Allen & Overy have advised Sage, a UK based company specializing in integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems, on its acquisition of CakeHR, a Latvian startup that offers a native cloud solution that for HR tasks for small businesses.

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.

Eversheds Sutherland Bitans has advised ExpressCredit Ltd on its issuance of new notes and on securing the interests of new and existing Investors. The interests of the investors, note holders, and SIA Mintos Finance were secured with a commercial pledge in the amount of EUR 40.5 million, held by Eversheds Sutherland Bitans as the collateral agent of the investors.

Finland's Castren & Snellman and Sorainen have advised the OP Corporate Bank on its provision of financing to Finland's Veho Group for Veho's acquisition of Silberauto. Finland's Dittmar Law Firm and Ellex's three offices in the Baltic advised Veho on the financing, as they had on the acquisition itself.

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.

Njord Latvia has successfully represented Grovema BV, a Dutch seller of Liebherr parts and machines, in a dispute with SIA Mark Investa involving invoices for machines and parts that had been delivered but not paid for.

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.

Ellex Klavins has successfully represented Deaflympics athlete Maris Grenins before the Supreme Court of the Republic of Latvia, which on November 5th ruled that the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers had acted improperly in making an unusually low cash award to Grenins following his success in the 2013 Summer Deaflympic Games.

Primus Derling has advised AJ Power Recycling on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of SIA Latvijas Zalais Fonds. Azanda & Associates advised the sellers on the deal.

Primus Derling has advised AS Sakret Holdings on its issuance of 5-year bonds worth almost EUR 4 million and the registration of collateral for them in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Former Wolf Theiss Poland Co-Managing Partner Ron Given has joined Deloitte Legal as its CE Senior Legal Counsel, responsible for all of the firm’s offices in 19 Central and Eastern European countries.