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Hugh Owen, a top M&A lawyer in Central and South Eastern Europe, joins Kinstellar as Partner
Kinstellar is very pleased to announce that Hugh Owen joins the Firm as a Partner, effective 1 October 2024. Hugh is a very well-known leading M&A lawyer in the Central and South Eastern European region with an impressive track record. He spent over 23 years at Allen & Overy, including 13 years as a partner. He then ran his own law firm and M&A training business for four years as a sole practitioner, closing over 20 deals with a combined value of over EUR 2.5 billion. For two years from July 2022 to June 2024 he served as Head of Legal Business Solutions for PwC CEE, responsible for the strategy for Legal in over 25 jurisdictions, including Eurasia, core CEE countries, the Baltics, Ukraine and South-Eastern
Kinstellar advises Vinci Airports on the strategic EUR 3.1 billion+ acquisition of a minority interest in Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport
Kinstellar is proud to have advised Vinci Airports, one of the world’s leading private airport operators, on the strategic acquisition of a minority interest in the group managing the Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport. The majority investment in the transaction was carried out by Hungarian state-controlled Corvinus Zrt., a joint venture partner of Vinci Airports. As a result of this acquisition, with a total purchase price of EUR 3.1 billion plus net debt of EUR 1.2 billion, Vinci Airports becomes the operator of the Budapest airport hub. This transaction is one of the highest profile acquisitions in Hungary, with a record-breaking deal value. It was a highly complex and challenging transaction, entailing intense
Kinstellar advises SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance on the acquisition of Austrian Airlines Technik – Bratislava
Kinstellar has successfully advised the Dutch aircraft maintenance provider SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance (SAMCO) on the acquisition of Austrian Airlines Technik – Bratislava (ATB). Located at the Maastricht Airport in the Netherlands, SAMCO provides a wide range of aircraft maintenance activities—from heavy base-maintenance checks, line-maintenance, logistic support, asset and maintenance management to EASA Part 21 approved design changes. With the acquisition of ATB, SAMCO increases its footprint significantly. ATB, located in Bratislava, Slovakia, is fully equipped to perform all base maintenance services with close to 250 staff. With this strategic acquisition, SAMCO creates five additional lines for Embraer
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Counsel
February 2024 – Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotions to Counsel of: Yerlan Akhmetov, Kuanysh Shekerbekov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Cătălin Dinu, Cătălin Graure (Bucharest, Romania), Barnabás Sági (Budapest, Hungary), Yulia Eismont, Maksym Tesliar (Kyiv, Ukraine), Michal Forýtek (Prague, Czech Republic), Andrijana Kaštelan, Vedran Kopilović, Marija Vuchetich (Zagreb, Croatia). ALMATY Yerlan Akhmetov focuses on banking and finance, M&A and capital markets matters. Having been with the Firm for nine years, Yerlan has earned a reputation for cultivating strong client relationships, demonstrating leadership qualities and making significant contributions to our firm's success. He has played a key role
Kinstellar strengthens its team in Kazakhstan with the appointment of Ardak Idayatova as Partner
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Ardak Idayatova has joined the firm’s Almaty office as Partner. Ardak Idayatova is an experienced practitioner with a career spanning 20 years. She focuses primarily on commercial arbitration (especially construction arbitration) and litigation, as well as on public-private partnerships and real estate. Ardak’s expertise includes providing comprehensive support to major infrastructure projects, primarily representing foreign investors, international development banks and foreign contractors. Additionally, she represents and provides legal assistance to clients in foreign commercial arbitrations, mainly in connection with construction disputes arising out of different
Kinstellar advises Siemens Mobility on the acquisition of the Slovak company HMH
Kinstellar has successfully advised Siemens Mobility on the acquisition of the Slovak company HMH, a leading regional producer and innovator of railway security solutions. Siemens Mobility, part of the Siemens multinational conglomerate, has been a leader in transport solutions for more than 160 years. It offers a comprehensive portfolio through its five business units: Rail Infrastructure, Turnkey, Rolling Stock, Customer Services and Intelligent Traffic Systems. HMH is a Slovak-based technology company and producer of the MIREL national train protection system for Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. Designed as a harmonised system with an interface according to European rail standards, MIREL
Kinstellar advises I Squared Capital on the acquisition of Arriva Group
Kinstellar, together with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as the lead counsel, has successfully advised Miami-based I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investment manager, on the multi-jurisdictional acquisition of the entire Arriva Group, an international transport business of Deutsche Bahn. The sale is expected to close in 2024. Kinstellar delivered a comprehensive range of legal services. This included conducting due diligence and offering regulatory advice that spanned multiple Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Kinstellar also provided transactional advice, with a specific focus on local law requirements arising in connection with the negotiation of the SPA and completion of the
Ukraine resumes large-scale privatisations
On 20 June 2023, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Draft Law No. 8250 amending, among others, the Law of Ukraine “On the Privatisation of State and Municipal Property” (Law), signalling that Ukraine has once again set a course for large-scale privatisations. This time, however, the search for investors in large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) comes from the on-going war and mounting budget deficit. The Law unblocks the sale of SOEs with book value of over UAH 250 million (approx. USD 6.76 million). It enables the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) to impose post-privatisation obligations on investors in large SOEs, including maintaining the SOE's core business and paying off wage and tax arrears. The
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Partner and Counsel
Kinstellar is delighted and proud to announce the promotions to Partner of Tomáš Melišek (Bratislava), Levente Hegedűs (Budapest), Bulut Girgin (Istanbul), Anastasiya Bolkhovitinova, Natalia Kirichenko, Oleg Matiusha, Illya Muchnyk (all in our Kyiv office), and to Counsel of Dominika Bajzáthová (Bratislava). PARTNERS Tomá š Melišek, Bratislava Tomáš is the Head of the local Banking & Finance service line. He has 15 years of experience in banking and finance, focusing on project and acquisition financing as well as on financial regulations. Tomáš has substantial experience advising clients on significant financing transactions in the areas of real estate, energy, infrastructure, automotive, media
Ukraine: The post-victory reconstruction
Historically, Ukraine has been known as a country with a good investment climate, particularly in the energy sector. The country’s high feed-in tariff rates, general digitalization, well-established and simplified regulatory procedures, and the availability of alternative suppliers for works and services, among other factors, have contributed to a large influx of investors in new green energy projects in Ukraine. The large-scale and aggressive war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which first began in 2014 and further escalated in 2022, has led to an increasing number of human losses and widespread material destruction. Power plants and power lines, airports, ports, schools, hospitals, roads, residential
Ukraine and EU sign Common Civil Aviation Area Agreement
A recent article in Ukrainian legal affairs newspaper "Yurydychna Praktyka" ("Юридична Практика) features the comments of three Kinstellar experts—Vincent Morand (Senior Legal Advisor based in Prague), Oleksandr Kurdydyk (Partner and Head of Banking and Energy & Natural Resources in Kyiv, firm-wide Head of Projects & Infrastructure, and firm-wide Co-head of Energy & Natural Resources) and Yuliia Eismont (Senior Associate in Kyiv)—focusing on the key expectations of signing the Common Aviation Area Agreement, which creates the basis for Ukraine's integration with the European Aviation Area. The article shares the viewpoints of leading lawyers on the long-term consequences of signing the
Kinstellar strengthens its team in Uzbekistan with the appointment of Sherzod Yunusov as Partner
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Sherzod Yunusov has joined the firm’s Tashkent office as Partner. His joining the firm bolsters our team’s capabilities in Uzbekistan and particularly our expertise in the energy and infrastructure sectors and project finance. Sherzod Yunusov has expertise and an established track record handling a wide array of matters related to oil and gas transactions (including exploration and gas production; production sharing agreements; development of fields; design and construction of infrastructure projects; gas transportation and processing; plant operation; sales of gas; and project finance), renewables (solar and wind), and infrastructure projects. He also advises on restructurings