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Kristóf Ferenczi is appointed Firm Managing Partner of Kinstellar
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Kristóf Ferenczi has been appointed as new Firm Managing Partner effective from 1 January 2024. He will succeed Patrik Bolf, who will take on a new position within the Firm focusing on certain firm-wide projects, after having spent a very successful six years in the role. Kristóf Ferenczi has extensive executive management experience having served on Kinstellar’s Firm Management Committee since 2018 and as the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Budapest office. With over 20 years of experience, Kristóf has been with Kinstellar since the Firm’s foundation 15 years ago, and prior to that with Linklaters and DLA Piper. Kristóf is a very well-regarded energy sector specialist
Kinstellar advises Genesis Capital on the sale of SANBORN
Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised Genesis Private Equity Fund III (GPEF III), from the established private equity group Genesis Capital, on the sale of SANBORN, a key supplier of precision components and specialised parts for the power generation, oil & gas and transportation industries, to industrial group Oriens. Sanborn manufactures and supplies critical components for the world’s leading manufacturers of generators and turbines, energy companies and transportation, mainly from special steel alloys. The company’s key clients include leading international industrial conglomerates such as GE, Siemens, Wabtec, Technip FMC, and OneSubsea. The company expects revenues in 2023 of over CZK
Kinstellar advises S IMMO AG on its acquisition of EUR 481 million property portfolio in the Czech Republic
Kinstellar has successfully advised S IMMO AG, a real estate investment company, on acquiring a property portfolio in the Czech Republic from CPI Property Group. The property portfolio comprises 11 office and retail properties, as well as development land. The transaction's property value is EUR 481 million, with an annual rental income of approximately EUR 29 million. Klára Štěpánková, Partner and the Co-head of the firm-wide Real Estate sector and Real Estate, Construction & Planning services added: We are thrilled to have advised S IMMO AG on this large and complex portfolio transaction and assist them in further expansion in the Czech Republic. The Kinstellar team was led by Klára Štěpánková
“Green Claims” in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary
On 22 March 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. The proposed Directive aims to tackle false environmental claims by ensuring that consumers receive reliable, comparable and verifiable environmental information on products and services across the European Union. By laying down clear criteria on how companies should evidence environmental claims, along with mandating an EU labelling scheme and new enforcement procedures to secure compliance, the Directive on Green Claims is designed to enable better environmental decision-making by consumers and to reduce so called “green washing” (spurious environmentally friendly claims). However, it will likely still be some time before
Kinstellar advises Jacquet Metals on a multi-jurisdictional acquisition
Kinstellar, together with Veil Jourde as lead counsel, has successfully advised Jacquet Metals, a European leader in the customisation and distribution of specialty metals, on the multi-jurisdictional acquisition of several distribution companies from Swiss Steel Group, a world leader in the production of specialty long steel. Kinstellar provided a full range of legal services to support the transaction, including due diligence and regulatory advice covering several Central and Eastern European countries. We also provided transactional advice, with a focus on the local law requirements arising in connection with the negotiation of the SPA and the completion of the transaction. The Kinstellar team, including
Transposition of the CSRD in the Czech Republic
Directive (EU) 2022/2464 on corporate sustainability reporting (the “CSRD”) was adopted at the end of 2022 and entered into force in January 2023, with a transposition deadline of 6 July 2024. The Czech Republic has opted for a phased-in transposition process in two stages corresponding to the implementation timeframe under the CSRD: This first phase, carried out as a minimum transposition, is already underway, namely in the context of the draft legislation on the consolidation of public budgets (the “Consolidation Package”). The Consolidation Package, among other legislative measures, introduces legislative provisions on sustainability reporting, to the extent corresponding to the first phase of reporting
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
Kinstellar advises on the reverse takeover of a company listed on the London Stock Exchange
Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised the Czech company Mineral Ventures Invest spol s r.o. (“MVI”)—the sole domestic investment gold seller with its own gold mine—on a reverse takeover transaction (RTO) involving the acquisition of the majority of shares in Irish mining and exploration company IMC Exploration Group PLC (“IMC”), whose shares are listed on the prime market of London Stock Exchange (LSE). In this intricate deal, MVI—part of the private Czech holding group Holding Zlato—has become the majority owner of MIC. As consideration for the newly issued shares, IMC has acquired ownership interest in MVI through its Armenian subsidiary, which owns a mining license for a gold mine in
Cannabis use: CEE regulatory update
Significant changes in the regulation of cannabis use have occurred in some countries in Central and Eastern Europe since our last report. In addition to a number of countries gradually legalising the use of cannabis for medical purposes, increasing efforts by some countries are being seen to also legalise the use of cannabis for recreational use, as well as the use of other products containing various cannabinoids, most importantly cannabidiol (CBD). Click here to read a summary of recent changes related to the national regulation of this rapidly growing sector across Central and Eastern Europe. For any other details or information, please contact Tomáš Čihula, Partner. Contributors:
Kinstellar advises NOVA Real Estate on the sale of Trenčín Industrial Park to BHM Group
Kinstellar has recently advised NOVA Real Estate on the sale of Trenčín Industrial Park—one of the largest production and logistics centres in Slovakia—to BHM Group, an important investment group on the Czech market. The transaction is one of the largest real estate M&As in Slovakia in 2023. NOVA Real Estate is a Czech real estate fund managed by the investment company REDSIDE, a provider of first-class investment solutions and specialist knowledge to both institutions and individual investors in the dynamically developing market of alternative investment funds. BHM Group is a private investment company focusing mainly on investments in projects and companies in the fields of new technologies and renewable
Amendment to the Labour Code 2023
On 12 September 2023, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the Labour Code after the legislation was returned by the Senate in July with several amendments. The Chamber of Deputies, however, ultimately approved the amendment in its original wording. After it is signed by the President, the amendment will come in to effect on the first day of the calendar month following its publication in the Collection of Laws (likely still in 2023). However, certain provisions concerning agreements on work performed outside employment relationships (e.g. regarding annual leave) will take effect on 1 January 2024. Major changes pursuant to the amendment to the Labour Code: Telework arrangements
New regulation of telemedicine in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic should soon have its own legal regulation for telemedicine. A government proposal is on its way to the Parliament to introduce a basic definition of telemedicine. Until now, there has been no legal definition, which in practice has led to many uncertainties and questions, including the possibility and conditions of provision by healthcare providers, but also, for example, the admissibility of reimbursement by health insurance companies. The proposed amendment to the Health Services Act should remove this uncertainty and will explicitly state that telemedicine is a legally permitted way of providing health services and will set out the framework conditions. Telemedicine services are defined