Kinstellar has advised a consortium of banks including Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG, HSBC Bank plc, ING Bank N.V., BNP Paribas, CaixaBank S.A. and Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski S.A. on the Romanian law aspects of the issuance of US$800 million high-yield bonds by CANPACK S.A. and CANPACK US LLC. This is the second high-yield bond offering after we have previously advised the consortium of banks on a US$400 million and €600 million notes offering in October 2020. Kinstellar acted together with Linklaters on both mandates. CANPACK is a leading global manufacturer of high-quality aluminum cans, glass containers and metal closures for the food and chemical industries, serving customers in 95 countries
The Ukrainian parliament has recently adopted Law No. 3760 “On State Assistance to Investment Projects with the Significant Investments in Ukraine”. The so-called “investment nanny” law shall become effective once it is signed by the President and published. The law is aimed to stimulate large investments exceeding EUR 20 million into the following sectors: processing industry (except for the production and circulation of tobacco products, ethyl alcohol, cognac and fruit alcoholic beverages); extraction for further processing and / or enrichment of minerals (except coal and lignite, crude oil and natural gas); waste management; transport; wareh ousing; postal
Kinstellar is pleased to announce that it has successfully advised Croatia-based Arena Hospitality Group on the acquisition of Hotel 88 Rooms in Belgrade through its local subsidiary in Serbia. The value of the transaction is close to EUR 6 million. Arena Hospitality’s purchase of Hotel 88 Rooms in Belgrade is another milestone in the expansion of the group’s business operations Central and Eastern Europe. Arena Hospitality Group was advised by our Belgrade team throughout the entire transaction—from due diligence, transaction structuring, and incorporation of the Serbian subsidiary to financing and closing of the deal. Kinstellar’s team was led by Selma Mujezinović (former Partner) and Andreja
Kinstellar is pleased to announce that it has successfully advised FirstFarms A/S, a leading Denmark-based investor in agriculture and land in Eastern Europe, in relation to an agreement to purchase rent contracts with a duration of up to 10 years in eastern Romania. With this agreement, FirstFarms will further strengthen its platform in eastern Romania, where the company has silo capacity for 20,000 tons of crops. FirstFarms currently operates 21,000 hectares, of which 10,000 hectares are in Romania. Anders H. Nørgaard, CEO of FirstFarms, states: “Value increase of our land portfolio is a large part of our business model. With this purchase, we will create synergies within our current operating areas. FirstFarms
Spotlight on Uzbekistan: Kinstellar’s regular look at the Uzbek market New amendments to the Law of Uzbekistan “On Public-Private Partnership” On 19 December 2020, the tenth plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan took place in Tashkent. Over the course of the plenary session, the senators discussed proposed new amendments to the Law of Uzbekistan "On Public-Private Partnership". The amendments concern the introduction of new concepts such as "concession", "project of public-private partnership", and "applicant" and their respective definitions. The amendments also provide for the strengthening of the rights of private partners. In particular, it is established
Ukraine’s parliament is set to proceed with the second and hopefully final reading of the Telecommuting Bill No. 4051 (the "Bill"), which has been introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to clarify the labour law regulations for employees working from home. We expect parliament to proceed with its second reading promptly in the New Year. The most notable changes for businesses proposed by the Bill are as follows: the regimes for telecommuting and remote work shall be clearly delineated to eliminate legal uncertainties between these two types of flexible work arrangements; the flow of documentation between the employer and employee under the rules for the telecommuting work regime shall
Bulgaria’s Council of Ministers has opened public consultations on proposed amendments to the Ordinance on the conditions, rules and procedure for regulating and registering the prices of medicinal products in Bulgaria. Deadline for submission of comments and opinions is 13 January 2021. The main objective of the proposed changes is to bring the Ordinance in line with the revised Medicinal Products in Human Medicine Act (MPHMA), in particular with respect to the introduction of new conditions for the reimbursement of medicinal products. The proposal aims to optimise the pricing and reimbursement regimes for medicinal products as well as to fill the regulatory gap created by past court decisions that revoked
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that it has advised Wipro Limited, a leading Indian multinational information technology, consulting, and business process services corporation, on the Romanian law aspects of the acquisition of METRO Systems Romania SRL from the global retail group, METRO AG. The transaction is part of a larger strategic digital and IT partnership between Wipro and METRO AG, under which Wipro will take over the IT units of Metro AG in Romania and Germany. The estimated transaction value for the duration of the first five years of the partnership is approximately USD 700 million. The parties have already announced their intention to extend the partnership by an additional four years, and thus the deal
Kinstellar has successfully advised Allianz Bulgaria on the consolidation of its operations in one office building in Sofia—Park Lane Office Center. The property is currently under construction and expected to be completed by mid-2021. Kinstellar’s real estate team in Sofia successfully supported Allianz with the structuring of leasing relations, the implementation of the built-to-suit concept, and property management aspects. Allianz signed a ten-year agreement with the building developer, Park Lane Developments, for the lease of 6,000 sq. m. over three floors—a move that marks the most significant office leasing transaction in Bulgaria in 2020. The consolidation of the group in this modern building will
Kinstellar is pleased to announce that it has successfully advised a consortium of leading banks comprising Citigroup Europe plc - Dublin Romanian Branch, ING Bank N.V. Amsterdam Bucharest Branch and Unicredit Bank S.A. on the Romanian law aspects of a EUR 150 million senior facilities agreement granted to the telecommunications service provider RCS & RDS (part of the Dutch-registered Digi Communications N.V.). The EUR 150 million senior credit facilities includes a EUR 100 million term loan facility and a revolving credit facility worth EUR 50 million, as well as an incremental facility to be used for the refinancing of existing loans and for capital expenditure, investments, general corporate, and working capital
Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised Faurecia Seating Plzeň on its plant expansion in Nýřany, the Czech Republic. The entire process, including site selection, lease negotiation and changing of necessary permits took only 11 months, which is unprecedented, as negotiations took place primarily online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new, built-to-suit premises comprise 12,700 m2 of industrial and administrative space, which Faurecia Seating Plzeň will use to produce automobile seats for vehicles produced by BMW, Opel, Volkswagen and others. Faurecia has had a production facility on site since 2013. The Kinstellar team included Karla Rundtová (Partner) and Jan Lehký (Counsel). Faurecia
On 2 December 2020, Ukraine’s parliament adopted in the first reading the Bill on Virtual Assets No. 3637, which is available in Ukrainian here. The proposed legislation is the latest in a series of attempts by lawmakers to regulate virtual currencies or, more broadly, virtual assets in Ukraine. However, in the current proposal the parliament has approached the matter in a more consistent manner—first, by rolling out a new anti-money laundering law, and then following that up with creating the appropriate regulatory framework. The next and final step is expected to be the introduction of a tailored tax regime, as currently transactions with virtual assets remain subject to the generally applicable tax rules. The