Kinstellar, in conjunction with DLA Piper, has advised international online research data and analytics technology group YouGov plc on the acquisition of the European Consumer Panel Business of GfK, a German market research firm, for EUR 315 million. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, YouGov has one of the world's largest research networks. Its products and services draw upon a detailed understanding of more than 24+ million registered individuals to deliver accurate, actionable consumer insights. GfK CP compasses over 100,000 households with panels across 16 European countries collecting and providing data on household purchases and insights intо the FMCG sector. The acquisition is subject to customary closing
Kinstellar, together with a lead counsel Watson Farley & Williams, have successfully advised Yanolja Cloud, a leading global provider of AI-based SaaS solutions for the hospitality and leisure industries, on the multi-jurisdictional acquisition of Go Global Travel (GGT), a B2B travel technology company that distributes its inventory of more than one million hotels and other travel products from 200 countries to over 20,000 client partners. The acquisition of GGT from AMI Opportunities Fund will give Yanolja Cloud unparalleled distribution capabilities, making it a one-of-a-kind company and allowing properties of all types, sizes, and budget ranges – and in every corner of the world – to digitize property operations.
Kinstellar has successfully advised the founder of Localazy, a Czech start-up developing a technology-agnostic platform for translation management, on significant venture capital investment and the entry of new shareholders. The transaction marks a major milestone for Localazy and highlights the growing interest in the company's innovative approach to localisation. Kinstellar advised the founder throughout the investment, including advising on the shareholder relationship arrangements. The Kinstellar team in Prague was led by Jan Juroška (Partner) working with Matěj Večeřa (Senior Associate).
Kinstellar advised UKG Inc., one of the world’s leading HCM cloud companies, on the Bulgarian law aspects of its agreement to acquire Immedis, a global payroll provider. The acquisition, subject to closing conditions, will utilise the strengths of both organisations to transform the traditionally fragmented global payroll model. Тhe Kinstellar team in Sofia was led by Corporate & M&A lawyers Diana Dimova (Managing Partner) and Denitsa Kuzeva (Senior Associate), and included Georgi Kanev (Managing Associate, IP & IT, Data Privacy), Anita Borisova (Senior Associate, Employment), Yasen Toshev (Junior Associate, Corporate and M&A), Antonia Mavrova (Partner, Real Estate) and Simeon Vachev (Senior Associate
Kinstellar has recently advised Tempo Software, a leading provider of portfolio management solutions for product development organizations, on the acquisition of Amovos, which operates the Old Street Solutions brand. Old Street Solutions is an Atlassian Marketplace Partner simplifying Jira and Confluence with their popular Custom Charts for Jira and Custom Charts for Confluence apps. The acquisition will expand Tempo’s Atlassian-based product suite providing users with easy-to-use, customizable data visualizations of Jira data, so teams can focus on getting work done quickly, not struggling with complicated corporate reporting tools. Mark Lorion, CEO at Tempo Software, said: We’re thrilled to welcome Old
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
Kinstellar, working with Morgan Lewis London, has advised TAWAL, the leading integrated ICT infrastructure provider in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the local law aspects of their successful bid to acquire the tower assets of United Group B.V., consisting of more than 4,800 towers across Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, for EUR 1.2 billion. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Kinstellar assisted with due diligence, regulatory advice and local law support on the transaction documents in Bulgaria and Croatia, and ODI Law in Slovenia provided assistance on all Slovenian law aspects of the transaction. The regional team was led by Diana Dimova, Partner in Sofia. The team in Bulgaria
The recent resolution of the European Parliament on video games calls on the European Commission to take the necessary steps to bring about a European approach to loot boxes which could lead to more restrictive regulation. Kinstellar’s TMT team looked into the national framework for loot boxes in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine to conclude that, while no specific local laws exist, the developments around gambling regulation should be monitored, as loot boxes have already been discussed in the context of national rules on gambling in some countries. Click on this link or the image below to read an overview prepared by our TMT experts in each jurisdiction.
Investing in crypto assets is a high-risk activity. The existing structure of the crypto market, its supervision and its participants, is currently such that it cannot guarantee the security of funds, even for the customers of the best-known and, seemingly, best-protected exchanges. Given these inherent risks, there are several aspects that should be considered when choosing an exchange. In a recent interview with Minfin.com.ua, a Ukrainian portal on finances and investments, Illya Muchnyk, Counsel in our Kyiv office, shared his views on possible ways to secure funds when investing in cryptocurrencies. Read the full article here (in Ukrainian only).
Our team in Croatia has advised former shareholders of Insite on the sale of shares to Halcom, a leading provider of innovative solutions for payment systems. Insite is an experienced and innovative supplier of CRM systems to the banking, insurance, and retail sectors. Their CRM solution has been successfully recognised for ten years by some of the largest European banks and retailers. Halcom, as a division of Juniper Group, is part of the multinational group Constellation Software Inc. Halcom plays a leading role in developing payment systems in Central and South-Eastern Europe and ranks among the top providers of innovative and secure payment and financial services. The Kinstellar team in Zagreb
October 2022 – Over the past few years, the CEE region has been the focus of vibrant M&A activity in the technology sector. Bulgaria is no exception, with a number of acquisitions completed in IT services, software development, gaming, e-commerce, and digital services. A notable trend in the structuring of these transactions is the growing use of earn-out payment structures. In our recent practice, earnouts have been agreed upon in the majority of the acquisitions of tech companies by their founders. While previously earn-outs were not very popular in Bulgaria, such structures have become key to successful acquisitions. They are a useful tool to bridge the different purchase price expectations of the buyer and the seller by providing
10 October 2022 – Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Annamária Csenterics has joined the firm’s Budapest office as a Partner and Co-Head of the local Corporate M&A service line. Annamária Csenterics is an experienced Corporate M&A practitioner with a career spanning 20 years at international law firms and as an in-house lawyer. She has served as lead counsel on scores of domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic transactions, including spin-offs, split-offs and exits. Her clients have included corporations as well as private clients domiciled in the US, Europe and Hungary. Annamária will co-head the local Corporate M&A service line, including Real Estate