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News April 2024

Kinstellar to continue the operation of Noerr’s CEE practice in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania & Slovakia

Noerr and Kinstellar are very pleased to announce that Noerr’s practices in Budapest, Bratislava, Bucharest and Prague are to be transferred to Kinstellar. Noerr and Kinstellar have agreed to transfer these practices after the details of the integration are fully worked out. Several important operational and technical aspects, including investments in IT systems, leasehold premises are being worked out and the deal will complete after all necessary regulatory consents and internal approvals have been obtained.  Noerr delivers the highest level of service to its clients. For many years, the law firm has successfully pursued a strategy of qualitative growth. Noerr has operated offices in CEE since 1990 and is very proud of the accomplishments

Deals March 2024

Kinstellar advises Genesis Capital on the acquisition of a majority stake in GAF

Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised Genesis Private Equity Fund IV (GPEF IV), from the established private equity group Genesis Capital, on the acquisition of a majority stake in GAF, a Czech manufacturer of specialised metal products. GAF is a major player in metal fabrication, focusing on the complex custom processing of steel, stainless steel and aluminium. The company's products are subject to strict certification and have a wide market application in the food, healthcare, textile, and railway transport industries, among others. The founder and current 100% owner, Mr. Luděk Fofoňka, will retain a significant stake in the company. At the same time, key managers who are also investing in the

Deals March 2024

Kinstellar advises Genesis Capital on the acquisition of a big player in heating and cooling installations

Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised Genesis Private Equity Fund IV (GPEF IV), from the established private equity group Genesis Capital, on the acquisition of Schulte Group, a key player in heating and cooling installations. Genesis Capital is buying a majority stake. Private equity investors believe that businesses will continue to focus on energy savings and emissions reductions. The fact that multinational corporations are demanding a greener approach from their suppliers in the Czech Republic contributes to this. We expect Schulte's sales to reach CZK 1 billion within three years.Tomáš Sýkora, Investment Director of Genesis The fund' s goal, he said, is to confirm Schulte's position

News March 2024

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

Insights February 2024

Update: ESG reporting obligations in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

With the 6 July 2024 deadline for the implementation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (the "CSRD”) looming, Member States across the EU have been moving at different speeds to adopt their respective local implementing legislation. Our second status update on the CSRD implementation in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia is available here. At the time of writing, three of the six countries in Central and Eastern Europe that we have been following – the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania – have already adopted legislative acts that, at least partially, implement the CSRD into national legislation. Slovakia has brought a draft act to parliament

Insights January 2024

Online conference “Changes to legislation in the Czech Republic in 2024” (Změny v legislativě 2024)

On 17 January, Kinstellar’s Prague office held an online conference entitled "Changes to Legislation in the Czech Republic in 2024" for our clients’ senior management as well as for our partners and regional organisations. We hosted the online conference with aim to help our clients and partners become familiar with the latest laws, decrees, regulations, and directives that receive practically every day. Our experts covered in detail the changes to Czech and European law that take effect in 2024, with an emphasis on how these changes will affect businesses' day-to-day operations. We also focused on the most notable cases of recent judgments by the Czech Constitutional Court, which affect judicial practice

News January 2024

Kinstellar appoints new Sector and Service Line Heads and Head of German Desk

Kinstellar supports professional growth by offering a broad range of career development opportunities for our team, including the role of sector/service line head or co-head. We provide growth opportunities to all of our talented lawyers with the relevant experience and an outstanding track record. We are delighted to announce the following appointments: Csilla Andrékó, Partner in our Budapest office, is the Co-Head of the firm-wide Banking & Finance Service Line. Csilla is one of the founders of the Firm and the former Managing Partner of the Budapest office. Csilla also served as the head of the regional Banking & Finance and Restructuring & Insolvency Service Lines. She retired from active practice

Deals January 2024

Kinstellar, together with Linklaters, advises a consortium of lenders on a EUR 800 million financing agreement with AmRest

Kinstellar has recently advised a consortium of lenders on the Romanian, Czech and Hungarian legal aspects of a EUR 800 million financing agreement with fast-food operator AmRest. Led by Banco Santander, S.A. as agent, the group of lenders includes Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski S.A., Česká spořitelna, a. s., ING Bank Śląski S.A., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S. A., Banco Santander, S.A., Banco Santander (Poland), BNP Paribas (Poland), and Rabobank.  AmRest is one of the leading publicly listed restaurant operators in Europe, with a portfolio of recognisable brands in 25 countries. The company operates restaurants under franchise brands such as KFC, Starbucks, Pizza

Insights January 2024

Amendment adopted to Czech Pharmaceuticals Act to address drug shortages

An amendment to the Pharmaceuticals Act has been adopted by the Czech parliament and officially published. As already reported in our previous newsletter, the aim of the amendment is to improve the availability of medicines on the market and to mitigate the potential negative impacts of recent and ongoing medicine supply shortages. The amendment creates new obligations for operators in the medicines market, in particular (i) additional obligations following the interruption or discontinuation of the supply of a given medicinal product; and (ii) a mandatory system of reserve stocks. Following a number of additional changes made by Czech legislators, the national pharma regulator, the State Institute for Drug Control

News January 2024

Kinstellar welcomes new Senior Associate, Lenka Petráková, to its highly rated Dispute Resolution Team in Prague

Kinstellar is delighted to announce the addition of Lenka Petráková to its Dispute Resolution team as a Senior Associate in the Prague office. Lenka Petráková brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Kinstellar. With over four years of specialised practice in civil litigation, Lenka has established herself as a formidable advocate in the legal community. Her primary focus remains dispute resolution, a field she passionately describes as her favourite area of practice, as no two cases are the same, which brings the opportunity to always learn new things. Her extensive background includes significant work with both domestic and international insurers, providing Lenka a unique insight into numerous legal

Deals December 2023

Kinstellar advises on the CZK 530 million sale of Hair Servis

Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised the owners of Hair Servis, a major distributor of hairdressing brands to the Czech market, on its sale to Bezvavlasy, the second-largest seller of hair cosmetics in the Czech Republic. The value of the transaction is CZK 530 million, with part of the purchase price to be paid by the sellers receiving newly issued shares in Bezvavlasy, traded on the Prague START market. Kinstellar advised the sellers throughout the transaction, including advising on post-closing shareholder relations and deal structuring. The Kinstellar team was led by Kamil Blažek (Partner) and Matěj Večeřa (Senior Associate), assisted by Paul Válka (Junior Associate) on corporate matters

Insights December 2023

ESG reporting obligations in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

Since the ESG reporting obligations in the EU, i.e. the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) entered into force earlier this year, the transposition clock has been ticking for Member States with a deadline expiring on 6 July 2024. Kinstellar’s ESG team is closely monitoring the implementation process in all EU countries where we are present. Our first status update on the CSRD implementation in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia is available here.  At the time of writing, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have proposed draft laws implementing the CSRD, while Bulgaria and Croatia have set up working groups to prepare draft legal acts. In any event