Financials & Investments

Danske Bank has entered into an agreement to sell its personal customer business in Lithuania and Latvia to Swedbank Lithuania and Swedbank Latvia. Danske Bank’s private banking customer business in Lithuania is not part of the sale, however. Danske Bank will in future focus on strengthening its business banking operations in the Baltic region for local and Nordic business customers. Pending local competition authority approval, the sale is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

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We provided consultations to Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc (RSA) during the sale of the biggest Latvian insurance company AS Balta to Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen S.A. (PZU). The 360 million Euro transaction was one of the largest M&A transactions in the Baltics and increased Polish influence in the insurance market of the Baltic States and Poland. This deal, plus RSA having sold its stakes in the Lithuanian insurance company Lietuvos Draudimas and Polish Insurance Company Link4 Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen Spolka Akcyjna, permitted RSA to devote all its attention to its core markets. 

 As BTA Insurance Company was expanding, we guided it through the process and drafted outsourcing procedures and their coordination with the Financial and Capital Markets Commission. We also provided advice on this rare occasion of a Latvian insurance company’s expansion into broader markets outside of the Baltics.

This complicated case involved the alleged discussion of a working group to set recommendations and rules for the terms of leasing of new cars to private consumers. The Competition Council initiated a case against LLDA concerning the alleged arrangement between members of LLDA and the Latvian Authorized Automobile Dealers Association. 
Our team advised and represented LDDA, including dawn-raid proceedings. On behalf of LLDA we entered into settlement negotiations with the Competition Council and achieved the first ever settlement decision in the practice of the Competition Council. The settlement involved a reduced fine (10%) and certain undertakings from the LLDA, including a commitment not to appeal the decision in court. It was the first case which was settled at the Competition Council as the settlement is normally only available during litigation proceedings.  

We advised Lords LB Baltic Fund III and assisted in concluding the long-term premises tenancy agreement for a shopping centre in Riga. The agreement involved both terms of rent and construction work. We also advised on the shopping centre’s land lease agreement with the municipality.

Our experts assisted the NASDAQ OMX Riga and the Latvian Central Depository on several innovative projects. The most ambitious of them involved the preparation to issue a new government savings bond which was seen as an important means of restoring market confidence in Latvia after the economic recession. It was the first time that such a government savings bond has been issued since Latvia regained independence, thus it was highly important to have the correct regulatory framework in place. Our team assisted the Latvian Central Depository to develop various aspects of the regulatory framework as such a framework did not already exist. 

Our firm assisted Standard Bank, acting as a placement agent, with matters related to a corporate bond issue by the Latvian micro-finance company 4finance. The deal involved a private placement of bonds which were listed on the Irish stock exchange. It was one of the first bond offerings made by a Latvian corporate entity and listed outside of Latvia. Our team advised Standard Bank on aspects of Latvian law during negotiations and preparation of the offering prospectus and other documents related to the issue of the Notes. 

In accordance with its responsible and prudent exit from the Latvian market, GE Capital sold its consumer lending and finance company AS GE Money to the Swedish financial group Marginalen. Our team advised GE Capital on all matters related to the transaction.