Inchcape Motors acquisition of Baltic Motors Group
We advised Inchcape in its 100% acquisition of the Baltic Motors Group, Latvian dealers of BMW, Ford and Land Rover, including merger clearance with the Latvian Competition Council. News Corp acquisition of Latvian Television Stations
We advised News Corporation in its acquisition of 100% of Latvian television station LNT and controlling interest in a second television station TV Riga. The transaction also involved a restructuring of the holding structure for the entities. Vitol acquisition of key stake in major Latvian player Ventspils Nafta
We advised Vitol in its complex acquisition of key stake in Latvian oil storage company Ventspils Nafta through State auction and privatization procedures, including merger clearance with Latvian Competition Council. Baltic and European IPO
Klavins & Slaidins together with our LAWIN offices in Estonia and Lithuania assisted the Olympic Casinos Group in its 2006 IPO on the Baltic stock exchanges and in other countries. Olympic Casinos has close to 40 gaming establishments in Latvia. Renova large scale property acquisitions
We represent Renova Group’s companies in Latvia in various major real estate acquisition and development transactions. Donetskstal coal terminal development project
We are consulting on all aspects of the development of a new coal terminal in the Latvian port of Ventspils for Ukrainian metallurg Donetskstal. Societe Generale acquisition of Inserviss
Our firm (in cooperation with the French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel) assisted Societe Generale Consumer Finance to acquire 100% ownership of one of the leading Latvian consumer credit companies Inserviss Group. Societe Generale Consumer Finance is one of the largest consumer credit companies and financial market leader in Europe. Inserviss Group employs approximately 300 persons and has close to 70 branches throughout Latvia. Klavins & Slaidins LAWIN performed legal due diligence on the target company and participated in preparation of the transaction documents and in the November, 2006, closing of the deal. Iberdrola reconstruction of power plant
We represented the consortium of Spanish firms IBERDROLA Ingenieria y Consultoria S.A.U./Iberdrola Generacion S.A.U. which agreed with the state owned company AS Latvenergo for reconstruction of thermo-power plant TEC-2. This investment is one of the largest ever made in Latvia with the total amount of Engeneering Procurement Contract and Service Maintanance Agreement works reaching EUR 272 million. Klavins & Slaidins LAWIN advised Iberdrola in contract award process and later in the Latvian State Procurement Bureau when a competitor disputed the tender results and initiated legal proceedings in administrative court. The law firm advised Iberdrola in negotiations with Latvenergo on terms of awarded contracts and with a subcontractor on amendments to the constructions contract. Gjensidige acquisition of Parex
We represented Gjensidige from Norway in its due diligence, negotiation and acquisition of the major player in the Latvian insurance market, Parex Apdrošināšana (Parex Insurance). The deal closed in 2006 and included Parex Apdrošināšana operations in Lithuania and Estonia, for which Klavins & Slaidins LAWIN coordinated the work of our LAWIN partners. USA Government acquisition of land for Embassy construction
We represented the Government of the USA in its acquisition of a major tract of land from the City of Riga through privatization procedures, for the construction of the new USA Embassy premises in Latvia. Agusta helicopter sale to Latvian Border Guard
We represented AGUSTA S.p.A., an AgustaWestland NV company, in the Latvian State Procurement Bureau in respect of the complaint filed by other tenderer disputing the tender results by which Agusta was awarded contract on sale of 2 (two) light single type twin-engine helicopters to the State Border Guard within the framework of the financial programme of the Schengen Convention (Schengen Facility) project on “Improvement of the border guard mobility functions by formation of the State Border Guard Aviation Unit”. The awarded contract provides delivery of two helicopters for the total amount of EUR 11,338,000. Unicredit and HVB Bank Latvia
We represented UniCredit with respect to banking regulatory issues and approvals necessary for the acquisition of an indirect qualifying shareholding in HVB Bank Latvia AS by UniCredit. World Championship of Ice Hockey in Riga
During the 2006 IIHF World Championship, we represented Infront Sports & Media AG, the Swiss Company, which is exclusive commercial partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation and possesses all commercial rights related to the World Championship of Ice Hockey and our task was to help to protect all intellectual and other commercial rights.
Lattelecom Sale of Subsidiary
We assisted Lattelecom Technology in its negotiation and sale of its subsidiary SIA FMS through a management buy-out arrangement.
Telecoms acquisition of MicroLink Group
We represented SIA Lattelekom, AS Elion Ettevotted, and AB Lietuvos Telekomas, the fixed line telephone companies in each of the Baltic States, in their joint acquisition of the MicroLink Group internet services provider. We coordinated extensive work together with our LAWIN colleague law firms in Estonia and Lithuania to structure the transaction, carry out due diligence and also submit merger notifications to the competition authorities in each of the 3 Baltic States. Strategic Investment in ELKO Group
We represented Amber Trust II SCA and East Capital Baltic Fund in its acquisition of 25.5% stake in ELKO Group, computer equipment wholesaler and one of Latvia’s most important companies. Work included transaction structuring, due diligence process, and all transaction documents. TietoEnator acquisition of SIA IT Alise controlling interest
We represented TietoEnator in its due diligence and acquisition of a controlling interest in this Latvian IT company, which is one of the strongest companies in this sector in Latvia. We also submitted merger notifications in Latvia and also Estonia with our LAWIN colleagues. Purchase of 33.1% shareholding in Rietumu Banka
We represented prominent Irish businessman Dermot Desmond in one of the most significant shareholding transactions in Latvia’s financial sector in recent years. The legal work consisted mainly of working with the Latvian Regulator to obtain approval for this transaction, due diligence of the bank, and work with regard to preparation and negotiation of the transaction documents Major ICA property sales
We represented ICA/Rimi in significant sale of the 21,000 square meter Olympia shopping center; and in its sale/leaseback of the separate property where Rimi food store distribution and logistics centre is located. Historic Latvian National Library
We are representing Hill International, the project manager for the historic Latvian National Library project. Kempinsky Hotel Riga
We represented the owner of the prominent Hotel Riga in negotiations and all project contracts with Kempinsky hotels for the reconstruction and transformation of Hotel Riga to a Kempinsky group hotel. Coca-Cola EC Undertaking Compliance
We are assisting Coca-Cola to implement its Undertaking to the European Commission for Latvia. Several firms have retained us to provide competition law training for their staff in Latvia. Power Plant Construction
We are advising Spain’s Iberdrola with respect to its reconstruction and maintenance responsibilities for Latvia’s TEC-2 power plant. Iberdrola won a tender organized by the State electric utility Latvenergo. Motorola/public procurement
We represent Motorola in its negotiations with the Latvian Border Guard for supply of radio equipment. DnB NOR Bank ASA 120 million EUR syndicated loan to Linstow
We advised DnB NOR Bank ASA with regard to Latvian legal issues in its successful organization of a syndicate including 5 Latvian banks to provide a 120 million EUR credit to SIA Linstow and its affiliated companies. SIA Linstow, together with its Norwegian owner Linstow International AS, is the largest investor, developer and manager of shopping centers in the Baltic states. As security for this financing, first priority mortgages and pledges were secured over the shopping center properties owned by Linstow and its affiliates, as well as on company shares and other assets. Baltic-American Enterprise Fund securitization of Latvian mortgages
We represented the Baltic-American Enterprise Fund (BalAEF) in the securitization of USD $63.6 million in residential mortgages it originates in Latvia via the Baltic-American Mortgage Trust. This is the first securitization of Latvian mortgages and, according to Moody's Investor Services, the first mortgage-backed securities issue in Central and Eastern Europe. A.S Watson & Co. Ltd. acquisition of A/S Drogas
We represented A.S Watson & Co. Ltd. (a division of Hutchison Whampoa Group) in its due diligence process and transaction documents for the acquisition of this major Latvian health and beauty products retailer. The acquisition involved 57 shops in Latvia and 23 shops in Lithuania, where we were assisted in the transaction by our LAWIN partners Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai. Orkla AS acquisition of SIA Spilva
We assisted Orkla with its due diligence process, all transaction documents and its merger notification for the acquisition of a 100% shareholding of this major Latvian food producer. Alta Capital acquisition of A/S Lauma controlling interest
We represented Alta Capital in its due diligence and acquisition of a controlling interest in this Latvian garment manufacturer, which is one of the largest companies in Latvia. ICA AB joint venture with Kesko
We are representing ICA AB in the Latvian aspects of its ongoing joint venture Project to combine its Baltic retail food operations with those of Kesko. We completed an extensive due diligence process and are assisting with competition and transactional issues. Exigen’s purchase of a majority shareholding in A/S Dati
We represented Exigen in the purchase of Dati, a major Latvian information technology firm. Our work consisted of due diligence work, and participation in extensive negotiations and preparation of transaction documents on behalf of Exigen. Sale of Maras banka
We acted as legal counsel to the owners of Maras banka in their sale of 100% of the shares of the bank to Sampo Bank plc of Finland. Deutsche Bank, State Street Bank and others
We are asked to report frequently on the state of derivatives, custody arrangements and other securities issues for a variety of interested clients. | 
