Czech Republic > Banking, finance and capital markets > Banking, finance and capital markets
Banking, finance and capital markets
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Allen & Overy continues to rate highly for banking, finance and capital markets work in the Czech Republic despite the retirement from the partnership of its banking guru Mikuláš Touška, who remains with the practice as counsel but no longer leads the team. In his place is Václav Valvoda, who now takes responsibility for all debt work from the firm’s Prague office. Praised for its ‘very good knowledge’ and ‘professional approach’, the group also includes two senior associates – Robert David and Lucie Vávrová – and acts for clients including CSOB, Komercni banka, ABN AMRO, UniCredit and Investkredit. In 2009, Allen & Overy acted for the group of lenders providing CZK2.5bn acquisition and working capital senior and mezzanine facilities to Czech food processing group Hamé.
The Czech firm BBH, Attorneys at Law, v.o.s has a market-leading practice that genuinely competes with larger international law firms for clients and instructions. Highly rated as ‘one of the best Czech firms in the market’, the banking, finance and capital markets team is led by Tomáš Otruba, who is supported by senior lawyer Tomáš Sedlácek in capital markets and structured finance work. Clients of the practice include PPF banka, CEZ, BAWAG Bank, Komercní banka and Ceská sporitelna.
Clifford Chance’s Czech banking and finance practice is led by Vlad Petrus, who is praised by clients as ‘very good’ thanks to his ‘personal approach’. Petrus runs a team that comprises three senior lawyers, two lawyers and four junior lawyers, and covers the whole gamut of bank lending, real estate finance, capital markets, debt and equity securities, financial regulation, derivatives, insolvency and restructuring and structured finance. Clients include UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, Citibank, Komercni banka, Ceskoslovenská obchodni banka and HSBC, while a 2009 highlight was acting for Komercni banka on the €80m financing for the acquisition by Doosan of Skoda Power. Senior associate Martin Glajch is recommended for capital markets work, whilst Tomáš Richter is an expert in insolvency and restructuring.
PRK Partners is another Czech firm that has now successfully developed a banking and finance practice to rival the international law firms with which it competes. The firm’s practice is led by Robert Nemec and also includes Václav Bílý, Jan Kohout, Martin Aschenbrenner and Radan Kubr in a team of 32 lawyers. It is described by clients as ‘extremely responsive’, with ‘deep expertise’, ‘high flexibility’, and the ‘ability to discuss and quickly solve problems’. Clients include ABN AMRO, Barclays Bank, Calyon, Ceská sporitelna, Czech Banking Association, CSOB and ING Bank.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges has a banking, finance and capital markets team with two partners, Karel Drevinek and Petr Severa. The practice’s largest client by some distance is Czech electricity generator and distributor CEZ, with the majority of the firm’s work revolving around advice to borrowers on complex financing arrangements. Key deals in 2009 included work for CEZ on the €550m refinancing of the €600m Term Loan Facility for its acquisition of a 7% stake in MOL, and advising the Czech Road and Motorway Directorate in connection with its pilot PPP project for the construction of the D3 Highway. One client describes the firm as ‘number one among the law firms I have worked with in the Czech Republic’.
The banking and finance team at White & Case in Prague is ‘extremely forthcoming, knowledgeable, working long hours, always delivering on time, supportive in negotiations and innovative if needed’, according to one client. It is led by David Plch and Ivo Bárta on banking and finance; and by Michal Dlouhý and Kvetoslav Krejcl on capital markets. The practice was bolstered in 2009 with the move by London partner Jonathan Weinberg to Prague as co-head of the CEE banking group, while Petr Kuhn and Jirí Tomola were appointed partners in 2009, bringing the total to nine. Clients include HSBC Bank, CEZ, RWE, Czech Export Bank, UniCredit Bank, ING Bank and KBC Bank.
Baker & McKenzie V.O.S.’s finance team provides ‘top-tier and cost-effective advice’ under the leadership of department head Libor Basl, who was appointed to the partnership in 2009. Basl works with a team of three lawyers and another partner, Tomáš Skoumal, for major clients that include UniCredit Bank, Investkredit Bank and CSOB, advising the latter on the financing for the acquisition of Ceska pojistovna’s headquarters in Prague for CZK1.6bn. Clients appreciate Basl’s ‘creative approach and good value for money’.
CMS Cameron McKenna V.O.S. has a banking and finance team led by Pavla Krecková in Prague and by Czech Republic-based head of CEE banking and finance Paul Stallebrass. UK-qualified Ana Radnev joined the team in 2009 from London, and the three partners are supported by three further fee-earners. Clients include HSBC Bank, UniCredit, Aareal Bank, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Erste Bank and KBC, and 2009 saw the usual diet of real estate financing work replaced by a considerable volume of leveraged and refinancing instructions.
Kinstellar s.r.o advokátní kancelár’s banking and finance team grew considerably in 2009 with the addition of UK-qualified Charles Dunn as a banking partner in Prague; Nick Eastwell in London to handle capital markets; and Tomáš Osicka as a senior lawyer in Prague, the former head of LCD at Erste Group. The head of the practice is Jarmila Hager and there are a total of six fee-earners in Prague, with clients including Citibank, Ceska sporitelna, Raiffeisenbank, Citigroup and ECM Real Estate Investments, the latter having been advised in 2009 on the issue of €80m of bonds arranged by Ceska sporitelna on the Prague Stock Exchange, and on the issue of bonds with convertible warrants to be converted into shares up to a total amount of 1.5 million shares, to be purchased by Bank Austria Creditanstalt.
The Norton Rose v.o.s. head of banking and capital markets in Prague is Marek Belšan, who is praised by clients for being ‘very good’ with a ‘personal approach’. He works alongside Pavel Kvicala in a practice described as ‘the best on the local market’, advising clients including ABN AMRO Bank, Ceska sporitelna, Czech Export Bank, CEZ and HSBC Bank. In 2009 the firm advised Mezzanine Management Financz-und Unternehmensberatungs on a €9m mezzanine finance facility to an entity from Michele Thierry Group.
The banking and finance team at Salans in Prague is led by Olga Humlová and comprises a total of ten fee-earners, including Jirí Stržinek and Michal Hink as up-and-coming senior associates in real estate financing. Clients appreciate the ‘very good service, high level of proficiency and experience of the senior members of their team’, and include ORCO Property Group, GE Real Estate, ING Lease, Invesco, Raiffeisenbank and Union Investment Real Estate.
Name partner Daniel Weinhold leads the banking and finance team at Weinhold Legal, v.o.s. in Prague, working with Ivan Sagál and Pav Younis on real estate finance. Praised for their ‘very professional approach and timely delivery’, the practice is ‘excellent in all departments’. Clients include HSBC, CSOB, Kormercni banka, UniCredit Bank, ABN AMRO, Commerzbank and Citibank.
bpv Braun Haškovcová s.r.o. had a busy year in banking and finance in 2009, and added two new senior associates to its 14 fee-earner practice. Led by David Vosol and also including Thu Nga Haskovcova, the team’s clients include Investkredit, Raiffeisenlandesbank and LandesBank Berlin. In 2009 the firm advised Investkredit and Oberbank on the extension of existing credit facilities and on the securing of all receivables arising in connection with them, to a worldwide wood processing company.
Balcar, Polanský Eversheds has a banking and finance team led by Michal Zahradník, whose work comprises regulatory and competition advice. A major client of the practice is Wood & Company Financial Services, which the team advised on its new framework contractual documentation for capital markets transactions in CEE following the MIFID regulations, and Straumur-Burõarás Investment Bank. A leading senior associate in the team is Marek Bomba.
The banking and finance team at DLA Piper Prague LLP is ‘very good in terms of knowledge and time’, clients say, and is led by senior associate Lucie Brejšková. A total of 21 fee-earners are available to clients in the area, with Peter Valert advising Investkredit Bank in 2009 on the CZK1.6bn financing for the development of the Opatov Centre in Prague and other clients including Erste Bank and HBOS.
Glatzová & Co., v.o.s.’s banking practice is led by Dana Schweigelová and offers ‘great, flexible, hardworking experts’ to its clients. There are five associates in the team, with Martin Dancišin elevated to the partnership in 2009. Clients include Komercni banka, Raiffeisenbank, Travelex Group, Commerzbank and HeidelbergCement Group. The firm advised Komercni banka on financial regulation and the implementation of the Payment Services Directive in 2009.
Havel & Holásek s.r.o. Attorneys-at-Law has a banking team led by Ondrej Petr, a partner, and Jan Topinka, a senior lawyer, with the practice comprising three partners and seven other lawyers. Clients included Cia. Brasileira de Cartuchos, Energy 21, State Bank of India, Raiffeisenbank and Banco Popolare Czech Republic in 2009, with the latter a new entrant into the Czech market which the firm advised on the implementation and documentation of its e-banking system.
The banking practice at PETERKA & PARTNERS is led by firm-wide managing partner Ondrej Peterka and in 2009 was particularly busy with restructuring and insolvency work. Clients include First Czech-Russian Bank, Landsbanki Islands, and Iveco Czech Republic. A team led by Jiri Cerny advised companies from the Spentex Industries group with a creditor’s claim in insolvency proceedings against its Czech debtor valued at approximately €24m.
The banking team at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, v.o.s., advokátní kancelár in Prague had a busy year in 2009, working for major clients that include Czech Export Bank, CSOB and ING Real Estate Investment Management Central Europe. Key partners in the team are Vladimira Papirnik, Jeff McGehee and Danica Šebestová. In 2009, McGehee led a team advising ING on the refinancing of its acquisition of shopping centres in Hungary and an office building in Prague.
Wolf Theiss in co-operation with Czech lawyers has a banking team in Prague that acts for clients including Heleba, Bank Austria Creditanstalt and Erste Group Bank and is led by Erik Steger. In 2009, Paul Sestak worked for CEZ on a partial risk guarantee issued by the World Bank in support of the CEZ investment in OSSH Albania, valued at €60m.
Dvorák & spol., advokátní kancelár partners Stanislav Dvorák, Lenka Nemecková and Stanislav Servus act for fund managers setting up funds, often to invest in real estate in the Czech Republic, and handle capital markets work.
The banking team at Lovells (Prague) LLP is led by Miroslav Dubovsky and acts for clients including Živnostenská banka, West LB, Barclays, Raiffeisenbank, Real Estate Karlin Group and Veronagest Group. In 2009 the team worked for Živnostenská banka on additional security instruments securing loans provided for the financing of the Hotel Europort at Prague Airport.
Noerr v.o.s.’s banking and finance team in Prague is led by managing partner Barbara Kusak and acts for clients including Bank of Scotland and HSBC Bank.
Clients say that the service they receive from the banking and capital markets practice at Pokorný, Wagner & Partner is ‘excellent’ and praise in particular Radek Pokorný and David Skopal. Clients of the team include Wood & Company Financial Services, Antlntik FT, Patria Finance, CSOB, Ceská sporitelna, Prague Stock Exchange and Raiffeisenbank.
Local firm ROWAN LEGAL Law Firm has a banking and finance team led by Martin Šubrt that handled refinancing issues and EU financing projects in 2009. The firm’s disputes practice handles a number of banking and finance-related matters for clients.
Schönherr has a small banking and finance practice in Prague led by senior attorney Veronika Odrobinová, handling acquisition finance, negotiating security documentation, refinancing, syndicated lending, enforcement of security documentation and insolvency work. Clients include Gamma Holding, BAWAG, Raiffeisen and Erste Bank.
Vyroubal Krajhanzl Skolout, Law Firm, Ltd. is an 11-partner Czech firm with a significant practice in insolvency, insurance, capital markets and banking and finance work. Miroslav Švenda handles insolvency work for clients, and banking clients include AWD Ceská republika, Ceská sporitelna, Erste Bank, GE Money Bank and Wood & Company Financial Services.
Vyskocil, Kroslak a Spol.’s Jirí Spousta is best known for his work in banking, securities and derivatives, working alongside Pavol Krošlák, who is particularly renowned for insolvency and corporate law.