Firm Profile > TGS Baltic > Vilnius, Lithuania

Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 1

TGS Baltic’s client base includes the European Investment Bank and Nordea. It provides a broad range of financial services to international institutions, investment banks and private equity firms. Practice head Vilius Bernatonis advised ING Bank and other creditors on the amendment and restatement of a term loan and revolving facility agreement. Ieva Dosinaitė has left the firm for Ellex.

Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

Marius Matonis and Vidmantas Drizga co-lead the team at TGS Baltic, which caters to a wide range of corporate and private clients including Medicinos Bankas and BaltCap. In recent work, the firm acted for Apex Alliance on an investment and development project which spanned multiple jurisdictions, including Romania. Aurimas Pauliukevičius advised an investment company on the acquisition of a stake in a sportswear company and on obtaining merger clearance from the Lithuanian Competition Council.

Dispute resolution Tier 1

TGS Baltic handles a blend of international arbitration and litigation related to banking and investment disputes. Vilius Bernatonis is representing Vilnius City Municipality in an investor-state arbitration brought by Veolia Environnement; the case has been brought in parallel with a claim against the Republic of Lithuania by Veolia Environnement in which the firm is also representing the defendant. Key figures in the practice are Lina Darulienė, who leads the litigation and competition group; head of arbitration Valentinas Mikelėnas; and head of restructuring and insolvency Daiva Ušinskaitė-Filonovienė. Senior associate Olegas Šibkovas joined the firm from Kaunas Regional Court.

Projects and energy Tier 1

TGS Baltic has a strong reputation for handling power and infrastructure projects, including financing and dispute work. Marius Matonis is advising BaltCap Infrastructure Fund on the acquisition of a biomass plant development company and the negotiation of a €16m engineering, procurement and construction contract for the further development of a plant in Vilnius. The team also represented the Ministry of Energy in an investor-state arbitration with Veolia Environnement. Other recommended lawyers include Vilius Bernatonis and Paulius Zapolskis. Senior associate Gailė Juozapaitytė is known for her expertise in energy-related regulatory compliance.

Employment Tier 2

TGS Baltic's international client base includes major pharmaceutical companies and retail chains. The 'professional and clear' team is led by Ieva Povilaitienė and has expertise in advising on the employment aspects of cross-border transactions and acting for foreign employers. In recent work, it assisted Lithuanian National Radio and Television with implementing the Labour Code. Senior associate Vytautas Šilinskas is recommended.

EU and competition Tier 2

The team at TGS Baltic is led by Lina Darulienė and has strength in handling cross-border matters such as merger control. New partner and head of the regulatory subgroup Lauras Butkevičius is currently representing Euroapotheca in an investigation by the Lithuanian Competition Council related to an alleged cartel. The group also counts the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries and the Vilnius Cogeneration Plant as clients. Darius Miniotas is recommended for his experience in cartels and abuse of dominance issues. Gintautas Bartkus has left the firm for Deloitte Legal, Professional Partnership of Advocates.

Intellectual property Tier 2

Mindaugas Civilka and Vidmantas Drizga lead the IP practice group at TGS Baltic, which has expertise in trade mark litigation and also handles data protection matters. Lina Darulienė is the key name for IP litigation; she recently represented Virtuvės mitų griovėjai in a trade mark dispute. Senior associates Greta Bujutė, who joined the team from Danske Bank, and Indrė Barauskienė are also noted.

Real estate and construction Tier 2

TGS Baltic undertakes transactional and advisory work for real estate projects and developers. Practice head Dainius Stasiulis acted for Lithuanian Airports on the reconstruction of the runway of Vilnius Airport. The team also advised a scientific laser producer on the acquisition of a manufacturing complex in Vilnius. Associate Dominykas Užkurnys joined the firm from LEADELL Balčiūnas & Grajauskas. Senior associate Sandra Bliuvaitė-Šulcienė remains a key name to note.

Shipping and transport Tier 2

TGS Baltic handles a wide range of aviation and shipping matters for domestic and international clients such as Lithuanian Railways. Practice head Vidmantas Drizga and Eglė Lauraitytė acted for Lithuanian Airports (the state enterprise operating Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga airports) on the transformation of its legal form to a public company. Vilius Bernatonis and Daiva Ušinskaitė-Filonovienė are also key practitioners in the group.

Tax Tier 2

The tax group at TGS Baltic has particular strength in private equity and venture capital taxation and its advice is regularly sought after by international financial institutions. Led by Robertas Degesys, the team also has experience in advising on the tax aspects of cross-border transactions and corporate restructuring. Tax consultants Loreta Antanaitienė and Dainius Daugirda are recommended.

TMT Tier 2

The team at TGS Baltic is led by Mindaugas Civilka and advises domestic and international corporations such as GlaxoSmithKline. Dalia Tamašauskaitė-Žilienė and Paulius Zapolskis continue to act for Microsoft on data protection issues related to cybersecurity and cloud services, while Vidmantas Drizga and senior associate Vytautas Šilinskas advise Wix. The team welcomed two new senior associates: Greta Bujutė joined from Danske Bank and Henrika Žymančienė from Ernst & Young Baltic AS.

Notable Cases

1.            Assisted IRI Investments BV with acquisition of SIA IRI Forest Assets Latvia (formerly SIA Foran Real Estate), one of the largest forest companies, from Storebrand Livsforsikring AS (70.05%), SPP Pension & Forsakring AB (publ) (29.37%), NORSKOG (0.14%) and Gundars Skudrinš (0.44%). TGS Baltic assisted IRI Investments BV also with participation in the bidding process for Bergvik Skog forest properties and business in Latvia. Value of the only comparable transaction EUR 324 million;

2.            Assisted Euroapotheca UAB pharmacy chain group on signing of a term and revolving syndicated facilities agreement with the total commitment of 185 million euros. Advised pharmacy chain group on receipt of financing from SEB and Swedbank of EUR 185 million;

3.            Assisted Belgian investment group Straco with the acquisition of the horticulture company AS Greenyard Horticulture Latvia from Greenyard as a part of acquisition of its horticulture segment. EUR 120 million;

4.            Advised Swedish Bergs Timber AB (publ) on the acquisition of Vika Wood and Byko-lat (Latvia), EWP AS and Laesti AS (Estonia) and Norvik Shipping (United Kingdom) from Iceland Norvik hf. EUR 70 million;

5.            Advised the Ministry of Economics on the acquisition of 18.31% of the shares of the natural gas transmission and storage system operator AS Conexus Baltic Grid by the Latvian electricity transmission system operator AS Augstsprieguma tikls from the German energy company Uniper Ruhrgas International GmbH. EUR 54 million for 34.36%;

6.            Advised the Ministry of Economics on the acquisition of 16.05% of the shares of the natural gas transmission and storage system operator AS Conexus Baltic Grid by the Latvian electricity transmission system operator AS Augstsprieguma tikls from SIA ITERA Latvija. EUR 54 million for 34.36%;

7.            Assisted US Camera Company Snap Inc. with opening and closing of operations through its subsidiary in Latvia – SIA Snap Latvia. Snap Inc. provides technology and social media services. The company`s flagship product is a mobile camera application Snapchat that helps people to communicate through photos, short videos, images, drawings and texts. Snap serves customers worldwide.

8.            Assisted Expobank CZ a.s. with financing of acquisition of Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel by Astor Group (Latvia) from PBR Hotel (USA). The firm carried out full scope assistance to the financing institution, including drafting of the loan and security agreements, including pledge and mortgage agreements, participated in negotiations of the transaction documents and followed up on establishing of securities and fulfilment of the conditions prior to and after the drawdown. Maximum amount of the secured claim is EUR 28 million.

9.            Provided legal assistance to IK Investment Partners with acquisition of Carspect AB, SIA Scantest, Autotest Polska Sp. Z.o.o and A-Katsatus OÜ from A-Katsastus Group Oy, a leading vehicle inspection service provider in the Northern Europe.

10.          Provided legal services to the Scandinavian financial group Swedbank in relation to the takeover of Danske Bank’s retail business in Latvia and Lithuania. The transaction included accounts of individuals, loans, deposits, payment cards, and securities. EUR 641 million.

11.          Assisted the owners of Proplastik in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with selling of their plastics distribution business to the Europe’s largest wholesaler of plastics Vink Group.

TGS Baltic Latvia office received CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year Award for advising AS Augstsprieguma tikls on acquisition of stake in Conexus Baltic Grid from Uniper, while TGS Baltic Lithuania office received the award for advising UAB Euroapotheca on acquisition of Apoteksgruppen from Sweden http://ceelegalmatters.com/hungary/8673-a-night-of-celebration-at-cee-deal-of-the-year-awards-banquet-in-prague