News

A team led by Jan Lasák advised ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab s.r.o., a ŠKODA AUTO Group company, on an intra-group restructuring.

Aero Vodochody AEROSPACE enjoyed the benefits of KSB's broad aviation industry experience in a recent matter, when Jiří Horník and Ota Mach prepared draft contractual documentation used in the sale of a new type of L-39NG aircraft.

On Sunday, 4 December, the 27th Charity Concert of Good Will, which we have been organising since 1995 for the benefit of the Committee of Good Will - Olga Havlova Foundation, took place in the concert hall of the Church of St. Simon and Jude in Prague's Old Town.

A team led by Jan Lasák advised J&T ARCH INVESTMENTS on the acquisition of a stake in leading Czech bank Moneta Money Bank. The fund already purchased 8.89% from Petrus Advisers in July. The second stage of the transaction and the acquisition of another 1.1% stake was completed on December 23. The fund has received approval from the Czech National Bank to acquire up to 19.99%.

KŠB's team (Vlastimil Pihera, Martin Krejčí, Matúš Kovačič and Tomáš Trávníček) advised J&T IB and Capital Markets, a.s., as the arranger, on another issue of unsecured unsubordinated book-entry bonds, this time by J&T ARCH CONVERTIBLE SICAV, a.s., with the total value of up to CZK 1 billion and an option to increase by as much as an additional 100%.

KSB’s team (Drahomír Tomašuk, Ján Béreš, Pavel Dejl, Martin Vráb, Karolina Vosátková) recently assisted our long-term client, Solitea, in another IT acquisition. This time Solitea focused on expansion in the Slovak market, acquiring vehicle monitoring company Commander Services.

KSB’s team (Vlastimil Pihera, Jana Guričová, Martin Vráb, Karolina Vosátková) advised J&T BANKA a.s. on its entry and subsequent acquisition of a majority share in AMISTA investiční společnost a.s., one of the largest Czech managers and administrators of qualified investor funds. 

Jiří Horník and Richard Hamran recently advised VGP Group, a leading developer and owner of logistics facilities, on expanding its warehouse space in Slovakia and Hungary.

KSB’s team led by Drahomír Tomašuk and Jana Guričová advised on another major acquisition in the IT and education sector. KSB client Sandberg Capital acquired a majority stake in Hungarian company Green Fox Academy, which also operates in the Czech Republic.

KSB’s and PwC Legal Czech Republic’s teams will continue to provide legal advice to the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) over the next four years. EUSPA manages the European Global Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and Galileo programmes, and is involved in the Copernicus Earth observation programme, and the European Union Government Satellite Communications Programme (GOVSATCOM).

The KSB team (Václav Rovenský, Tomáš Trávníček) represented one of the world's leading architectural studios, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), in the preparation and negotiation of the contract for the architectural study, project documentation and related activities for the Vltava Philharmonic Hall project.

The 27th Charity Concert of Good Will, which Kocián Šolc Balaštík has organised since 1995 to help support the Goodwill Committee - Olga Havel Foundation, will take place on Sunday, 4 December 2022 at 19:00 at the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague’s Old Town.

KSB's team (led by Drahomír Tomašuk and Ján Béreš, supported by Josef Novotný for the transactional part and due diligence, and furthermore consisting of Jaroslav Zahradníček, Viktor Zelinka and Denisa Josefiková for due diligence and Pavel Dejl, Martin Vráb and Karolina Vosátková for competition issues) advised its long-term client, Solitea, on the acquisition of two other IT companies.

KŠB's team (Martin Krejčí, Vlastimil Pihera, Josef Kříž, Jana Guričová and Matúš Kovačič) advised J&T Banka on a CZK 1 billion increase of the Rohlík Group's bond issue. The prospectus that was made in connection with the increase has already been approved by the Czech National Bank.

KŠB's team (Jiří Horník, Jakub Porod, Ivo Průša, Zuzana Slabá and Marek Hais) advised Passerinvest Group on the purchase of the Gamma office project in Prague's Brumlovka administrative centre, where the group has operated for a long time. The property was sold by Austrian real estate group IMMOFINANZ. With the purchase of the Gamma building, Passerinvest continues its strategy of acquiring office buildings in Brumlovka.

KSB's team (Dagmar Dubecká, Jakub Porod, Karolina Vosátková, Jan Černohouz and Simona Hornochová) provided legal and tax advice on the sale of a 50% stake in M&M reality holding a.s. The buyer is real estate group EHS, which has under its wings, among others, the Bezrealitky.cz platform, real estate agency Maxima Reality, and the Czech Real Estate Trust.

KŠB was ranked once again in the top spots in prestigious rating agency IFLR1000’s most recent yearbook and is recommended in all categories: banking & finance, capital markets, M&A, restructuring and insolvency, and project development.

Heureka Group, a shopping advisor and price comparator that operates in the Czech Republic and eight other CEE countries, was advised by KSB’s team (Petr Kasík, Jakub Porod,Jaroslav Zahradníček, Tomáš Trávníček, Filip Řehák and Karolina Vosátková) on the acquisition of Balíkobot.

Pavel Dejl has become the new managing partner of Kocián Šolc Balaštík as of 1 August 2022, replacing Petr Kasík as part of the firm’s planned rotation. Together with Jiří Horník, Petr Kasík remains a member of KSB’s three-member management committee and both will continue to support the managing partner.

JTZE a.s. (J&T Zemědělství a Ekologie), a company belonging to the J&T Real Estate group, has completed the acquisition of a 100% stake in POLINE s.r.o., an agricultural enterprise in the Kolin region, through JTZE Sobětice s.r.o. The total amount of the cultivated land is more than 1900 ha.

KSB's team (Dagmar Dubecká, Helena Navrátilová and Ján Béreš) advised Ronaldsay on the sale of Hampshire Green Point, which developed and commissioned the Green Point project, an energy-efficient eight-storey office building in Prague 5.

KSB's team led by Dagmar Dubecká and Ján Béreš advised Yeong Chin Machinery on the acquisition of a majority stake in TRIMILL. TRIMILL was founded in 2000 and specialises in the development, design, assembly, commissioning, sales and service of machine tools for the machining of moulds and press tools. Yeong Chin Machinery Industries is a Taiwanese company founded in 1954 and specializes in manufacturing machine tools.

KSB (Ivo Průša, Sylvie Sobolová, Martin Krejčí, Josef Kříž, Jan Lasák, Tomáš Zach) assisted Pražská plynárenská in negotiating and concluding contractual documentation for obtaining financing for purchasing and ensuring gas to fill storage facilities for the next heating season. 

KSB's team (Václav Rovenský, Dana Jacková and Tomáš Trávníček) is advising British architecture firm William Matthews Associates (WMA), which won the international design competition for the new headquarters of Správa Železnic (National Railway Administration - NRA) in Prague.

KSB's team advised J&T IB and Capital Markets as the arranger of the issuance of subordinated unsecured income certificates without a maturity date (so-called “perpetual certificates”) issued by J&T BANKA and countable as Tier 1 secondary capital, the purpose of which is to increase regulatory capital, increase diversification of capital sources, and raise funds for the eventual repayment of previously issued instruments. The value of the issuance is EUR 100 million, with an option to increase by 100 %.

The traditional awards for the most beneficial legal publications in the Czech and Slovak Republics were presented at a gala reception at the 29th Annual Karlovy Vary Law Days. This year’s award went to “Commentary: The Corporations Act”, with KSB partner Jan Lasák as the lead author. The publication’s other authors from KSB include Professor Jan Dědič, Martin Kubík and Josef Kříž.

Martin Krejčí and Ivo Průša provided full-service legal advice to Mattoni 1873 on refinancing its loans. 

Almost three dozen experts, including KSB partners Sylvie Sobolová and Pavel Dejl and associates Martina Parusová Zímová and Martin Vráb, contributed to the book titled “Competition and Public Procurement: Synergies and Intersections”, which was initiated by Petr Mlsna, Chairman of the Czech Competition Authority. The KSB authors contributed to the book with the topic of horizontal cooperation between contracting authorities.

KŠB’s team (Martin Šolc, Jakub Porod, Ota Mach and Klára Dvorská) advised Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, one of the oldest private investment companies in the world, and its lead legal counsel Debevoise & Plimpton on the Czech aspects of acquiring Vialto Partners, a former Global Mobility business unit of PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Sylvie Sobolová and Petra Mirovská took part in a discussion on 5 May 2022 organised by financial news weekly Ekonom under the title "Firms of the Future".

Jiří Horník and Richard Hamran assisted VGP Group, a leading developer and owner of logistics parks, in leasing commercial space with a total area of more than 49,000 sqm in the VGP Park Olomouc.

PPF Real Estate – PPF Group’s real estate division – is entering the residential property market in Prague in cooperation with Karlín Group. The agreement between the two companies includes development projects that involve a total investment worth CZK 4 billion.

The British rating agency IFLR1000, which compiles annual international comparative rankings of law firms, has included KSB partner Dagmar Dubecká in its Women Leaders list, as it did last year.

KSB's team (Václav Rovenský and Josef Kříž) assisted Alkohol.cz with Rockaway’s strategic investment, particularly in connection with due diligence and negotiating transaction documentation.

Following Chambers Europe, KSB is again among the top-ranked law firms in the Czech Republic, this time according to the latest publication "The Legal 500 EMEA 2022". We succeeded in the following ten of the eleven practice areas assessed.

KSB's team (Petr Kasík, Martin Kubík, Josef Kříž and Filip Řehák) advised PPF Group on the approximately year-long squeeze-out of O2 Czech Republic’s minority shareholders.

The CEE Legal Matters Comparative Legal Guide: Oil & Gas 2022 presents the most important legal information related to the Oil & Gas sector, structured in a practical way, which allows both focus on a single jurisdiction and cross-referencing and comparisons between the legal approaches in the various jurisdictions. The Czech Republic chapter was co-authored by Václav Rovenský and Tomáš Sequens, both KŠB partners, and Lucie Patková, former KŠB associate.

The renowned British rating agency Chambers and Partners recommends KSB and its representatives in nine areas in its current annual report "Chambers Europe 2022".

Arete Group’s third fund, which focuses on industrial and logistics assets in the CEE region, is starting construction on a new logistics park in Valašské Meziříčí.

After two years of negotiations, Solitea has successfully closed one of its largest deals and acquired a 100% stake in Techniserv IT, a leading Czech software company that provides large software solutions to large organizations and government agencies (such as the Czech Railways Group, the Czech General Customs Directorate, the Ministry for Regional Development, and the Brno Magistrate).

KSB’s team (associates Barbora Musilová and Martin Štefko and partner Dagmar Dubecká) won an employment dispute before the Czech Supreme Court in which they represented Mattoni 1873 against a former employee who worked for the company as a sales representative.

After advising on setting up the Experientia Foundation, the Vlček Family Foundation, and the Libor Malý A Foundation, KSB's team provided further legal and tax advice on another private philanthropy project.

KSB has advised Solitea, one of the largest software companies in Central Europe, on obtaining financing totalling approximately EUR 70 million. The funds will be used primarily to refinance Solitea’s existing loans.

The renowned British rating agency Chambers and Partners once again recommends Kocián Šolc Balaštík in its current publication “Chambers Global 2022”.

KSB's team (partner Dagmar Dubecká and associates Milada Kürtösiová and Ján Béreš) provided Mattoni 1873 with comprehensive legal advice during negotiations with Budějovický Budvar regarding a unique project for the production of flavoured non-alcoholic beer.

KSB's team (in particular partner Jiří Horník and senior associate Richard Hamran) has advised VGP Group, a leading developer and owner of logistics centres, on a long-term basis, primarily on acquiring, selling, operating and leasing warehouses, manufacturing premises and office buildings.

Chambers and Partners, the prestigious international rating company that compiles annual rankings of the world's best law firms, has nominated KSB for this year's Chambers D&I Awards in the Diversity & Inclusion: Outstanding Firm category. The awards ceremony will take place in Madrid on 22 April.

KSB’s team led by Vlastimil Pihera advised on the transformation of 3M Fund MSI into a SICAV investment fund – a fairly rare transaction in the Czech Republic.

The Employment Law Alliance (ELA), of which KSB has been a long-term member, has once again prepared a series of webinars from the "Year in Review" series, in which labor law experts from various jurisdictions will jointly evaluate 2021 in labor law across Europe and share their views and estimates for year 2022.

KSB’s team led by Partner Jiří Horník, with assistance from senior associate Jakub Porod and junior lawyer Zuzana Slabá, advises  B&K Nemovitostní investice on due diligence, negotiates and drafts transaction documentation and, in some cases, assists with further developing the acquired properties.

In order to appreciate and encourage the nurses and brothers in the current difficult times, we organized a pre-Christmas fundraising at KŠB for the staff of the covid departments of the Motol University Hospital.

KSB Partners Prof. Jan Dědič and Jan Lasák and junior lawyer Filip Buchta recently co-authored the article “Applicability of Small Size Premiums in Determining the Fair Value of Shares and Appropriate Consideration”.

ELSA, the largest independent association of law students in the world, and law firm KŠB recently held the 10th annual Contract Competition.

KSB’s environmental law and litigation specialists have scored a significant victory, as another operator of a biomass heating plant does not have to pay damages to state enterprise Lesy České republiky (the Czech Forestry Agency) for immission damage to forests.

As of 1 January 2022, KSB counsel Tomáš Sequens became a new partner.

JTZE a.s. (J&T Zemědělství a Ekologie), a J&T Real Estate group company that specialises in agricultural investments, has, over the past few months, acquired shares in several companies that are engaged in primary agricultural production. The latest acquisition was Farma Neznašovy a.s., which was preceded by the purchase of Statek Sobětice s.r.o. and Žďár Chudenice s.r.o. The total volume of cultivated land is more than 5,600 hectares.

KSB made a mark in its first year of participating in the Czech Leaders Awards and took second place in the Capital City of Prague. “We are extremely grateful to have achieved such success, especially in the current complicated times,” said Jiří Horník, who attended the award ceremony on KSB’s behalf.

KSB's team led by Drahomír Tomašuk, Ján Béreš and Ondřej Siška advised Titans Freelancers, a Slovak company engaged in outsourcing IT specialists, on the acquisition of a 75% stake in Czech-based Bridgewater. Bridgewater helps companies find suitable IT specialists and IT professionals find new career opportunities and challenges. It also focuses on non-IT staff, especially middle and senior management positions, and hard-to-fill jobs.

KŠB’s team (Jiří Horník, Luděk Vrána, Jakub Porod, Zuzana Slabá) assisted the Focus Estate Fund in the sale of the Centro Ostrava Retail Park in Ostrava and Most Retail Park in Most to the Czech investment group DRFG. The tenants of the spaces in the retail parks include JYSK, Mountfield, Sportisimo and Breno Carpets. The total leasable area of ​​both parks is 14,170 m2.

KSB’s team led by Jan Lasák recently advised on a major acquisition in the catering services sector. The client, Aramark, acquired the catering division of the Czech branch of French company Sodexo, which is engaged in providing services in the areas of canteens, catering, full-service building management, and the operation of food and beverage vending machines. As a result, Aramark has consolidated its leading position on the catering market in the Czech Republic.

KŠB‘s team specializing in venture capital investments (Ota Mach and Josef Kříž) assisted AI Startup Incubator (a fund focused on AI start-ups) in investing in AssetFloow.

The ARETE investment and real estate group, which includes funds that invest in real estate, has successfully closed the investment cycle of its ARETE INVEST CEE II sub-fund. Following the EUR 113.2 million sale of the sub-fund's portfolio to Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT) in March (KSB advised ARETE on the transaction as well), the company has paid all investors in the sub-fund and settled the bank financing liabilities.

Hospodářské noviny is planning the 8th annual conference on a cashless society and business CASHLESS FUTURE. This year's event will focus on digital services, changes in AML and cryptocurrencies, and other financial services that are shaping the financial sector today.

In response to epravo.cz’s announcement of the results of its Law Firm of the Year competition, we would like to point out that KSB has refrained from taking part in the competition for the last six years and this year is no different.

In 2020, KŠB started advising ŠKODA TRANSPORTATION a.s. on the acquisition of a 100% stake in EKOVA ELECTRIC a.s., an Ostrava-based company engaged in manufacturing, upgrading and servicing trams, trolleybuses and electric buses (more information here).

KSB's team (Jiří Horník, Jakub Porod and Zuzana Slabá) advised ARETE Group on the acquisition of a 45,666 sqm site in the Plzeň - Borská pole industrial zone.

The KŠB team specializing in venture capital investments (Ota Mach and Josef Kříž) advised AI Startup Incubator (a fund focused on AI start-ups) on investing in OpenRefactory.

The KŠB team led by Drahomír Tomašuk assisted Solitea in the acquisition of a 100% stake in PRYTANIS a.s., a leading Czech supplier of information systems for road hauliers, passenger transport operators and forwarding and logistics companies.

This year’s Charity Concert of Good Will, which Kocián Šolc Balaštík has organised since 1995 to help support the Goodwill Committee - Olga Havel Foundation, will take place on Sunday, 21 November 2021 at 19:00 at the Church of St. Simon and St. Jude in Prague’s Old Town.

KSB's long-standing client, J&T Banka, has entered into a strategic partnership with Amista, the largest Czech manager and administrator of qualified investor funds. In addition, J&T Banka took over a 9.9% stake in Amista.