bpv BRAUN PARTNERS assisted its client Göde Gruppe in the acquisition of Myaminos, a German company specialisingin dietary supplements. With this transaction, the Göde Group would like to further expand its business in the health care market. A unique aspect of the transaction is the fact that all companies involved came from the Federal Republic of Germany and the transaction was completely subject to German law. The project included preparing all the transaction documentation and due diligence. The parties decided not to disclose the value of the transaction. Partner Marc Müller took project lead, with support from associate Filip Baloušek and junior associate Kateřina Trzaska. “We have been working with Göde Holding for years, and I am glad that this ‘purely German’ job demonstrates the trust between us. We see it as an honour and joy,” commented Marc Müller, partner at bpv BRAUN PARTNERS.
Category: News
bpv BRAUN PARTNERS adds German attorney Tomáš Chmelík to its Prague team
As of 1 September, bpv BRAUN PARTNERS welcomed Dr. iur. Tomáš Chmelík, LL.M., a German attorney and established European lawyer in the Czech Republic specializing in German law, intellectual property, IT and e-commerce and data protection (GDPR). “We are delighted that Tomas has decided to return to the Czech Republic after many years in Germany and will assist us with his expertise both in Czech legal advice and in solving problems of Czech companies in Germany. I am delighted that these personnel changes continue to confirm our leading position in German law, which we specialise in on the local Czech market,” said Managing Partner Arthur Braun, welcoming the new colleague. Tomáš graduated from the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg Law School (Staatsexamen, Dr. iur.) and the University of Edinburgh (LL.M.) in the UK, where he focused on intellectual property law. Prior to the German bar examinations, he completed internships at leading German law firms and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition to the Czech Bar Association, he is also a member of the Munich Bar Association, the German-Czech Lawyers’ Association and the DAAD Alumni Club in the Czech Republic. Prior to joining bpv, Tomáš worked as an attorney at Ernst & Young Law GmbH.
2.9.2021 :: INTERACTIVE CONFERENCE IN BUDAPEST :: Are you prepared against surprise? Business innovations, changemaking and the new normal!
bpv JÁDI NÉMETH Attorneys at Law kindly invites You to an interactive Conference of Two Seminars & Flying Buffet, taking place on September, 2, 2021 in Budapest, Matilda Palace.
- ARE YOU PREPARED AGAINST SURPRISE? Putting the ‘Aid’ in Dawn Raid: Antitrust investigations and the lessons learned
- BUSINESS INNOVATIONS, CHANGEMAKING AND THE NEW NORMAL! How to design / re-design adaptive business models and novel forms of value creation
Click here for the invitation, with information on registration, the program and speakers!
bpv LEGAL is celebrating 15 years!
15 years ago we announced the decision to continue our cooperation through bpv LEGAL, with its member firms bpv Braun Partners, bpv Grigorescu Stefanica, bpv Huegel and bpv Jádi Németh, all still on board. We have added an additional city on our map and have doubled in size during these 15 years. And still have fun working together.
Our commitment remains unchanged: providing business-minded, creative and reliable advice to our local and international clients through the entire CEE region.
To our clients, our friends and mainly to our teams: Thank you all for your trust and support in the past 15 years.
bpv BRAUN PARTNERS shortlisted as one of four leading life-science firms in CEE
We are pleased to appear two times in the current shortlist of LMG Life
Sciences Awards 2021 Europe – not only as the Central Europe Firm of
the Year, but also having the managing partner Arthur Braun nominated
as the M&A Lawyer of the Year.
Lawyers from bpv BRAUN PARTNERS advised Czech tech startup SentiSquare in another round of financing
bpv BRAUN PARTNERS advised one of the leading Czech companies in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) application, SentiSquare s.r.o., on its second round of financing, in which it acquired one million euros for further development. New strategic and financial investors – Czech IT company IXPERTA and venture capital fund Fazole Ventures – participated in this second round, which also confirmed the increase in the company’s valuation in recent years. Ondrej Ponistiak and Arthur Braun advised in the transaction. SentiSquare s.r.o., which was originally founded at the Faculty of Applied Sciences at University of West Bohemia, and has received many awards, deals with text analysis and text processing and its main focus is on automated customer communication without limitations to languages by using a unique AI application known as NLP (Natural Language Processing). It plans to use the financing acquired to complete development on its current product and introduce a new no-code NLP product (software that does not require an NLP expert or other specialized developer to operate) onto the Czech and international markets.
bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA advised round lead investor Draper Esprit VC in the USD 60 million Series B financing of FintechOS
A multidisciplinary team of bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA advised the venture capital fund Draper Esprit in connection with its Series B lead investment in FintechOS. The total value of the round was USD 60 million and included existing investors Earlybird Digital East, Gapminder Ventures, LAUNCHub Ventures, and OTB Ventures.
The team was led by Catalin Grigorescu, Managing Partner and Head of Technology Practice, and included Iulia Dragomir – Managing Associate and other lawyers from the firm’s corporate, IP and tax practices. International counsel to Draper Esprit was the international firm Withers LLP.
Catalin Grigorescu commented: „We are very proud to have advised Draper Esprit on this significant Series B financing round and happy to experience first-hand the confirmation of Fintech OS’s exceptional global growth story. This round will help Fintech OS boost its sales of innovative highly automated and personalized technology that is aimed to change the way people experience and engage with financial technology. Our involvement in this transaction is a confirmation that the strategy and investments leading to our firm being ranked as a tier #1 law firm for advice in technology in Romania for the 5th year in a row are paying off.”
About Draper Esprit VC
Draper Esprit is a London-based venture capital (VC) firm that invests in the European technology sector. Draper Esprit’s portfolio includes approx. 70 investee companies, with 15 later-stage companies in the core portfolio (e.g. Trustpilot, UiPath, Cazoo, Revolut). Draper Esprit includes a range of funds (seed, EIS and VCT) within the group, as well as its flagship balance sheet VC fund.
Martin Provazník the newest partner at bpv BRAUN PARTNERS in Bratislava
JUDr. Martin Provazník has been named partner at bpv BRAUN PARTNERS as of April 1, 2021. This brings the number of bpv partners in Prague and Bratislava to nine. “Martin Provazník is an excellent attorney and I am delighted to welcome him as one of us. Expanding our circle of partners shows our continued growth and the respected position our firm occupies, which of course makes us proud,” commented Arthur Braun, managing partner at bpv. Martin Provazník has been an attorney since 2008 and his main practice areas include dispute resolution, insolvency, corporate law, contract law and IP/IT. Before joining bpv, he was a partner at bnt attorneys in CEE, where he led the dispute resolution practice. He represents a wide range of clients, from individuals to multinational corporations. In addition to his legal practice, Martin also publishes regularly in Slovak media outlets. He is a member of INSOL Europe, VIAC (Vienna International Arbitral Centre) and YAAP (Young Austrian Arbitration Practitioners), and also acts as a member of the Disciplinary Committee at the Slovak Bar Association and the Board of Directors for SAEI (the Slovak Association of Exporters and Importers). He is also on the list of arbitrators at the permanent arbitral tribunal in Prague and Vienna. Martin received special acknowledgment in the Via Bona Awards for helping with a systematic change in personal bankruptcies and debt-free regime in Slovakia. He speaks Slovak, English and German. The new partner will continue to focus primarily on dispute resolution with a secondary focus on insolvency, given the situation on the market and growing demand. “I greatly appreciate the opportunity to contribute to bpv’s good reputation,” comments Martin Provazník. Igor Augustinič, partner at the Bratislava office, had the following comments on the new appointment: “We are very glad to have a new partner on our team. Martin’s appointment represents another important step in expanding our engagement on the market in Slovakia and Central Europe.”
bpv BRAUN PARTNERS is pleased to be recognized again by Chambers and Partners
The latest Chambers Europe 2021 rankings confirm our firm’s expertise in our often recognized practice areas – labour, corporate and energy law – which we appreciate greatly.
This year we are particularly proud to be ranked in real estate law amongst the top eight law firms on the Czech market, especially considering how complicated last year was due to the pandemic. Like last year, individual mentions in this area go to partners Gabriela Špak Porupková (“is held in high esteem for her role in the real estate field, with commentators describing her as a ‘good and commercial lawyer’.”) and Miroslav Dudek (“a respected lawyer in the real estate arena”). Partner Gabriela Špak Porupková comments, “I am so pleased at our firm’s ranking – this recognition belongs not only to the people mentioned in press releases and updates, but our whole team that stands behind each project. So I would like to thank all my colleagues and clients who are helping us move our labour law practice forward.”
bpv is mentioned as one of the top law firms in the Czech Republic for labour law and a popular choice for German-speaking clients, and that clients particularly appreciate the way the team works together: “Clients are grateful that the team ‘provides us with any information required for us to operate within the current regulations, proactively informing us of any applicable changes’.” Clients praise attorney Lucie Kalašová for her ability to handle a full labour law portfolio.
In the category of energy law and project financing, Chambers underscores the fact that as a leader in its field, bpv has the business know-how of its clients as well: “Clients praise the firm for ‘understanding our business needs and the ability to transfer that into legal advice’.” Partners Marc Müller and David Vosol are listed as key contacts.
Managing partner Arthur Braun is mentioned in the category of corporate law / mergers and acquisitions due to his wide range of expertise in many areas including real estate, energy and the automotive industry. We would like to thank all our clients and business partners for the trust they have placed in us, which allows us to maintain our exceptionally good position on the market and which means a great deal to us.
Dispute with the insolvency trustee for Viktoriagruppe concludes in favour of the Czech state
A final ruling has been made after several years of litigation in which which bpv BRAUN PARTNERS, led by partner Marc Müller, represented the Czech Ministry of Finance in the first two instances of an international dispute with the insolvency trustee for Viktoriagruppe.
In mid-February 2021 the civil panel at the Federal Court of Justice (where the Czech Ministry of Finance was represented by Mennemeyer & Rädler) dismissed a complaint by the insolvency trustee against the ruling of the Higher Regional Court in Munich, which stipulated that the insolvency trustee must respect the decision of the Czech financial and customs administration. This provided new confirmation of the rulings of the lower court as well as the court of appeal, which supported our client’s legal opinion regarding its rights concerning the insolvency proceedings for Viktoriagruppe, which exceed 5 million euros in value.