Mergers & Acquisitions Overview

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) is a key SORAINEN practice. The firm is constantly involved in major M&A transactions in the Baltic States and Belarus. According to the statistics of Mergermarket and other leading international M&A intelligence services, SORAINEN has the greatest experience in major M&A transactions in the Baltics and Belarus (see the Mergermarket league table for the period 2007-2012 here).

M&A transactions require involvement of the most experienced M&A lawyers to assist in efficiently managing complex and intensive projects: from preparing adequate documentation and holding tactical negotiations to ensuring smooth deal closing. SORAINEN specialists in competition, regulatory, finance, real estate and tax work with the firm’s M&A lawyers to provide full servicing in M&A projects. The SORAINEN M&A Practice has an extensive track record in more than 600 domestic and cross-border M&A transactions in various industries (for examples, see under the Experience section) and in advising private equity funds on M&A deals (see also the description of the SORAINEN Private Equity Practice).

SORAINEN deploys a truly integrated regional M&A Practice and thus offers optimal capacity to advise on regional M&A deals involving two or more of the Baltic States and Belarus, substantially reducing the time, energy and resources necessary to structure and manage regional M&A projects.

SORAINEN is recommended for its M&A Practice by international directories such as IFLR1000 (“Clients point to their size and integration within the Baltics and Belarus as an important advantage when it comes to M&A.”), The Legal 500 (“SORAINEN is the firm of choice for numerous large foreign direct investors.”), Chambers Global and Chambers Europe.

At the initiative of SORAINEN, the five largest Baltic law firms and alliances authored the very first Baltic M&A Deal Points Study in 2009, which they repeated in 2011. A similar study was organised in Belarus in 2010 together with five local leading law firms – the first Belarusian M&A Deal Points Study and also the first of its kind in the CIS countries. Since 2011, SORAINEN has been preparing the annual M&A and Private Equity Baltic and Belarus Transaction Guide, reporting on the latest M&A and private equity developments in the region.

SORAINEN is available to act for investors, buyers and sellers, on all aspects of acquisitions, sales and mergers in the Baltic States and Belarus, including:

• buy-outs (LBOs, MBOs, privatisations, other acquisitions);
• structuring acquisitions and divestments (including financing and tax advice);
• legal and tax due diligence;
• merger control;
• shareholder agreements;
• share and asset sales and other exits;
• acquisitions and disposals of real estate projects;
• joint ventures;
• corporate mergers, de-mergers and other reorganisations;
• negotiations at all stages;
• post-acquisition advice.