HAVEL & PARTNERS, a law firm, provided legal advice to Amundi Czech Republic, investiční společnost, again in another significant real estate transaction. It concerned the sale of The Square, a major administrative centre located directly above the Budějovická station of the Prague metro.
The comprehensive legal advisory included the drafting of and negotiating over the transaction documents and was provided by partner Lukáš Syrový and managing associate Albert Tatra. The real estate was purchased by Mint Investments, a real estate group. The value of the transaction exceeded CZK 1 billion.
Photo: Amundi Czech Republic, investiční společnost, a.s.
The HAVEL & PARTNERS team advised the Czech industrial group AIT Group – Advanced Industrial Technology Group on establishing a joint venture with the Spanish shareholders of Egile Corporation.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, led by partner Jan Koval and assisted by managing associate Ivo Skolil and associate Jiří Moravec, provided legal advice on the transaction. This included cooperating with the Spanish law firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados to prepare and negotiate the transaction documentation and to close the transaction.
The AIT Group – Advanced Industrial Technology Group, a Czech industrial group, specialises in investing in cutting-edge industrial technologies. Meanwhile, Egile Corporation, headquartered in Spain’s Basque region, develops and produces predominantly aerospace components.
The transaction was executed and closed in December 2024.
HAVEL & PARTNERS advised Antracit, a Czech-Slovak developer from the North Moravian Purposia Group on the acquisition of the former Palace Hotel complex in Ostrava.
Partner Lukáš Syrový and managing associate Albert Tatra led the transaction. Their legal team not only conducted due diligence, but also negotiated the comprehensive documentation for the acquisition.
The transaction was completed by the buyout of 100% of the ownership interests from the existing owners at the end of last year.
The former Ostrava Palace Hotel, constructed in 1913 during the Austro-Hungarian era, was considered one of that time’s most modern buildings. Today, the facility houses the Kampus Palace student housing project, which remains in operation. Additionally, the new owner plans a comprehensive renovation of the remaining portion, transforming it into small apartments and commercial spaces for civic-amenity services. The renovation is scheduled for completion in 2030.
Photo: Jiří Zerzoň
HAVEL & PARTNERS represented Komerční banka’s investment platform Upvest and the investment group RSJ in their acquisition of a stake in the Czech shopping centre, Centrum Černý Most in Prague.
The transaction involved acquiring a 25% stake in CENTRUM ČERNÝ MOST s.r.o., with a call option to increase the stake up to 49%, through a qualified investor fund, SICAV. The majority owner of the company remains the French firm Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.
This comprehensive advisory process was led by a large team of experts from the firm, headed by partner Petr Dohnal. The transaction was further led and negotiated by managing associate Josef Bouchal, with contributions from counsel David Šmída, managing associate Adam Karban, senior associate Patrik Chrást, and junior associates Dominika Hřebačková and Anna Gloserová. Partner Josef Žaloudek handled tax matters.
The advisory services also included legal structuring of the transaction, comprehensive legal due diligence, consultation on the tax implications of the acquisition structure, negotiation of the transaction, negotiation of all project administration, management, and development agreements, and negotiation of the related joint venture agreement at the level of CENTRUM ČERNÝ MOST s.r.o. and the newly established qualified investor fund between Upvest and RSJ.
The work on the transaction lasted approximately a year. The transaction was closed in November last year and settled in December 2024.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, along with its venture capital experts, represented Central European deep tech fund Tensor Ventures and Elevator Ventures, the Austrian corporate VC fund of Raiffeisen Bank, in their investment in Czech fintech startup Wultra.
The legal advice was provided by managing associate Josef Bouchal acting as the team leader, along with associate Jiří Moravec and junior associate Róbert Košala. Partner Jaroslav Baier led the transaction.
The cybersecurity startup Wultra was founded by CEO Petr Dvořák in 2014. The company specialises in developing security solutions for identity verification online and in mobile apps. This includes protecting mobile apps from attacks, implementing multi-factor or biometric authentication, and enabling real-time transaction confirmation.
Today, Wultra serves over 40 clients across 20 countries, including top Czech banks, the Czech National Bank, and financial services and insurance firms.
The transaction was completed in December 2024.
HAVEL & PARTNERS in Slovakia assisted Photoneo in a unique and unprecedented transaction. This deal secured financing for Brightpick, a division focused on developing automated robotic systems, combining debt and equity financing totalling $12 million.
The team, led by partner Jaroslav Baier and comprising associates Kristína Saktorová, Miriama Podskubová, and junior associate Róbert Košala, negotiated the contractual documentation, including the loan agreement and other legal instruments, and led negotiations with individual investors during the related investment interim round.
The venture debt, amounting to EUR 5 million, is the largest of its kind in Slovakia’s history. The debt financing was provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Venture Capital program, which supports startups, innovative firms, and tech companies. In this respect, HAVEL & PARTNERS also provided legal advice during the investment interim round in form of equity financing, which included EBRD Venture Capital and existing investors.
This transaction is considered groundbreaking due to its complex structuring and the financial instruments used.
Venture debt is a form of debt financing primarily aimed at startups and fast-growing companies that have previously secured venture capital investments. It provides additional growth funding with minimal dilution of founders’ or existing investors’ shares. In the American variant, a standard financing tool for startups in the USA for several decades, the lender also receives warrants (options) for future equity in the company.
The investment will support Brightpick’s expansion into the U.S. market.
Photoneo, founded in 2013, is a Slovak company specialising in the development and implementation of proprietary 3D machine vision using AI. Its robotic technologies are used in warehouses across various industries, including food, automotive, logistics, e-commerce, and healthcare. These technologies fully automate order fulfilment processes, reducing operational costs and staffing requirements. Brightpick was spun off from Photoneo in 2021.
Legal experts from HAVEL & PARTNERS have played a pivotal role in the recent transaction in which Viessmann Generations Group, a global industrial group, acquired Gritec (formerly Betonbau). Gritec is a company operating in the Czech market and specialising in the development and production of turnkey technical buildings and stations for energy, water & industrial infrastructure.
Firm’s partner Marek Lošan, along with counsel Natalija Traurigova and managing associate Vladimir Ivanov focused primarily on the Czech legal aspects of the transaction and provided vendor’s due diligence services. They acted as cooperating legal advisors to the German private equity fund Capiton and its management, the previous majority owners of Gritec, which was represented by the law firm Milbank.
The transaction was finalised in October and gained the necessary approval from the relevant antitrust authorities in December 2024. We greatly appreciate this opportunity and wish the new owner much success in further developing the group.
HAVEL & PARTNERS provided legal advice to the selling shareholders of HIWIN, a Brno-based company, in connection with a change in ownership structure. The German group HIWIN GmbH is now the sole shareholder of HIWIN.
The transaction was handled by a firm’s partner Marek Lošan and managing associate Ivo Skolil, who not only negotiated the terms of the transaction but also prepared the acquisition agreements and facilitated the transaction’s settlement.
HIWIN, based in Brno, is the exclusive supplier of linear products and positioning systems of the same brand for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. HIWIN’s products are used in applications such as handling and special-purpose machines, CNC equipment and machining centres, machinery, and the electronics industry.
For the second consecutive year, Robert Nešpůrek, a founding partner of HAVEL & PARTNERS, has once again been included in the Thought Leaders Global Elite shortlist of the world’s top telecoms and media law experts for 2025. This recognition places him among only 24 lawyers globally honoured by the rating agency Lexology, formerly known as Who’s Who Legal.
“I am deeply honoured to be included once again in Lexology’s elite group. The pace of technological evolution is unparalleled and will continue to accelerate. To be able to continuously reflect these changes as legal advisors and bring the best solutions to our clients, we must continuously monitor this process, understand the technical essence of innovations, and grasp their impacts. This recognition, along with acknowledgments from other rating agencies for our ICT team, hopefully, proves our success in this endeavour,” said Robert Nešpůrek.
Robert Nešpůrek is one of the founding partners of HAVEL & PARTNERS, where he leads the Commercial, IP & TMT practice group. He advises clients on IT solution delivery and implementation projects, IT outsourcing, and dispute resolution in complex IT projects. He has led numerous M&A transactions overlapping these areas. Among his clients are internet and media companies, including global digital service providers.
This dedicated practice group of HAVEL & PARTNERS, with over 40 lawyers, is one of the largest legal teams in the Czech Republic for the areas of information technology, intellectual property, e-commerce, film and gaming, digitisation, and data law. The team members are regularly recommended as top lawyers by other international publications such as Chambers and Partners, Legal500, World Trademark Review, and IP STARS.
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders Global Elite 2025 is a worldwide database of outstanding experts, covering various practice areas in addition to telecoms and media. It is published by the respected rating organisation Lexology, formerly known as Who’s Who Legal. The recognitions in the rating are tiered, with Thought Leaders Global Elite being the most prestigious, qualifying only about 5 percent of all lawyers rated by Lexology (WWL).
The law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS was instrumental in completing one of the largest and, in terms of its structure, most exceptional deals combining fund structuring and venture capital that took place in the Czech Republic this year. We represented Tomáš Čupr’s Rohlik Group in the formation of a unique investment fund Rohlik Growth SICAV, with expected value to exceed EUR 120 million (more than CZK 3 billion).
The fund’s majority investor is Tomáš Čupr, while the remaining shares are held by JTFG FUND I SICAV from the J&T Group. The investment fund is unique in that it focuses exclusively on Rohlik Group shares. The investment is intended for qualified investors only. Hence the general investing public will be able to invest in the project and participate in its further development.
The work on the transaction and the structuring of the fund was done by the venture capital & fund formation team led by partner Jaroslav Baier and managing associate Josef Bouchal, with the involvement of competition law experts – counsel Roman Světnický and senior associate Martin Rott. Partner Jan Topinka handled the regulatory aspects of the transaction and the fund.
When structuring the entire transaction, it was also necessary to take into account the regulatory and legal aspects of the related third bond issue, which the client issued through Rohlik.cz Finance II.
“We are pleased to have been able to again be part of another milestone of the Rohlik Group development and to contribute to the implementation of such an innovative and strategically important project that not only supports the growth of one of the most successful and important startups in the region, but also brings new opportunities for investors”, Jaroslav Baier commented.
The law firm HAVEL & PARTNERS has successfully represented Amundi Czech Republic, an investment company, in the sale of a historic building located at Pařížská 3 in the prestigious Prague 1 district. This property, one of the most sought-after on the city’s most expensive street, serves as the headquarters and boutique for the luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton.
Comprehensive legal advisory services, which involved preparation and negotiation of transaction documentation, were provided by firm’s partner Lukáš Syrový along with managing associate Albert Tatra.
The new owner of this premium building is Raiffeisen realitní fond managed by Raiffeisen investiční společnost.
The transaction was completed this November.
HAVEL & PARTNERS, the largest law firm in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, has launched a new comprehensive service called Dawn Raid Protection. This service provides maximum protection for companies during unannounced inspections by antitrust authorities, known as dawn raids. The service responds to the increasing number of these inspections since the COVID-19 pandemic and helps companies prepare for the possibility that their activities may be unexpectedly scrutinised by the competition authority.”
Rising trend of dawn raids in the post-COVID era
Dawn raids, unannounced inspections conducted at dawn, are a highly effective investigative tool for competition authorities. The element of surprise allows authorities to obtain crucial evidence. According to statistics released yesterday, the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition has conducted nearly 80 dawn raids since 2021, marking a significant increase compared to previous periods.
“Data clearly show that dawn raids have become a common part of corporate reality,” says Robert Neruda, partner at HAVEL & PARTNERS and head of the team of competition lawyers and economists. “Post-pandemic, companies are bringing their employees back to the office. However, they are also facing new challenges – they may be caught off guard by more frequent and sophisticated unannounced inspections by the antimonopoly office, which typically last several days.”
Digital tools are changing the game
The antimonopoly authority now utilises cutting-edge forensic software, Nuix, which allows inspectors to quickly and efficiently analyse large volumes of e-mails and digital documents directly on company premises. “Thanks to advanced tools, investigators can process vast amounts of data in a short time. For companies, this means a significant increase in risk – a single unannounced inspection can uncover even older problematic communications that the current management may not be aware of,” explains Neruda. He also warns that failing to duly cooperate during an investigation can result in fines of up to 1% of the holding’s annual turnover.
How HAVEL & PARTNERS prepares its clients for dawn raids
The Dawn Raid Protection service offers comprehensive solutions for companies of all sizes and from various industries. Key benefits for clients enrolled in the programme include:
Crisis Manuals: A brief guide outlining key principles of conduct for employees during an unexpected inspection by the competition authority.
24/7 Legal Support: Immediate availability of experts to assist clients during inspections.
Automatic Updates of Instructions: Continuous updates in case of changes in contacts or rules, and considering current decision-making practices.
Employee Training: Access to specialised training and dawn raid simulations to prepare employees for a potential dawn raid.
How to enrol in the Dawn Raid Protection programme
Companies can easily enrol in the programme by filling in the form at www.havelpartners.cz/dawnraid.
“Dawn raids no longer concern just large corporations – the antimonopoly authority and other regulators are expanding inspections across sectors and are targeting companies of various sizes. Timely and professional preparation is now an essential part of risk management for any responsible company,” adds Neruda.
