On 1 October 2017 the largest transaction of combination of operations in the history of the Baltic financial markets was successfully completed – Luminor launched its operations.

Nordea, the largest financial services group in northern Europe, and DNB, Norway’s largest financial services group, completed the combination of their banking, leasing and pensions businesses in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Together they have created new banking group Luminor with a leading local market position and strong Nordic roots.

Sorainen has been advising Nordea on Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian law throughout this transaction in 2016 and 2017, starting from planning and transaction structuring, through to signing, regulatory approvals, and closing.

Comments Rūdolfs Engelis, head of the Sorainen regional Banking, Finance and Insurance Practice Group: “It has been a privilege for us to be chosen as the advisor for this ground-breaking deal after having advised Nordea on several significant cross-border corporate transactions in previous years. This was a true test of our ability and a great opportunity to work as a fully integrated firm, both among the three countries and among different practice groups to help deliver such a complex and considerable result.”

The transaction obtained approvals from the European Central Bank to change the shareholder structure of the merged banks in the Baltics, in addition to the European Commission under merger control rules, as well as from the Baltic financial supervision authorities on regulatory aspects of the transaction. The Sorainen team on the project involved specialists from the Banking & Finance, Corporate, Competition, Regulatory, Intellectual Property and Employment practices.

The Sorainen pan-Baltic team was led by partner Rūdolfs Engelis, senior associates Daiva Liubomirskienė, Jane Eespõld, Santa Rubîna and Jurgita Nikita, and also included: