Jaanus Ikla
Counsel
+ 372 640 7170
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Jaanus Ikla, former General Counsel to the Port of Tallinn and the national energy company Eesti Energia, is widely regarded as one of the country’s leading experts on matters pertaining to legal regulation of the energy and real estate sectors.
Jaanus has extensive experience with a wide range of projects such as the purchase, sale and expansion of hotels, shopping centres, windmill parks, Estonian-Finnish submarine cable, power stations, port terminals etc. He is one of the main authors of the Electricity Market Act and has been actively involved in drafting a number of other laws including the Law of Obligations Act and Public Procurement Act.
Jaanus Ikla
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We advised Livonia Partners AS on the acquisition of Fenestra AS
Private equity fund manager Livonia Partners has been permitted by the Estonian Competition Authority to buy 60% of the shares in AS Fenestra.
Fenestra and the companies controlled by it engage in the manufacture, sale and installation of wood-aluminium windows and balcony doors. Prior to the consolidation, the Fenestra group is made up of the Finnish branch Fenestra AS Sivuliike and subsidiaries Fenestra Suomi Oy, of which Fenestra owns 100%, and Fenestra Ikkunat and Ovet Oy, of which Fenestra owns 51%.
Livonia Partners is a private investment team based in the Baltics and manages investments worth altogether 83 million euros via Livonia Partners Fund I and Livonia Partners EIF Co-Investment Fund.
The transaction was advised by Ellex Raidla’s Partner Sven Papp, Counsel Jaanus Ikla and Senior Associates Gerda Liik and Alla Kuznetsova.
Ellex Raidla advised Paged Group on the acquisition of Valmos
Paged Group, a Polish industrial and investment group, has purchased a 100% stake in Valmos, one of the largest Estonian producers of veneer. The Polish investor plans to support the company’s intensive development, including further investments in expanding the production capacities and efficiency at Valmos’ production facility.
Paged Group consists of the parent company, Paged S.A., and subsidiaries in five key business segments: plywood, interior design and furniture, services and technology, property and other activities. The Group’s plywood segment, with five modern factories in Poland, is one of the largest plywood producers in Europe.
Kaamos Group is an Estonian capital based industrial and investment group, with 15 years of successful track record in the field of real estate development, construction, and timber industry.
Paged Group was advised by Ellex Raidla’s Partner Sven Papp, Counsel Jaanus Ikla, Senior Associates Gerda Liik, Helen Ratso, Reet Saks, Associates Kaisa Laidvee and Lawyer Kairi Kilgi.
We advised Consolis Group on the acquisition of TMB AS
Ellex Raidla team advised Consolis Group, Europe’s leading provider of precast concrete solutions, on the acquisition of Estonian company TMB AS.
Consolis is a leading provider of precast concrete solutions in Europe. The Group provides smart, durable precast concrete structures for the transportation, utilities and building sectors. With more than 11,000 employees in 22 countries throughout the world, the Group generated €1.45 billion in revenue in 2017.
TMB is a company engaged in the production, sale and installation of concrete elements. Its subsidiaries are: OÜ TMB Element (in Estonia), SIA TMB Elements (in Latvia), Bygg Element Sverige AB (in Sweden) and Betonimestarit OY (in Finland). TMB Group employs around 500 people and its annual revenues exceeded €120 million in 2017.
The deal was led by Partner Sven Papp, Counsel Jaanus Ikla, Senior Associates Gerda Liik, Martin Mäesalu.
We advised the landmark deal on the insurance market where GrECo JLT acquired the majority holding of IIZI Group
Ellex Raidla team advised GrECo JLT, the major risk and insurance manager in CEE, on the acquisition of a strategic stake (56.9462 %) in IIZI Group AS.
GrECo JLT is a family-owned company established in Austria in 1925 is employing close to 800 people and operating in 16 countries with 52 subsidiaries, including in Estonia since 2014 and in Lithuania through acquiring RHEA in 2008.
IIZI Kindlustusmaakler AS is the leading insurance retailing company in the Baltics, represented in Estonia, Latvia and Finland with more than 150 employees and 150 000 active customers.
According to Georg Winter, Member of the Board of GrECo JLT Group, IIZI has stood out internationally with their innovative solutions being the indisputable market leader in its region for private customers, small and medium-sized companies and as a partnership solutions provider. “We are ready to contribute considerably to strengthening our position in the Baltics and gain from IIZI’s extensive know-how and retail customer service experience ourselves,” Winter said.
“On the other hand, the customers of IIZI will in turn win from the extensive international experience of GrECo JLT,” Winter said, adding that the main focus of GrECo JLT has been on providing corporate insurance brokerage services and consultations and the shareholding of JLT in the company enables access to a huge network of subsidiaries and partners all around the world.
After the transaction the executive management and current shareholders who have been actively involved in day-to-day operations of IIZI will continue as shareholders and managers of the company.
From Ellex Raidla Partner Sven Papp, Counsel Jaanus Ikla, Senior Associates Gerda Liik, Reet Saks, Associate Merlin Liis and Lawyers Kevin Gerretz, Mirko Kikkamägi advised on the transaction.
Read more about the deal HERE.
We advised Fleet Complete with the acquisition of Ecofleet
Ellex Raidla team advised the Canadian based company Fleet Complete with the acquisition of Ecofleet, which is one of the most successful start-ups in Estonia.
Fleet Complete® is a leading global IoT provider of mission-critical fleet, asset and mobile workforce management solutions. Servicing over 400,000 subscribers and over 30,000 businesses worldwide, the company maintains key distribution partnerships with AT&T in the U.S., TELUS in Canada, Telstra in Australia, and T-Mobile in Europe. It remains one of the fastest-growing companies in North America, having won numerous awards for innovation and growth.
Ecofleet is an international software company that specializes in GPS-based fleet and team management solutions. Our focus is on optimizing car fleets and workflows to help our customers reduce costs and increase revenue. Ecofleet is one of the leading telematics providers in Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and Eastern Europe with presence in over 20 countries, servicing 80.000+ vehicles.
The Ellex Raidla team in Estonia included Partner Sven Papp, Counsels Jaanus Ikla, Antti Perli, Mari Must, Senior Associates Gerda Liik, Reet Saks and Associate Merlin Liis.
For more information, please click HERE.
We advised AS Eesti Loto in the procurement of new central information system
Law firm Ellex Raidla team advised Eesti Loto with the procurement of a new central information system, with a planned cost of 3.5 million euros, to be used for seven years.
We advised Eesti Loto with the choice of procurement procedure type and as a result, Eesti Loto chose the two-stage procurement procedure. First a design contest was carried out and a procurement procedure with negotiations was organised on the basis of the results of the contest. Our experts advised the company throughout the entire project: with the preparation of source documents, conducting the process in the public procurement register and also with the preparation and negotiation of the public contract.
As a result of the public procurement, the solution proposed by Novomatic Lottery Solutions GmbH was selected as the best and a public contract was awarded to them to develop a new information system for a seven-year period.
Ellex Raidla members involved with the project were senior partner Jüri Raidla and senior attorneys Jaanus Ikla and Rauno Klemm.
We advised Estconde Invest OÜ in sale of property
Ellex Raidla advised Estconde Invest OÜ in sale of two office buildings, located at Pärnu mnt. 158.
One of the buildings is 6952 square meters and ohter one 6910 square meters. The buildings have a total 22 tenants.
The trademark "ESTCONDE" is well-known for 25 years and the gruop is one of the most experienced company in Estonian real estate sector.
The client was advised by partner Martin Triipan and counsel Jaanus Ikla.
We advised printing house Vaba Maa AS in relation to its merger with printing house Printon
Ellex Raidla advised Vaba Maa AS, a printing house specialising in advertisements and in security products, in the purchase of shares of printing house Printon. AS Vaba Maa is a part of one of the Estonian largest investment groups controlled by Infortar AS. After the finalisation of the transaction, printing houses Vaba Maa and Printon will be merged and new printing house will be called as Printon. New firm will have 120 employees and its turnover is going to be about 10 million EUR.
Ellex Raidla advised client during all phases of the transaction, including drafting the letter of intent, carrying out the legal due diligence and drafting and negotiating the share purchase agreement and shareholders agreement.
We advised East Capital in the acquisition of Hilton hotel building
Ellex Raidla advised East Capital in the acquisition of Hilton Tallinn Park Hotel building from Olympic Entertainment Group AS (OEG). The value of the transaction is 48 MEUR and that makes it one of the biggest and most important real estate transactions in Estonia. The closing of the transaction will take place after the approval of the Estonian Competition Authority.
Ellex Raidla advised the client in all stages of the transaction, including the preparation of letter of intent, conducting legal due diligence and drafting the share purchase agreement. The client was also advised in negotiations with the representatives of OEG.
Ellex Raidla advised AS Roger Puit in the sale of shares
Ellex Raidla advised AS Roger Puit in the sale of 50% of shares transaction. The shares were acquired by OÜ Graanul Invest, the biggest producer of wood pellets in the Baltic countries, whereas AS Roger Puit is one of the biggest private forest owner in Estonia.
Ellex Raidla team was lead by counsel Jaanus Ikla.
The newspaper article of the transaction is available here (in Estonian).
Our team assisted Port of Sillamäe in the process of the development of a new terminal
We consulted port of Sillamäe, the closest EU port to Russia just 25 km from the Russian boarder, the developmen of the oil refining and petrochemical terminal.
Industry
Energy & InfrastructureField of practice
Commercial & ComplianceReal Estate & Environment
We advised East Capital in the acquisition of Rimi Eesti Food AS logistics centre and headquarters building
Ellex Raidla counsels Jaanus Ikla and Dr iur Martin Käerdi advised East Capital Baltic Property Fund II to acquire Rimi Eesti Food AS logistics centre and headquarters building near Tallinn. The value of the transaction is 13,4 million EUR.
Rimi Eesti Food AS, the food retail operating subsidiary of ICA Gruppen, is operating Rimi and Säästumarket branded stores in Estonia (83 stores in total). Kinnisvaravalduse AS is a holding company of Rimi Eesti Food’s real estate assets and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ICA Gruppen.
ICA Gruppen is one of the leading retail companies in the Nordic region, with 2,300 of own and retailer-owned grocery stores in five geographical markets. The other businesses are ICA Bank, ICA Real Estate and wholly or partly-owned portfolio companies - Forma, Cervera, Hemtex and inkClub.
For more information please click HERE.
Industry
Real Estate & ConstructionField of practice
Commercial & ComplianceReal Estate & Environment
We advised AS Nordic Contractors in the restructuring process of AS Arealis
Ellex Raidla counsels Jaanus Ikla, Triin Frosch and Martin Käerdi advised AS Nordic Contractors, an Estonian company operating in the construction and real estate sector that offers its services through subsidiaries, in a complex restructuring process during which AS Nordic Contractors acquired 50% and minus 1 share of AS Arealis from Swedbank AB`s subsidiary FR&R Nemo B.V and transferred the referred share to Elle Capital OÜ.
Simultaneously AS Arealis acquired minority shareholdings of AS Shnelli Ärimaja, Liivalaia Arenduse AS and Tehnopolis Kinnisvara AS from Elle Capital OÜ.
Simultaneously AS Arealis acquired minority shareholdings of AS Shnelli Ärimaja, Liivalaia Arenduse AS and Tehnopolis Kinnisvara AS from Elle Capital OÜ.
Industry
Real Estate & ConstructionField of practice
Corporate, M&ACommercial & Compliance
Advised Solaris Keskus and Solaris Kino in the sales of Solaris Kino to Forum Cinemas
Ellex Raidla advised AS Solaris Keskus and Solaris Kino OÜ in a preparation of contract concerning the acquisition of cinema business and lease contracts of the premises in the sales of Solaris Kino to Forum Cinemas AS, the enterprise operating the Coca-Cola Plaza multiplex cinema.
Solaris cinema theatre was opened in Tallinn downtown in 2009 and has actively competed with Forum Cinemas. Industry
Consumer & RetailField of practice
Corporate, M&AEU & Competition
Advised Elektrilevi OÜ in concluding a contract for installation of remote-readable meters
Ellex Raidla advised Elektrilevi OÜ, the main supplier of electricity in Estonia, in the public procurement for the supply and installation of nearly 630,000 remote-readable meters across Estonia. The contract was concluded with Ericsson Estonia and a total of nearly 94 million Euros will be invested in the purchase and installation of the meters and the accompanying IT systems.
The firms´ work included preparation of procurement documents and the contract as well as representing the client in disputes and negotiations concerning the procurement. The project team included partner Arne Ots, counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch and senior associate Neve Uudelt.
Under the Grid Code, all standard electricity meters in Estonia must be replaced with remote-readable meters by the end of 2016 at the latest. These smart meters will exempt consumers from the obligation to report meter readings and serve to simplify the functioning of the electricity market. Remote-readable meters will provide the network operator with a better overview of what is happening in the network. They will also expedite the elimination of failures and serve to help reduce losses as well as improve capacity and investment planning. Within the framework of the procurement contract, Ericsson Estonia will supply the meters as well as conduct the installation and provide the required IT systems.
Industry
Energy & InfrastructureField of practice
Corporate, M&A
Advised Eesti Energia AS in the establishment of a power plant in Jordan
The national energy company Eesti Energia Aktsiaselts (Enefit) together with its partners, YTL Power International Berhad of Malaysia and Near East Investments of Jordan, starts EPC tendering for Jordan's first direct burning oil shale fired power plant. The plant is due to come on line at the end of 2016. Raidla Lejins & Norcous advised Enefit in negotiations with the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) as well as in preparing the tender documents. The project team included counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch.
The new power plant will have a capacity of approximately 460MW and will be located at the Attarat um Ghudran oil shale deposit approximately 100km south east of Amman.
Enefit reached agreement with the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and the National Electric Power Company on the terms of the project contracts which allows the tendering process for the main engineering, procurement and construction of the new power plant to commence. The tender will be completed by end of 2012 and the next stage of project development will be project financing in 2013.
The new power plant will have two oil shale-fired power units (2x 230MW) and will consume ca 8 million tonnes of oil shale per year. Using oil shale as energy source means a fundamental shift for Jordan on a road to become an energy-independent country and will deliver significant economic benefits to Jordan, including reducing the Kingdom's expenditure on the import of oil products for power generation by more than 500 million USD a year.
The Enefit consortium has conducted an extensive exploration programme and developed a mining plan and technical concept for the power plant since having been awarded a concession over the mining area in July 2010.Industry
Energy & InfrastructureReal Estate & Construction
Field of practice
Corporate, M&ACommercial & Compliance
Real Estate & Environment
Advised Eesti Energia in engagement of a financial and strategic partner in the Jordanian development projects
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia in engagement of a financial and strategic partner in the Jordanian development projects.
On 13 December 2010 Eesti Energia, Near East Investment Co and YTL Power International Berhad (YTLPI) signed a share purchase agreement under which YTLPI will acquire 30% interest in Eesti Energia’s Jordanian development projects. Eesti Energia’s own interest will remain at 65% and Near East Investment Co’s interest will remain at 5%.
Eesti Energia’s Jordanian development projects include an oil plant with output of approximately 38,000 bbl per day and a direct burning oil shale fired power plant with a capacity of up to 900MW. The role of Eesti Energia is to be the developer of the projects and supplier of the Enefit technology for the oil plant.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia in the establishment of the ownership structure of the development projects and the preparation and negotiation of the share purchase agreement and the shareholders’ agreement executed with YTLPI. Members of the project team are counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch.
Ellex Raidla continues to advise Eesti Energia in the implementation of the projects
On 13 December 2010 Eesti Energia, Near East Investment Co and YTL Power International Berhad (YTLPI) signed a share purchase agreement under which YTLPI will acquire 30% interest in Eesti Energia’s Jordanian development projects. Eesti Energia’s own interest will remain at 65% and Near East Investment Co’s interest will remain at 5%.
Eesti Energia’s Jordanian development projects include an oil plant with output of approximately 38,000 bbl per day and a direct burning oil shale fired power plant with a capacity of up to 900MW. The role of Eesti Energia is to be the developer of the projects and supplier of the Enefit technology for the oil plant.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia in the establishment of the ownership structure of the development projects and the preparation and negotiation of the share purchase agreement and the shareholders’ agreement executed with YTLPI. Members of the project team are counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch.
Ellex Raidla continues to advise Eesti Energia in the implementation of the projects
Advised Eesti Energia AS in the establishment of oil shale operations in Jordan
Ellex Raidla advises Eesti Energia AS in the establishment of oil shale operations in Jordan. Eesti Energia AS has two development projects in Jordan: construction of a synthetic crude oil plant with daily production capacity of 38,000 barrels and construction of an oil shale fired power plant with a capacity of up to 900 MW.
On 11 May 2010 Eesti Energia AS signed a concession agreement with the Jordanian Government for the use of oil shale resources.
The role of Eesti Energia AS is to be the developer of the projects and supplier of the Enefit technology for the oil plant. Eesti Energia AS is planning to engage additional investors in the project in the upcoming development phase and the subsequent industrial phase of the projects.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia AS in the preparation and negotiation of the concession agreement and continues to advise the implementation of the projects. Members of the project team were counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch.
On 11 May 2010 Eesti Energia AS signed a concession agreement with the Jordanian Government for the use of oil shale resources.
The role of Eesti Energia AS is to be the developer of the projects and supplier of the Enefit technology for the oil plant. Eesti Energia AS is planning to engage additional investors in the project in the upcoming development phase and the subsequent industrial phase of the projects.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia AS in the preparation and negotiation of the concession agreement and continues to advise the implementation of the projects. Members of the project team were counsels Jaanus Ikla and Triin Frosch.
We assisted Eesti Energia in the process of a new waste-to-energy power plant development
In 2006 Eesti Energia AS started preparations for the construction of a waste-to-energy unit in Iru. The unit will use mixed municipal waste from around Estonia to produce energy, allowing municipal waste to be reused and offering an efficient way of producing electricity and heat.
The modern technology offered by French enterprise CNIM transforms about 85% of the energy contained in waste into electricity and heat. The construction of the waste-to-energy unit will commence at the end of 2010 and the unit should become operational in the beginning of 2012. The new unit is expected to burn annually up to 220,000 tonnes of municipal waste that remains after sorting as well as construction and industrial waste. The total investment cost is about 1.5 billion Estonian kroons.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia AS in the preparation and organisation of the public procurement process for the selection of the EPC contractor. The firm also drafted and negotiated the EPC agreement and the commercial annexes thereto. The firm continues to advise Eesti Energia AS on legal issues pertaining to the implementation of the project as well as representing the client in disputes relating to the construction permit of the energy block.
Members of the project team were partner Martin Triipan and counsels Jaanus Ikla and Martin Käerdi.
On 11 March 2010 Eesti Energia AS signed a construction contract with Constructions Industrielles De La Mediterranee (CNIM).
The modern technology offered by French enterprise CNIM transforms about 85% of the energy contained in waste into electricity and heat. The construction of the waste-to-energy unit will commence at the end of 2010 and the unit should become operational in the beginning of 2012. The new unit is expected to burn annually up to 220,000 tonnes of municipal waste that remains after sorting as well as construction and industrial waste. The total investment cost is about 1.5 billion Estonian kroons.
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia AS in the preparation and organisation of the public procurement process for the selection of the EPC contractor. The firm also drafted and negotiated the EPC agreement and the commercial annexes thereto. The firm continues to advise Eesti Energia AS on legal issues pertaining to the implementation of the project as well as representing the client in disputes relating to the construction permit of the energy block.
Members of the project team were partner Martin Triipan and counsels Jaanus Ikla and Martin Käerdi.
On 11 March 2010 Eesti Energia AS signed a construction contract with Constructions Industrielles De La Mediterranee (CNIM).
Industry
Energy & InfrastructureReal Estate & Construction
Field of practice
Commercial & ComplianceReal Estate & Environment
Advised Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS in procurement of desulpurisation equipment
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS in the preparation and negotiation of the agreement for installation of desulphurisation (deSOx) equipment on four energy units at Eesti power plant. According to the agreement signed in March 2009 between Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS, Alstom Estonia AS and Alstom Power Sweden AB, two units at Eesti power plant will be equipped with devices that will remove sulphur emissions (SO2) from the flue gases. Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS reserved the option of deciding by 31 January 2010 whether to install desulphurisation equipment on two additional energy units at Eesti power plant. At the end of January 2010 the company decided to exercise the referred option.
The total cost of the investment is about 100 million Euros.
Ellex Raidla continues advising Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS on legal issues relating to the implementation of the project. Members of the project team were counsels Jaanus Ikla and Martin Käerdi.
The total cost of the investment is about 100 million Euros.
Ellex Raidla continues advising Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS on legal issues relating to the implementation of the project. Members of the project team were counsels Jaanus Ikla and Martin Käerdi.
Advised Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS in the construction of a new oil shale fired power plant
Ellex Raidla advised Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS in the construction of a new oil shale fired power plant (two energy blocks, each with a capacity of 300 MW) in Narva.
Ellex Raidla assisted in the preparation and organisation of the public procurement for the EPC agreement, incl. preparation of the qualification criteria and tender documents, EPC agreement and the commercial annexes thereto. The firm continues advising Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad AS on legal issues relating to the negotiation of the agreements and implementation of the project.
The members of the project team were counsels Jaanus Ikla and Martin Käerdi.
Education
University of Tartu, Estonia
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), officially equivalent to MA, cum laude
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), officially equivalent to MA, cum laude
Memberships
2005–…
Ministry of Justice
Member of the Expert Council of Free Legal Profession and Insolvency Law
Member of the Expert Council of Free Legal Profession and Insolvency Law
2004–…
Estonian Bar Association
Member
Member
Publications
The European Energy Handbook 2017
2017
The European Energy Handbook 2017
European Energy Handbook 2017 - A survey of the legal framework and current issues in the European energy sector. Herbert Smith Freehills, 151-158 (Estonian chapter)
The European Energy Handbook 2015
2015
The European Energy Handbook 2015
Newbery, M., Goldberg, S. (Ed.). (2015). The European Energy Handbook 2015. Herbert Smith Freehills, 73-75 (Estonian chapter)
The European Energy Handbook 2014
2014
The European Energy Handbook 2014
Newbery, M., Goldberg, S. (Ed.). (2014). The European Energy Handbook 2014. Herbert Smith Freehills, 132-139 (Estonian chapter)