OREANDA-NEWS. July 15, 2009. The Sorainen Lithuanian office advised Towage & Marine Assistance UAB, the leading towage company in Lithuania, on the formation of a joint venture company with SMIT, a major international maritime services company, reported the press-centre of Sorainen.

This was a complex transaction with a total value of EUR 31 million and involved an innovative solution—the contribution of a business as a going concern in exchange for the shares. The joint venture company named Towmar Smit Baltic, UAB was set up in the Klaipeda seaport, Lithuania, and its share capital was increased by monetary and non-monetary contributions from the shareholders. Towage & Marine Assistance contributed its whole business as a complex (including tugboats, employees, shares in subsidiaries, etc.).

We also advised the client on obtaining the merger clearance from the Lithuanian competition authority which involved complex issues and objections from a major competitor. The transaction also involved maritime law issues such as transfers of vessels and chartering agreements and acquisition of new tugboats. The Sorainen team in this transaction was led by partner Laimonas Skibarka and associate Goda Deltuvaite.