Dimitris Loukas and team advised the Greek subsidiary of a multinational nutrition & health conglomerate in relation to the HCC’s merger control approval process concerning its acquisition of part of the business of a major distributor of food supplements (vitamins, minerals & supplements) in Greece.

POTAMITISVEKRIS’s litigation team, headed by Partner, Konstantinos Papadiamantis, represented Andreas Georgiou before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),  former head of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) during the crisis years. ECHR ruled that Andrea Georgiou did not have a fair trial, when he was condemned for breach of duty, regarding his actions as head of the ELSTAT. ECHR considered that the “reopening of the proceedings before Court of Cassation” would constitute the appropriate just satisfaction.

Andreas Georgiou an Amherst Scholar and internationally revered statistician, served as head of ELSTAT in the crisis years, and adapted the method of the Greek statistical authority to the European standards, revealing, thus, the real figure of the Greek Public Debt. He has been accused of “falsifying the Greek statistic data” by various political figures, an accusation met with the disapprobation of the international statistical community and the EU authorities, who qualified him as “the scapegoat” for Greece’s political and economic crisis.

PV’s litigation team defended Andreas Georgiou before various Greek jurisdictions. It is a pro bono case that our firm handled and reflects our values ​​as lawyers since it’s a way to promote social justice.

Dimitris Loukas and team advised a major retail supermarket chain in relation to the HCC’s merger control approval process concerning its acquisition of another regional supermarket chain in Northern Greece.

Our tax team, led by Aspasia Malliou with the support of Senior associate Maria Kilatou, has succeeded in issuing twenty-one positive decisions before the Dispute Resolution Directorate Court, which mandated multi-million VAT refund related to rebates. In particular, our tax team successfully represented one of the top 10 leading pharmaceutical companies in the global pharma industry, handling a complex tax case related to VAT on rebates. The decisions of the Dispute Resolution Directorate are of great importance, since the VAT legislative treatment on rebates had created ambiguity among the pharmaceutical companies while the handling of the case required a sophisticated argumentation grounded on ECJ jurisprudence and landmark decisions, issued by Greek Courts, which our tax team was also the pioneer to achieve. Along with the legal argumentation, the cases were grounded on a strong accounting approach. The Dispute Resolution Directorate accepted the twenty-one administrative appeals and sent back the cases to the tax office to proceed with the VAT refunds. The above outcome has a significant impact, as it creates a precedent for VAT refunds in the whole pharma industry, as regards rebates, at the level of Greek tax administration, without proceeding to judicial recourses before the Greek Courts.

We are happy to announce that our law firm supported HERACLES Group in the negotiation and execution of the agreement for its acquisition of Larsinos SA, a landmark transaction in the Greek cement and quarry industry. Our team is led by Partners Vassilis Stergiou (M&A), Dimitris Loukas (Competition), and Theologos Mintzas (Real Estate & Environment), and supported by Associates: Nikolas Sigkridis, Kostas Manikas, Ioanna Kefaloniti, Ilia Boura, Anastasia Bolari, Marialena Papageorgiou, Elisavet Lentsiou, Nikoleta Nikolaou, and Elena Theodoropoulou.

Our real estate team, led by Partner Theologos Mintzas, and assisted by Associate Ioanna Kefaloniti, supported the consortium of Dimand and Premia Properties in the acquisition of Alpha Bank’s Skyline Portfolio. The transaction involves 573 properties, with a gross surface of 500.000 sqm, and has a value of approx. 440 mil Euro, making it one of the largest, if not the largest, open market real estate transaction of recent years in Greece, with unique urban development potential. All assets will pass under a new entity in which Dimand and Premia will participate with 65% and Alpha Bank with 35%, while the properties will be managed by Alpha Real Estate, a novel structural approach which paves the way for similar future transaction structures.

We are happy to announce that the landmark privatization of the ex-US military base in Gournes, Crete has now been completed. Our Real Estate team, led by Partner Theologos Mintzas, supported the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF / ΤΑΙΠΕΔ) throughout the tender process until its successful completion, which marks the start of the largest tourist and commercial land development in Crete.

Dimitris Loukas and team advised a global special situations investment firm with operations in Greece in relation to the HCC’s merger control approval process concerning its acquisition of control over the leading ferry services provider in Greece.