Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC has close links with reputable law firms worldwide and particularly strong associations in Europe, Middle East, and Asia. The firm has an esteemed network of associates including international law firms such as Freshfields, White & Case, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, MacLeod Dixon and many others. Furthermore, the firm is a member of various professional international bodies and in 2007, the firm became a member of Euroadvocaten, an association of law firms in the European Union comprising of offices in 19 countries and totaling in excess of 450 lawyers.
Clients
The favourable investment and tax environment of Cyprus have led to an increase of the international interest in the business services industry and has attracted multinational clients seeking legal and financial services from the Cyprus market. Over the years, Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC has carefully expanded their client base to allow them to meet the varied demands of today’s cross-border legal market. The firm’s clients include public and private companies, multinational corporations that have their regional hub in Cyprus, institutions, entrepreneurs as well as a host of individual clients from Cyprus and abroad. In the Banking and Finance sector, the firm represents a number of local and international banks and financial institutions. The aim of the firm is to provide their clients with high-quality professional legal advice and practical guidance covering the full range of their business activities, in respect of both domestic and international transactions.
Awards & recognitions
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC is recognized as a top tier firm from prestigious legal directories globally. The Banking & Finance department along with the Tax, Corporate & Commercial, Mergers & Acquisitions and Litigation & Arbitration departments rank in the first tier of numerous international directories. Furthermore, over the last years, the firm has received several international awards in respect to its distinctive and professional client services and along with other awards in 2010, the firm was named the Best M&A Team in Cyprus by World Finance.
Corporate law and M&A
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC is one of the leading law firms in the corporate law sector. Senior & Managing Partner, Stavros Pavlou and his team handle complicated corporate and M&A matters including large international cross-border, as well as, domestic transactions involving international private and public companies listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and other recognised Stock Exchanges like LSE, AIM, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, etc. During the current year the department handled complicated matters involving acquisitions of Cypriot and other companies and assisted prestigious international law firms on Cyprus Law issues.
Profile
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC is a multi-award winning international law firm based in Cyprus with a 47-year experience in the legal profession. The firm’s highly trained legal team specializes in specific practice areas and with their combined skills and knowledge can provide expert comprehensive legal solutions according to the client’s particular needs and requirements. Founded in 1963 by Patrikios Pavlou, a barrister from Limassol, Cyprus, the firm is now considered as one of the largest and most successful firms in Cyprus.
Practice areas
The increasing internationalization of business requires expertise that transcends individual, national and professional boundaries. Combined with a multi-disciplinary approach to service delivery and through their associated offices worldwide, lawyers at Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC are able to provide clients with distinctive advice on national and international law in the following specialized practice areas:
– Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions
– Banking & Finance Law
– Litigation & Dispute Resolution
– Capital Markets
– Tax Law & International Tax Planning
– Real Estate, Trusts & Asset Protection
– Intellectual Property
– IT, Internet & E-Commerce
– Administrative & Constitutional Law
– Shipping & Admiralty Law
Corporate law and M&A legal advisory areas:
– Company formation
– Partnership formation and dissolution
– Corporate management, with full domiciliation services
– Corporate reorganization, reconstruction, and optimization of business structure
– Shareholder agreements and corporate governance
– Loan, agency and distributorship agreements
– Lease, hire-purchase agreements
– Mergers and Acquisitions
– Joint ventures and cross border transactions
– International tax planning
– Legal due diligence
– Management buy-outs and earn-outs
– Corporate finance, with a particular focus on takeovers, mergers and acquisitions
– Inter-company agreements.
Banking & finance law
Despite the negative economic environment due to the financial crisis over the last year, Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC has been receiving increasing banking & finance work and this has led to the rapid and continuous expansion of the banking & finance department. The department is mainly involved in challenging and complex corporate finance transactions in Cyprus and abroad and is also handling project and asset finance matters and has extensive experience in securitisation issues. Expert professional legal advice is offered to major national and international banks, industrial organisations, multinationals, financial institutions and other companies in the financial services sector. The recovery section of the firm’s banking practice regularly handles inquiries from various local and international banks on complicated recovery cases.
The extensive expertise of the main partners in banking and finance, in combination with their experience in major international cases, makes the department one of the most competitive in its area. Stavros Pavlou, Senior & Managing Partner, being both an economist (BSc Economics of Industry & Trade, LSE, UK) as well as a Barrister at Law (Gray’s Inn, UK) and Lia Iordanou Theodoulou, Corporate Finance Partner, lead the team for the provision of effective and professional legal advice and guidance to clients including:
banking and finance legal advisory areas:
– Assistance in listing and floatation of securities
– Development financing and security structures for borrowers and lenders
– Acquisition finance
– Corporate finance
– Project finance
– Equity investment
– Financing and management buy-outs
– Risk management
– Capital efficiency
– General banking law
– Recovery of loans
– Lease, hire-purchase agreements
– Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees
Experience & references
Senior & Managing Partner, Stavros Pavlou is a very experienced litigator in the commercial field including banking and financial law and specializes in cross-border securities. He is a highly regarded legal consultant in this field. He acts for various major European and other international banks as well as other companies and high-end individuals in the financial services sector. Stavros Pavlou also provides high quality legal advice and assistance in the listings of major companies on local and international stock exchanges such as the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE), London Stock Exchange (LSE), LSE Alternative Investment Market (LSE AIM), Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) and others. Furthermore, he possesses extensive expertise in advising and assisting clients in the implementation of effective tax planning structures designed to minimize tax liabilities, improve efficiency of the clients’ international cross-border activities and meet their financial and business objectives.
Beyond Corporate law, m&a and banking…
– Litigation & Dispute Resolution
The department’s legal team has a transnational experience and a proven track record in successfully handling both locally and internationally a wide range of claims and disputes in respect of general civil, corporate and criminal litigation to various international Courts of Arbitration.
– Capital Markets
Professional legal advice and complete assistance is provided on the listing of shares in international stock exchanges such as the LSE, LSE AIM, HKSE and others, and on all relating documentation.
– Tax Law & International Tax Planning
Advising and assisting clients in the implementation of tax planning structures designed to minimise tax liabilities, improve efficiency of the clients’ cross-border activities and meet their financial objectives. Through the association with the PageCorp Group, the firm provides company secretarial, trustee, administration, and management services to individuals and companies.
– Real Estate, Trusts & Asset Protection
The department handles commercial and residential property related matters, asset protection with the use of Cyprus international business companies and also the use of Cyprus International trusts.
– Intellectual Property
The firm provides advice on both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters on copyright, patents, licensing, franchising and registration of trademarks.
– IT, Internet & E-Commerce
The department helps clients leverage technology by providing advice and assistance with explaining new laws and regulations and structuring agreements that work to their best advantage.
– Administrative & Constitutional Law
The legal team successfully handles administrative disputes relating to taxation, employment, immigration, government projects, land law and other major administrative and constitutional issues.
– Shipping & Admiralty Law
The firm provides advice to resolve commercial and legal problems in Cyprus and abroad on all maritime and admiralty matters such as marine commerce, marine navigation, shipping and others.
Sample of recently handled cases
Banking & finance
– Assisting and acting as an escrow agent in a loan facility granted to an international group of companies by a Russian bank (apparent value of assets secured by the escrow – $3.2bn).
– Advising a Cyprus public company with respect to the listing of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE). The listing in question is the first ever implemented by any Cyprus company. Attended at HKSE and collaborated with other international law firms in the preparation and submission of the appropriate applications, drafting of specialised Articles of Association and supporting documentation in accordance with HKSE requirements, issuing legal opinions to the HKSE and the Underwriters and extensive involvement in coordination and implementation of the Project (amount involved $600m).
– Acting on behalf of a large international group of companies in relation to a credit facility obtained from a Russian bank in the amount of $450m and advising both borrower and the bank and issuing of legal opinions on various matters including enforcement of and validity of security, acquisitions and transfer of shares, restructuring, tax implications and so on.
– Advising both Lender, one of the three largest banks in Russia and Borrowers, a large international group, in a $1.1bn deal including the granting of credit facilities; drafting of Cyprus related documentation, such as share pledge agreements and undertaking the registration of security documents and issuing legal opinions to the Lender from a Cyprus law point of view; following up and advising on amendments to original financing.
– Advising a subsidiary of a Russian bank in relation to the provision of financial and investment services in Cyprus; obtaining of appropriate licenses from Cyprus authorities; providing legal advice in relation to restructuring and management of the subsidiary. It is the first license granted to the bank’s financial services department to carry out activities in the European Union.
Corporate law and mergers & acquisitions
– Assisting and advising on Cyprus law aspects in relation to a PPP Project relating to the development, reconstruction and operation of an international airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia, involving the Russian subsidiary of a Cyprus joint venture company. Drafting amendments and offering advice on the shareholders agreement and specialized legal opinions on fraudulent trading, potential exposure of shareholders etc; drafting JVC articles of association, corporate approvals and so on.
– Opining and assisting on the acquisition of two Cyprus companies, drafting of shareholder agreements and other related contracts and assisting in the structuring of the project, offering tax advice on the resulting structure etc – amount involved $300m.
– Advising the purchaser together with an international law firm in relation to a 75 percent acquisition of two Cyprus companies, including carrying out due diligence, advising on transaction structuring, commenting and/or drafting of SPA, JV agreements, share pledges, call and put options; seeing to and attending closing. The joint venture concerned the construction of a five star hotel in Minsk and the amount involved $60m.
– Advising and assisting a Cyprus company, part of the largest private equity investment management group in the Central Asian region on various aspects on its major reorganisation and restructuring. Drafting and advising on taking out of security, seeing to execution and delivery of security documents – amount involved in excess of $44m.
– Advising on the cross-border merger of a Lithuanian based company valued at €30m with a Cyprus based company, involving drafting of necessary documents, review of Articles of Association, liaising with the Registrar of Companies for publication of terms of merger at the Cyprus Official Gazette and filing of all necessary applications before the Cyprus courts for the sanctioning and approval of the cross-border merger.
Future
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC invests continually in developing their expertise and high quality legal services in order to further expand the firm both locally and internationally. Today, the firm continues the significant expansion it has enjoyed since 1963 and has a team of 30 advocates and legal consultants assisted by a team of 25 paralegal and administrative staff. The aim is to further grow their portfolio of associates through strengthening current collaborations and creating new ones. The participation of the firm in international professional bodies, as well as, the prominent relationships with international law firms seeking a reliable Cyprus partner in their multinational projects, are the cornerstones of the firm’s future plans and strategies.
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC is looking forward to the future and the challenges it will bring, confident that with team spirit and commitment the firm will continue to provide top quality legal services with diligence, integrity and professionalism.
For further information tel: +357 2587 1599; Email: spavlou@pavlaw.com; www.pavlaw.com
