Guntars Zīle is head of the M&A practice group. He has more than 18 years of experience in transactional work and has represented numerous local, as well as multinational companies and PE funds (like East Capital, BaltCap, Stora Enso, Lukoil, Severstal, AXA Private Equity, Carlsberg, MISC Berhad, etc) in large scale M&A transactions. Guntars also handles patent litigation assignments and performs regulatory work for manufacturers of the pharmaceuticals and healthcare service providers. He also has extensive experience in real estate and construction law matters and currently acts as a member of the Working Group of the Ministry of Justice for the Law Reform on Divided Property Matters.
- Corporate and M&A - Leading individual, Legal 500 2019
- Corporate/Commercial - Band 1, Chambers Europe 2019
- Real Estate - Band 3, Chambers Europe 2019
- M&A - Highly regarded, IFLR 1000 2019
- Languages
- Latvian, English, Russian
- Education & membership
- LL.M., University of Latvia, Faculty of Law (2001)
- LL.B., University of Latvia, Faculty of Law (1999)
- Latvian Bar Association (since 1999)
- International Bar Association (since 2007)
- International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (since 2011)
- Riga TechHub Founder Member (2012)
- Board Member, Latvian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (since 2019)
- Publications
- Comparative Investment Guide to the Baltics - July 2016
- Baltic M&A Monitor 2015
- IP & IT Law News - April 2015
- New legal framework in relation to construction rights and divided property - April 2015
- New regulatory framework for construction - December 2014
- IP & IT Law News - November 2014
- Baltic M&A Monitor 2014
- Baltic & Belarus M&A Monitor 2013
- Baltics M&A Monitor 2012
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising 2010. Latvia Chapter
- The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising 2009. Latvia Chapter
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Real Estate 2009. Latvia Chapter.
- We are not selling our business!
- Transactions with consumers - a maze for the merchant
- Getting the Deal Through. Copyright 2008. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Product Liability 2008. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising 2008. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Real Estate 2008. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Mergers & Acquisitions 2008. Latvia Chapter.
- Pros and Cons of Draft Law of Commercial Practice
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Product Liability 2007. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising 2007. Latvia Chapter.
- What Is Vendor Due Diligence and When It Matters?
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Real Estate 2007. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Mergers & Acquisitions 2007. Latvia Chapter.
- How to achieve high quality performance of construction works through legal means
- New provisions on calculations of interest under Civil Law
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Real Estate 2006. Latvia Chapter.
- International Execution Against Judgement Debtors 2005. Latvia Chapter.
- Global Legal Group. The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Product Liability 2005. Latvia Chapter.
- COBALT advises Coffee Address Holding in acquisition of SIA Kafe Serviss
- COBALT provided legal support to TELUS Corporation in acquisition of Competence Call Center
- COBALT advises Marguerite Fund on the sale process of 29.06% stake in Conexus Baltic Grid
- COBALT advised STADA Arzneimittel on the acquisition of Walmark
- COBALT advised funds advised by Apax Partners on acquiring the Baltic Classifieds Group
- COBALT advises BaltCap on selling Fitek
- COBALT advised Vink Nordic Holding ApS on acquiring Proplastik
- COBALT advises BaltCap Infrastructure Fund in acquisition of biomass CHP in the Riga region
- COBALT advised Kartesia on its investment in Groglass®
- COBALT advises on the sale of Runway BPO to Webhelp
- COBALT advised Bisnode on the acquisition of Datu Serviss
- COBALT advised Marguerite Fund in the reorganisation process of AS Latvijas Gāze
- COBALT advised Korona Invest Fund in an investment to the digital agency Wunder
- COBALT advises AFI Europe Latvia on large-scale residential development project in Riga
- COBALT advises BaltCap in acquiring of Selecta business operations in the Baltics
- COBALT advises Marguerite Fund in the acquisition of a 28.97% stake in AS Latvijas Gaze
- COBALT advises Mid Europa Partners on its sale of Bite
- COBALT advises BaltCap in acquiring Baltic operations of financial automation company OpusCapita
- COBALT advises ELKO Group in acquisition of DL Distributors OÜ
- COBALT advises Gjensidige Forsikring ASA in acquisition of PZU Lietuva
- COBALT advises Solvina in SIA Storent Holding share sale transaction
- COBALT in cooperation with Linklaters advises Latvian Privatization Agency in the sale of Citadele Bank to international investors
- COBALT advises ABLV Private Equity in a successful exit from SIA Depo DIY
- COBALT advises Polyplastic Group in acquisition of a polymer pipe production company SIA Evopipes
- COBALT advises Latvian tech startup Cobook and its founders in acquisition by U.S. company FullContact Inc.
- COBALT advises Marginalen AB in the acquisition of consumer lending and leasing company AS GE Money
- BaltCap invests in the largest privately-owned postal operator in Latvia - Post Service Group
- Bite group companies refinance
- Advising BaltCap on the Investment in the Chain of Branded Coffee Shops Coffee Inn
- Advising Amserv Group in the acquisition of Adam Auto SIA
Guntars Zīle is singled out as a "real heavyweight in M&A" who has a "very thorough" approach. He acts for private equity and venture capital players and boasts an extensive track record in advising on some of the biggest transactions in the market.