Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), a global private equity firm has acquired Creditinfo Group. Established in 1997 and headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide.

Fanney Frímannsdóttir, attorney at LEX Law Offices, acted as local counsel to LLCP on the acquisition.

Erla S. Arnadottir, partner at LEX and Maria Kristjansdóttir, Senior Associate are the authors of the Law and  Practice section for Iceland in the Pharmaceutical Advertising guide for 2021 that is published by Chambers and Partners.

Lára Herborg Ólafsdóttir, attorney and partner at LEX, wrote an article in the business section of the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið today about framework agreements, which are one of the options to handle various procurements by public bodies simultaneously. When concluding contracts for goods, projects or services on the basis of a framework agreement, it is prohibited to make significant changes to its terms. However, it may be permitted to change the contract and framework agreement without initiating a new procurement process, in specific circumstances, cf. Article 90 of the Public Procurement Act, Lára Herborg reviews these exceptions in the article.

Birgir Már Björnsson, attorney and partner at LEX Law Office, wrote an article in the business section of the Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið today where he discusses the status of wage claims of executives in the event of bankruptcy of a business and the courts’ interpretation of the condition of day-to-day management.

In the 2021 edition of World Trademark Review (WTR) LEX Law Offices receives immensely favourable review and is described as “reliable, highly professional and efficiently managed” and the
excellent work of Erla S. Árnadóttir, Hulda Árnadóttir and María Kristjánsdóttir are recognised.

„The “reliable, highly professional and efficiently managed” LEX Law Offices has been setting the standard for excellence in client care since its establishment. It has lately been going full steam ahead in prosecution and enforcement, with domestic and internationally renowned brands such as Reykjavik Excursions, Swatch, Vodafone Iceland and Iceland Dairies all relying on its precision portfolio management. Propelling LEX to great heights are Erla Árnadóttir and Hulda Árnadóttir. One of the nation’s foremost IP experts, the Supreme Court-admitted Erla has 37 years of experience to draw on; while Hulda brings additional firepower and a keen strategic eye to the table. She is currently representing oil trader Oliuverzlun Islands in three cases before the ISIPO and delivers the full range of services for Reykjavik Energy. Assisting her on the latter is the “extremely attentive, prompt and incisive María Kristjánsdóttir. She instils a sense of calm and confidence, even when significant hurdles seem insurmountable. Maria never lets you down and is fully transparent when it comes to costs and results”.“

María Kristjánsdóttir, attorney at LEX and Heiðrún Lind Marteinsdóttir, CEO of Fisheries Iceland, wrote an article in the Icelandic newspaper Viðskiptablaðið today. In the article, they discuss the importance of active competition for an efficient economy and in the interest of consumers.
The role of the Competition Authority, which monitors that mergers are not harmful to competition, is reviewed. The Competition Authority’s processing time in merger cases has long been criticized by the economy.

The article compares the procedure for mergers in Iceland with the practice of the European Union and, for comparison, briefly refers to the procedures of mergers in Norway. The merger procedure is divided into two separate and clear phases. Phase I counts 25 business days from the submission of a sufficient merger notification to the Competition Authority, and phase II counts an additional 90 business days. In both Norway and the EU, 2-3% of notified mergers are entered into phase II, while the proportion in Iceland was on average almost 44% in the period 2017-2020.

It is clear that the merger procedure in Iceland is much lengthier than in Norway and the EU and improvements are needed. It is not only in the interests of the business community that acquisition and sale of companies and business units proceed quickly, it also benefits consumers that competition is active and dynamic.

The Board of Directors of Síldarvinnslan has decided to start preparations for listing the company’s shares on the main market of Nasdaq Iceland and has hired Landsbankinn’s Corporate Finance to oversee the project. LEX Law Offices and the auditing firm EY will be responsible for conducting due diligence.

Síldarvinnslan put out an announcement on the company’s website today to that effect.

On 1st – 6th of February “UTmessan” 2021 will be digitally held. UTmessan is one of the largest IT events in Iceland and is both a conference and exhibition.

LEX has a digital booth you can visit here.

Today between 12 and 14 (GMT) – LEX will take over https://www.instagram.com/utmessan/ and we encourage you to watch us there.

LEX’s attorneys are among the country’s leading experts in the field of data protection, intellectual property, telecommunication- and information technology law and provide comprehensive services in these practice areas.

LEX also offers specialized services to companies that deal with software development and artificial intelligence, create databases or use technological solutions in their work, and provide services in the field of e-commerce and financial technology as well.

María Kristjánsdóttir, attorney at LEX and managing director of GH Sigurgeirsson IP – an affiliate of LEX, wrote an article in the Icelandic Newspaper Fréttablaðið yesterday where she discusses sound trademarks. After amendments to the Icelandic Trademark Act in September 2020, it is now possible to register non-traditional trademarks in Iceland, including sound trademarks.

María Kristjánsdóttir has been appointed as Managing Director of GH Sigurgeirsson Intellectual Property, an IP boutique subsidiary of LEX Law Offices.

María completed her Master of Laws degree from Reykjavik University in 2007 and an LL.M. degree in International Business and Trade Law from Fordham University School of Law in 2008. María is an attorney licensed to practice before the district courts in Iceland and has worked at LEX since 2008, mainly in the fields of intellectual property, competition law and data protection. Along with her work for LEX, María has worked for GH Sigurgeirsson since 2018, when LEX took over the operations of the company, thereof as Deputy Managing Director since March 2019.

María will be replacing Hulda Árnadóttir as Managing Director, who was appointed as a District Court Judge at the District Court of Reykjanes in January 2021.