BAHR named Norwegian M&A Legal Adviser of the Year by Mergermarket

BAHR was named “Norway M&A Legal Adviser of the Year” on Tuesday evening at the Mergermarket European M&A Awards ceremony in London.

The Mergermarket European M&A Awards recognise excellence in corporate, private equity, banking and legal mergers and acquisitions (M&A) expertise across a number of European jurisdictions.

Nominations are reviewed by a panel of editors from Mergermarket, as well as European industry experts, who analyse how innovative structures are applied to M&A transactions.

In Mergermarket’s M&A overview for 2022, BAHR was ranked number one among Norwegian law firms with the most transactions (128).

Øystein Guvåg and Kamilla Kristiansen represented BAHR at the awards ceremony.

Eirik Basmo Ellingsen made BAHR partner

We are pleased to announce that Eirik Basmo Ellingsen has been appointed new BAHR partner.

Eirik is the head of BAHR’s IP practice and deputy head of BAHR’s Technology group. Eirik has substantial experience with IP disputes and litigation. He has proved himself to be an eminent patent litigator and has acted as lead counsel on high profile cases in recent years. Eirik’s practice is primarily focused on contentious matters and advice relating to technology, including technology development, R&D agreements, license agreements, as well as the acquisition and divestment of technology companies. He advises Norwegian and international clients within a range of sectors, including energy, fisheries and aquaculture, life sciences, IT and digital innovation.

Eirik holds a Master of Law from the University of Oslo (2013), where he wrote his masters thesis on indirect patent infringement, which was later published in the peer reviewed Nordic intellectual property law review NIR (Nordiskt Immaterielt Rättsskydd).

BAHR is the only Norwegian law firm ranked Tier 1 in all categories in World Tax 2024

International Tax Review (ITR) has once again recognized BAHR for providing high-quality Tax and Legal services in its 2024 World Tax tier ranking guide. ITR awards tier rankings to firms that have significant depth of resources, experience, and range of specialism.
  • General corporate tax
  • Transactional tax
  • Indirect tax
  • Tax controversy
  • Energy
  • Shipping

 

Alongside the firm’s recognition, 8 of our lawyers have won recognition within their respective areas of expertise:

 

Joachim M. Bjerke

  • WT – Highly Regarded
  • World TP – Highly Regarded

 

Jan B. Jansen

  • WT – Highly Regarded

 

Anne Sofie Bjørkholt

  • WT – Highly Regarded
  • Women in Tax Leader

 

Peter Hammerich

  • WT – Highly Regarded

 

Ole Andreas Dimmen

  • WT – Highly Regarded

 

Camilla Jøtun

  • WT – Highly Regarded

 

Camilla Hammer Solheim

  • WT – Highly Regarded
  • Women in Tax Leader

 

Simen Skjold Søgaard

  • WT – Highly Regarded

 

View the full ranking guide here.

BAHR top ranked in IFLR 1000, 2023

BAHR is once again top ranked, Tier 1, in all categories by International Financial Law Review (IFLR). Both our practices and and a record number of individual lawyers have received top-tier rankings based on their achievements over the past 12 months.

Tier 1 categories:

  • Banking and Finance
  • Capital Markets: Debt
  • Capital Markets: Equity
  • M&A
  • Project Development

 

Read all of BAHR’s rankings in IFLR 1000, 2023 here.

Kapitalforvaltning og Private Equity | Advokatfullmektig

Kapitalforvaltning er en bransje i kraftig vekst både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Bransjen står for mye av verdiskapingen i Norge og bidrar til å skape tusenvis av arbeidsplasser hvert eneste år. Kapitalforvaltningsbransjen har også en viktig rolle i det et grønne skiftet. I årene fremover vil institusjonelle investorer plassere mye kapital hos kapitalforvaltere som investerer i infrastruktur og bærekraftige selskaper.

Advokatfirmaet BAHR er markedsledende innen kapitalforvaltning og private equity. For mer enn 15 år siden etablerte vi en virksomhetsgruppe som utelukkende bistår kapitalforvaltere. Vi jobber bredt og bistår i forbindelse med etablering av fond, med regulatoriske spørsmål, compliance, skatt, ESG, det grønne skiftet, kjøp og salg av selskaper og mye mer. Arbeidet er utpreget internasjonalt og vi jobber mot en rekke jurisdiksjoner. I den sist publiserte Prospera-undersøkelsen for advokater, har næringslivet i Norge pekt på BAHR som det ledende firmaet i kategorien Private Equity. Dette er tiende året på rad hvor BAHR havner helt på topp. Vi jobber ofte i grenselandet mellom juss og kommersielle vurderinger. Så over tid vil man tilegne seg ikke bare juridisk kompetanse, men også kommersiell forståelse.

Vi skal bli flere!

BAHRs virksomhetsgruppe for kapitalforvaltning og private equity består i dag av 24 medarbeidere som jobber mye for å oppnå ekstraordinære resultater for våre klienter. Oppdragsmengden er økende, og vi skal nå ansette enda flere engasjerte lagspillere.

Dersom du kan huke av for noen av disse punktene, vil vi høre fra deg

  • Du ønsker å utvikle deg faglig gjennom å jobbe sammen med noen av landets fremste advokater i krevende oppdrag for ledende bransjeaktører.
  • Du har vilje og lyst til å yte nødvendig innsats over tid for å bli en dyktig advokat innenfor dette feltet.
  • Du er interessert i å jobbe med tilgrensende rettsområder, f.eks. selskapsrett, kontraktsrett, skatterett og annen formuerett.
  • Du har forståelse for at det viktigste bidraget til din personlige utvikling og fremgang må komme fra deg selv – gjennom dedikasjon, pågangsmot og fokusert arbeid over tid.
  • Du er i dag enten nyutdannet, jobber i et annet advokatfirma eller hos offentlige myndigheter.

Karriere i BAHR

Vi legger ned mye innsats i tett oppfølging og individuell utvikling av hver enkelt medarbeider. Gjennom daglig oppdragsutførelse, samt deltakelse i BAHRacademy og undervisningsopplegg i samarbeid med University of Cambridge, vil du få muligheten til å utvikle deg til en topp forretningsadvokat. Det vil gi deg god ballast for videre karriere enten hos oss eller i ledende stillinger andre steder.

Søknadsfrist: 15.10. Vi gjør oppmerksom på at vi behandler søknader fortløpende.

Vil du vite mer?

Ta kontakt med partner Peter Hammerich, partner Camilla Jøtun eller Head of People and Organisational Development Merete Williams Berge.

Søk her

Elin Moen made BAHR partner

We are delighted to welcome our former senior associate Elin Moen back to BAHR – now as a partner. Elin has a distinguished competition law track record and brings extensive experience in managing large and complex competition law proceedings and processes, both in Norway and internationally, to the firm.

As Senior IP and Competition Counsel with OSE-listed international media group Schibsted, Elin has been at the core of several major EU cases involving US technology gigants. She has broad experience in strategic advocacy work, in particular from pursuing public policy objectives related to digitalization and the ongoing modernization of the competition law toolbox. Recently, Elin was  part of the core legal team when the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled in favour of Schibsted in the first merger case to reach the Norwegian Court system.

Elin’s professional experience also includes serving as a member of the Norwegian Competition Appeals Tribunal, as well as deputy judge at district court level.

Complementing her competition law focus, Elin also assists on a variety of IP-related and regulatory matters in the life sciences.

Elin holds a Master of Law from UiT The Arctic University of Norway (2006), as well as an LLM in Competition Law from King’s College London (2007).

Silje Remøy ny Specialist Partner i BAHR

Vi har gleden av å ønske Silje Remøy velkommen som Specialist Partner i BAHR. Hun vil være tilknyttet firmaets OCEAN-gruppe og lokalisert i Bergen.

Silje har over 15 års erfaring som advokat, både fra advokatfirma og de siste årene som konsernadvokat i Hordafor og Pelagia, hvor hun har opparbeidet seg betydelig kompetanse innen kommersielle og strategiske forhold.

BAHR er en sentral rådgiver til sjømatnæringen og bistår jevnlig med regulatoriske spørsmål, operasjonelle forhold og transaksjoner i sektoren. Sjømatnæringen er en fremtidsnæring i Norge, med store muligheter innen nye produksjonsformer og -områder, teknologi og digitalisering. Vi bistår næringen med alt fra myndighetsprosesser til innovative samarbeidsprosjekter. Med sin betydelige erfaring og bransjekunnskap fra sentrale aktører i fiskeri- og havbruksnæringen, vil Silje ytterligere styrke BAHR sin satsing mot sjømatnæringen og kystnæringene.

BAHR top ranked in Legal 500 EMEA 2023

BAHR is once again ranked amongst the leading law firms in Europe in The Legal 500’s EMEA guide 2023, which were released on Wednesday.

Both our practices and individual lawyers have received top-tier rankings based on their achievements over the past 12 months.

 

The following practice areas have been awarded Tier 1:

  • Banking and finance
  • Commercial, corporate and M&A
  • Dispute resolution
  • Employment
  • Energy, Electricity & Renewable Energy
  • Energy, Oil & Gas
  • EU and competition
  • Insolvency and corporate recovery
  • Insurance
  • Maritime Law
  • Offshore Construction and Shipbuilding
  • Real estate
  • Regulatory, Compliance & Investigations
  • Tax

 

Tier 2 has been awarded to:

  • Capital markets
  • Construction
  • Fishing and aquaculture
  • Intellectual property and media

 

Read all of BAHR’s rankings in Legal 500 EMEA 2023 here.

Tax | The Norwegian Government’s Proposed Resource Rent Tax on Aquaculture

In September 2022, the Norwegian Government sent out for consultation a proposal for the introduction of a resource rent tax on aquaculture. The proposal sparked significant debate in the aquaculture industry, and the Ministry of Finance received more than 400 consultation submissions. A significant concern was that the introduction of such tax – with a very high tax rate combined with non-neutral features - will hinder further growth and crucial future investments in the businesses. The seafood industry is Norway’s second largest export industry. The Government has now presented its proposal for a resource rent tax (special tax) at an effective rate of 35% (on top of the regular 22% corporate tax) to the Norwegian Parliament. The final enactment is expected in June 2023. The new tax regime is suggested to enter into force retroactively from 1 January 2023.

In this newsletter, we summarize the main features of the proposal. A version of the newsletter in Norwegian can be found here.

1. Tax rate

The effective special tax rate has been proposed at 35% (compared to 40% which was the proposal in the consultation paper presented in 2022). If this is adopted, the effective marginal tax rate (including the corporate income tax of 22%) will be 57%. As the corporate income tax will be deductible in the special tax, the formal tax rate for the special tax will be 44.9 %.

2. Scope of the resource rent tax

The special tax is a tax on returns from ordinary commercial aquaculture licenses in the sea for the production of salmon, trout and rainbow trout. Aquaculture licenses pertaining to offshore aquaculture and for special purposes such as development licenses and research licenses is not covered by the proposed scope. Aquaculture on land is also excluded.

3. Cash flow taxation

The special tax is designed as a cash flow tax, where revenues and investments are taxed on an ongoing basis in the year in which they are earned/incurred. Hence, investments can be deducted immediately instead of being capitalized and subject to depreciation. This is a similar system as has already been introduced for the petroleum sector and for hydroelectric power plants in Norway.

4. The calculation of income from the sale of salmon, trout and rainbow trout

Gross income from the sale of salmon, trout and rainbow trout shall be based on fixed prices (norm prices) determined by an independent price board. For tax purposes, the price board will set the market price of the fish at the time when the fish is removed from the pen. The original (and heavily criticized) proposal of setting norm prices based on the Nasdaq index has -not surprisingly) – been abandoned in the current proposition.

The aim is for the price board to determine the prices from 2024 and onwards. In 2023, and in subsequent years to the extent the price board has not set a norm price, the taxpayers must determine the market price at the point of extraction themselves.

However, subject to certain conditions, the Government will accept pricing based on long-term fixed-price contracts for determining the gross income.

The gross income subject to special tax will be calculated by multiplying the market value of the fish on the point of extraction from the pen by the slaughtered volume.

5. Deductions in the resource rent tax

The operating expenses related to the sea production phase can be deducted directly in the special tax. This applies for expenses such as the purchase of smolt, feed, lice- and disease treatments, etc. Costs attributable to activities after the point of extraction cannot be deducted in the special tax, thus excluding costs related to the transport, slaughter, processing, marketing and the like.

Moreover, the value of aquaculture licenses cannot be deducted; however, a template deduction in revenue will be permitted for licenses purchased at auction in 2018/2020 and allocated at fixed prices in 2020.

5.1 Investments in business assets (and transitional rules)

The Government proposes immediate deductions in the special tax basis for investments in business assets at the time the cost is incurred. Hence, the taxpayer will not need to wait until the asset has been delivered/completed (as originally proposed in the consultation document).

However, the right to immediate investment deductions (cash-flow taxation) only applies to assets that are exclusively used in the sea phase (e.g. investments in physical installations such as cages, floating modules, feed installations, etc.).

Investments in business assets that are only partly used in the sea phase may only be deducted in the special tax in accordance with the general depreciation rules. If the company uses the business asset partly for its own sea phase activities and partly to produce for sale externally, the depreciation in the resource rent tax must be limited accordingly.

The suggested transitional rules only allow for the remaining tax values of historical investments (before the introduction of the special tax) to be deducted in the special tax through depreciation (with no immediate deduction) of the remaining tax values. Moreover, there is no deduction for the value of the biomass in the sea as per 31 December 2022. This is perceived as particularly unbalanced by the fish farming companies – as the revenue from the same biomass will be subject to resource rent taxation.

6. Treatment of tax losses

Instead of annual reimbursements of the tax value of losses, as seen in the abovementioned tax regimes for the petroleum sector and hydropower sector, the Government proposes a duty to carry the tax losses forward (subject to risk-free interest) for use against any profits in later tax years. This will not be perceived as neutral by the companies making the relevant investments.

The tax value of carry-forward losses will be reimbursed upon the cessation of the aquaculture business subject to the special tax. The Ministry of Finance has stated that it will look further into how this claim against the Government can be used a security for the taxpayer’s financing.

7. Tax free allowance

The Government has proposed a standard tax free allowance set at NOK 70 million at group level (where groups owned by the same or related individuals are also identified). The principle of such deduction has been criticized as it is politically motivated and could potentially cause structural/corporate adaptations and result in differing ability and willingness to bid on biomass capacity in auction rounds based on the size of the company. These are not consequences one would expect from a neutral tax regime.

8. Next steps

The proposal has now been sent to the Parliament, where it will be subject to the review of the Parliament’s Financial Committee. The Government has emphasized its desire for a wide consensus in the Parliament, and the industry is hopeful that substantial amendments to the current proposal will be made. The Committee has arranged a public hearing of the proposal on 17 April 2023 and is expected to present its recommended resolution to the Parliament by 16 May 2023. The proposal es expected to be adopted by the Parliament before the summer of this year, most likely in June 2023.

BAHR top ranked in Chambers Europe 2023

BAHR is once again ranked amongst the leading law firms in Europe by Chambers Europe 2023 rankings. Both our practices and individual lawyers have received top-tier rankings based on their achievements over the past 12 months.

BAHR is ranked Band 1 in 8 categories and Band 2 in 8 categories:

Band 1

  • Banking & Finance
  • Capital Markets: Equity
  • Competition/Antitrust
  • Corporate/M&A
  • Energy: Oil & Gas
  • Real Estate
  • Restructuring/Insolvency
  • Tax

 

Band 2

  • Capital Markets: Debt
  • Construction
  • Corporate Compliance & Investigations
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Employment
  • Energy: Renewables
  • Intellectual Property
  • Shipping

 

Read all of BAHR’s rankings in Chambers Europe 2023 here.

Chambers Europe ranks lawyers and law firms across Europe. Chambers and Partners rankings are based on in-depth analysis gathered by experienced team of researchers. We thank our clients for their trust and reviews.

 

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