Ioanna Lazaridou, Director of Corporate & Commercial Group| Kelemenis & Co , kelemenis.com |

Overview

Ioanna has been with the firm since 2004 and heads its Corporate & Commercial Group. She holds a LL.B. from the University of Athens and a LL.M. in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol.

Ioanna specializes in M&A, where she has built a strong background over the past few years in dealing with multi-million acquisitions in various sectors (e.g. tourism, energy and commercial real estate), for which she has dealt with demanding due diligence exercises, restructuring and refinancing projects, and numerous corporate governance matters and shareholding arrangements.

She has also been heavily involved in corporate and project finance and has been acting for both corporate clients and financial institutions in high-volume, cross-border transactions involving various jurisdictions and complex security mechanisms.

From a sectoral perspective, her main focus is on hotel & leisure and energy. Her in-depth knowledge of these particular sectors draws on her combined experience of regulatory, corporate and finance-related matters.

Ioanna is a recommended lawyer for corporate and commercial, M&A, energy, and project finance in many leading international legal directories (e.g. Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IFLR). According to Chambers Global 2013 and Chambers Europe 2013 “clients praise Ioanna Lazaridou for her proactivity, efficiency and practical mindset”.

Ioanna is authorized to appear before the Supreme Court of Greece.

Degrees

LL.B. (University of Athens);
LL.M. (University of Bristol)

Practice areas

Corporate & Commercial
M&A
Banking & Finance
Hotels & Leisure
Energy

Languages

English, Greek, German

Professional associations/memberships

Athens Bar Association, Multilaw, First Law International, Institute of Energy for Southeast Europe (IENE)

Indicative Clients & Cases

China Development Bank in a €94-million project finance facility in Greece
Warwick Capital, a London-based hedge fund, on the legal framework for cross-border acquisitions in the hotel sector in Greece
International travel company Youtravel.com throughout the acquisition of its majority shareholding by the FTI group, one of the largest German operators, and the subsequent restructuring of the Youtravel.com group
The FTI group on its entry into the Greek market
Aquis Hotels & Resorts on acquisitions in the hotel sector

Testimonials

Chambers Global 2015

Department head Ioanna Lazaridou-Elmaloglou is praised by clients for being “very efficient.” She focuses on high-value acquisitions and restructuring projects.

Chambers Global 2013 and Chambers Europe 2013

Clients praise Ioanna Lazaridou for her proactivity, efficiency and practical mindset. She heads the practice and focuses on M&A in particular.

IFLR1000 2013 (Project Finance)

The Kelemenis team is driven by the twin lights of Konstantina Soultati on the financing and capital markets side and Ioanna Lazaridou on corporate matters.

Legal 500 2012 (Energy)

Yannis Kelemenis and Ioanna Lazaridou at Kelemenis & Co are both well regarded for their energy work, whether it be on renewables or oil, gas and power.

Legal 500 2012 (Corporate and M&A)

Kelemenis & Co has a very strong following in the energy sector…. Tom Kyriakopoulos, Ioanna Lazaridou and Yannis Kelemenis are all recommended.

IFLR 1000 2011

Kelemenis & Co is one to watch. The firm has continued to grow in numbers and deepen its roots consolidating its position as an up-and-coming full service law firm. The firm maintains its ranking after strong recommendations from clients… Yannis Kelemenis, Tom Kyriakopoulos and Ioanna Lazaridou are all recommended by clients.

Publications

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Tourism” in Greek Law Digest

The ultimate legal guide to investing in Greece, Athens: Nomiki Bibliothiki, 2012, pp. 426- 431.

Ioanna Lazaridou and Athanasia Papantoniou, “Greece” in Dennis Campbell (ed.), International Execution against judgment Debtors, New York

Oceana (Oxford University Press), 2008, pp. GRE 1-GRE 17

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in Hans-Joachim Preis (ed.), Getting the Deal Through – Public Procurement 2010, London

Law Business Research, 2010, pp. 119-123.

Yannis Kelemenis, Ioanna Lazaridou and Tom Kyriakopoulos, "Greece" in Simon Robinson (ed.), The Mergers & Acquisitions Review 2009, 3rd edn, London

Law Business Research, 2009, pp. 217- 225.

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in Hans-Joachim Preis (ed.), Getting the Deal Through – Public Procurement 2009, London

Law Business Research, 2009, pp. 104-108.

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in PLC Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook 2008/2009, London

Practical Law Company, pp. 190-200.

Yannis Kelemenis and Ioanna Lazaridou, "Greece" in Simon Robinson (ed.), The Mergers & Acquisitions Review 2008, 2nd edn, London

Law Business Research, 2008, pp. 182-192.

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in Hans-Joachim Preis (ed.), Getting the Deal Through – Public Procurement 2008, London

Law Business Research, 2008, pp. 95-100.

Andreas Bagias and Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in PLC Mergers and Acquisitions Handbook 2007/2008, London

Practical Law Company, pp. 194- 204.

Yannis Kelemenis and Ioanna Lazaridou - Elmaloglou, "Greece" in Simon Robinson (ed.), The Mergers & Acquisitions Review 2007, London

Law Business Research, 2007, pp. 83- 90.

Ioanna Lazaridou, “Greece” in Hans-Joachim Preis (ed.), Getting the Deal Through – Public Procurement 2007, London

Law Business Research, 2007, pp. 81-87.