Latvia's legal and business landscape is bustling with movement, from updates in corporate law to major M&A deals and long-anticipated IPO developments, according to Law Firm Leimanis.eu Managing Partner Raivis Leimanis.
"There have been some notable – though not revolutionary – changes in the Latvian Commercial Law which entered into force on July 16, 2025," Leimanis begins. "The registration process for capital companies has become more convenient with fewer documents required by the Register of Enterprises, both when founding a company and when increasing its share capital. For example, from now on, a certificate from a payment service provider confirming the payment of share capital in cash is required only if the amount exceeds EUR 50,000. In the case of a contribution in kind, the value of the property contributed to the share capital may now be assessed by the founders themselves – or, in certain cases, by the company's management board," he says. "These amendments reflect a clear trend toward reducing bureaucracy and modernizing the regulatory framework for businesses in Latvia."
As for the M&A Front, Leimanis reports that it has been a very dynamic time. "The standout is undoubtedly the acquisition of the Rimi Baltic Group across all three Baltic countries, which closed this June. Valued at EUR 1.3 billion, it's the largest deal in the Baltics in a decade." Overall, Leimanis says, transaction volumes are slightly down and deal values are up, "largely thanks to landmark deals like the Rimi acquisition. In Q1 of 2025, we had 14 deals valued at USD 1.7 billion, which is rare for Latvia. The momentum has slowed down in Q2, nevertheless, green tech, IT & consumer, and regional consolidation-focused deals are expected to remain strong throughout the year."
Furthermore, Leimanis reports on another major move on the markets, the AirBaltic IPO. "This process is probably the most closely watched development right now. Since the government took over the airline in 2011, it has required constant capital injections. There's been an ongoing public debate about whether it's sustainable to have a majority state-owned airline, particularly when it’s consistently in need of hundreds of millions in support," Leimanis says. "AirBaltic is one of the pioneers in the Latvian government's broader discussion around listing state- and municipally-owned companies on the stock exchange, a practice already underway in Estonia and Lithuania. The idea is to tap into the estimated EUR 10 billion of underutilized private capital in Latvia. AirBaltic issued bonds at a mouth-watering 14.5% rate, the highest in the Baltics. Even major fintech corporations with high margins don't face such expensive borrowing, a sign of how risky the market views this asset," he explains. "Lufthansa recently received clearance from German competition authorities to acquire a minority stake in AirBaltic, which adds another layer of interest to the IPO trajectory. "
Assessing how broader economic and political factors affect businesses, Leimanis says that Latvia remains deeply intertwined with EU policy, especially on sanctions enforcement tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "Even three years in, we're still seeing sanctions-related seizures at the border, with over 300 criminal cases tied to violations. A key development has been the introduction of a EUR 10,000 threshold, below which violations may be treated as administrative rather than criminal. Still, even minor infractions often lead to seizure of goods, and the approach is stricter than in many other countries," he says.
