Boyanov & Co and Kalo & Associates have advised Albania Telecom Invest Bulgaria and One Telecommunications SHA Albania on a refinancing loan made by a club of banks including OTP Bank Hungary, DSK Bank Bulgaria, and Banka OTP Albania, for a principal amount of EUR 37 million with a maturity of 10 years. Wolf Theiss advised the lenders on the deal.

The global pandemic has impacted all markets, with subsequent ramifications for M&A. Investors are now seeking greater protection against general lock-downs and supply-chain disruptions, while governments aim to protect critical supplies and services by imposing new regulations on foreign investment in crucial or strategic industries.

Akin Gump, Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partneri, Maric & Co, Isailovic & Partners, Harrisons, Zdolsek Attorneys at Law, Boga & Associates, Popovski & Partners, and Forgo Damjanovic & Partners have advised Croatian conglomerate Fortenova Grupa d.d., on the EUR 615 million sale of its frozen food business to Nomad Foods. Norton Rose Fulbright, Lakatos, Koves & Partners, and five firms from the SEE Legal alliance advised Nomad Foods on the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Berlin-based VC firm Project A and Munich-based Senovo Capital and Schoenherr has advised Digital+ Partners on the USD 20 million financing round of Anyline. Brandl Talos advised Anyline on the deal.

Cerha Hempel, working with Gowling WLG as German counsel, has advised the SAN Group on the acquisition of Germany-based AniCon Labor GmbH and Campus Grundstucks GmbH. 

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Former Senior Associate Nikolay Artemyev has been promoted to Associate Partner at Borovtsov & Salei in Belarus.

On November 13, 2019, the Resolution of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus dated April 01, 2019 No. 9 “On electronic auction for the sale of property in economic insolvency (bankruptcy) proceedings” entered into force (the “Resolution”).

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

The matter on labour assignment has recently become topical in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), due to the increased need of business entities to hire staff who are not on their payrolls.

Bosnia & Herzegovina is finally seeing the breaking of a two-year-old deadlock that paralyzed its securities commission and halted business, says BH Legal Partner Jasmina Suljovic, underlining the most important recent development in the country.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Boyanov & Co, working alongside Mayer Brown, has advised Hungarian OTP Bank Plc and its Bulgarian subsidiary DSK Bank AD on a EUR 27.6 million club deal financing to MET Renewables AG for the acquisition of a 42-megawatt wind park in Northeast Bulgaria from Enel.

Schoenherr has advised Swiss-based media company Ringier on the acquisition of a majority stake in Bulgarian sports news portal z Sportal Media Group – and an affiliated IT company behind the international Sports Content Management System, Sportal365 – Digital Ventures OOD. Jordanov, Valkov & Partners advised the seller, Mr. Angel Stoyanov Shishkov, on the deal.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka has advised the IFC on its EUR 75 million investment in bonds issued by the Erste & Steiermarkische Bank.

Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka has advised the United Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in Optima Telekom from Hrvatski Telekom and Zagrebacka Banka. Madirazza and Partners advised Hrvatski Telekom and Zagrebacka Banka.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Havel & Partners and Sorainen have advised PriceHubble on its acquisition of Realtify. Sparring advised Realtify on the transaction.

Dentons has advised Draslovka on the acquisition of the sodium cyanide business from South African petrochemicals company Sasol. Bowmans advised Sasol on the deal.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Kyriakides Georgopoulos has advised Alpha Bank on a PPP project refinancing for the Attica Schools project.

Zepos & Yannopoulos has advised the Unilever Group on the sale of its Greek tomato product business unit to Minerva.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

By ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights in 1992, Hungary has committed itself to ensure the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time and to guarantee the right to an effective remedy for any violation of this right. In its judgment in Gazso v. Hungary, the European Court of Human Rights called on Hungary to establish a domestic remedy capable to handle the structural deficiencies identified in the judgment. As a result, at the end of June 2021, a new Act on the Enforcement of Material Compensation for Delay in Civil Proceedings was published in the Hungarian Official Gazette, which will enter into force on 1 January 2022. The Act establishes a new legal remedy for compensation for fundamental rights violations, called ‘material compensation’ which is different from the general compensation (in Hungarian: “kartalanitas”), indemnification or non-pecuniary compensation (in Hungarian: “serelemdij”).

Baker McKenzie has advised Swiss Post on its acquisition of a majority stake in Tresorit. DLA Piper advised Tresorit on the deal.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Ellex Raidla has advised HHL Group on the acquisition of 4 million shares of Ekspress Grupp from KJK Fund SICAV-SIF. Cobalt reportedly advised SICAV on the deal.

Ellex Raidla has advised Superangel on investing in Estonian startup FleetGuru.

RPHS has helped the Moxico Luma Kosova Mining consortium from the UK and Poland obtain strategic investor status in Kosovo.

Acquisition of property ownership in Kosovo is regulated by the Law on Property and Other Real Rights. The Law on Property, along with the Law on Cadaster, sets out the process of acquisition and registration of property in Kosovo. The Law on Property regulates the creation, content, transfer, protection, and termination of real rights, while the Law on Cadaster regulates the basis for the registration and recognition of the real rights by creating cadastral units for parcels, buildings, part of buildings, and utilities.

Draft legislation, including a draft law to create a Commercial Court and a draft Civil Code, is at the top of the agenda for lawyers in Kosovo, according to Ramaj, Palushi, Hajdari & Salihu Partner Mentor Hajdaraj, who also points to several ongoing foreign investment disputes of significance to the country's overall FDI strategy.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Ellex and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have advised the Baltic Classifieds Group on its IPO and listing on the London Stock Exchange. Clifford Chance advised sponsor and global coordinator and joint bookrunner BofA Securities and joint bookrunner BNP Paribas.

Cobalt has advised VPH Latvia on the development of a shopping center on Valdeku street in Riga.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

TGS Baltic has advised Greituolis on the sale of 67% of the shares of its online grocery retail platform LastMile to Iki. Walless advised the buyer on the deal.

Havel & Partners and Sorainen have advised PriceHubble on its acquisition of Realtify. Sparring advised Realtify on the transaction.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

With the enactment of the new Law on Personal Data Protection (“Law”) in 2020, North Macedonia largely harmonized its data protection legislation with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

CMS has advised Thor Impex – the project company for the Bogoslovec 36 Megawatt wind farm in North Macedonia – on a EUR 51 million financing from a club of banks led by the Erste Bank. White & Case advised the lenders.

Sayenko Kharenko, Turcan Cazac, Linklaters, and Homburger have advised joint lead managers and bookrunners Citigroup, ING, and Renaissance Capital on the USD 400 million issuance of 8.45% secured notes due 2026 by the Trans-Oil Group of Companies. Gladei & Partners, Baker McKenzie, Arthur Cox, and Harneys Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis advised the issuer and the guarantors.

The chain of general contractor and subcontractors behind large-scale construction and the occasional failure of certain subcontractors to obtain proper payment gave birth to the institution of construction payment agent, a form of collateral management. It was typical in the construction industry that subcontractors were exposed to circle debt. The construction payment agent is a unique statutory solution to eliminate such debts.

Cobzac & Partners has successfully represented Latvia's SIA Fertco fertilizer distributor in its attempt to obtain the partial annulment of an arbitral award in Moldova's courts.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Even though it’s been a year since its parliamentary elections, the outcome still seems to be the talk of the town and the biggest influence on business in Montenegro, according to Schoenherr Partner Slaven Moravcevic. 

Wolf Theiss and Spain's Uria Menendez have advised Spain's Glovo on its EUR 170 million acquisition of Delivery Hero's food delivery service businesses in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia. Cuatrecasas advised Delivery Hero.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Alliott Global Alliance members Woloszanski & Partners and Ellisons Solicitors have advised Web Shield on the sale of its shares in the Web Shield Group to Swedish ZignSec AB. Eversheds Sutherland advised the buyer.

BWHS Wojciechowski Springer i Wspolnicy has successfully represented Magna Polonia S.A. in an eight-year competition court dispute with Emitel S.A.

Mihaela Gherghe has been promoted to Partner with Rizoiu & Poenaru.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Dentons has advised the NEPI Rockcastle Group on two loans from the IFC and a bank syndicate led by BRD-Groupe Societe Generale and the Garanti Bank. Allen & Overy London reportedly advised the IFC and CMS Bucharest advised the banks.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Dentons has advised the EuroChem Group on a project financing for the construction of an ammonia plant in Kingisepp, Russia, from a bank syndicate consisting of VEB.RF, Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, and Otkritie FC Bank. Linklaters Moscow advised the banks.

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners has advised US-based chemical corporation 3M on Russian legal aspects of personal data processing and website cookies.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

On 24 May 2021, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted the amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction (“Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 52/2021), which entered into force on 25 May 2021.

DLA Piper has advised Gazprom Export on the acquisition of Centrex Europe & Energy Gas AG from Gazprombank.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Havel & Partners and Sorainen have advised PriceHubble on its acquisition of Realtify. Sparring advised Realtify on the transaction.

Z/C/H Legal has advised ZDR Investments on its acquisition from an undisclosed seller of a Tesco hypermarket and a logistics park in the Slovak cities of Presov and Senec, respectively.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Karmen Rebesco law firm, working with Allen & Overy, has advised mandated lead arranger Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. on the provision of a EUR 148 million syndicated loan to members of the SIJ Group. Dentons and Jadek & Pensa advised the SIJ Group on the deal.

Selih & Partners has advised OTP on the acquisition of Nova KBM bank in Slovenia from Apollo and EBRD. Paul Weiss and Wolf Theiss advised the sellers on the deal.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

Havel & Partners has advised Compass Europe on forming a joint venture with Fipol Deniz Araclari ve Turizm Plastik Sanayi Ticaret AS. Ozderin Law Firm has reportedly advised Fipol on the deal.

With entry into force of the "Law on the Amendment of the Code of Criminal Procedure and Some Other Codes" ["Amendment Law"] published in the Official Gazette dated July 14, 2021, the terms in the Administrative Procedural Law No. 2577 [“APL”] regulating the silence of the administration against the applications filed are shortened by half. In addition, some crucial changes were introduced to the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 ["TPC"] and the Criminal Procedural Law No. 5271.

CMS' Malgorzata Surdek-Janicka has been appointed as Vice-President of the International Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Aside from Surdek-Janicka, 33 lawyers from CEE were appointed as members and alternate members of the court.

CMS Kyiv has helped Stakelogic obtain a B2B supplier license from the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries in Ukraine.

LCF Law Group has advised Scatec Solar on the launch of a 148-megawatt solar power plant located in the Mykolaiv region.