Paksoy and CMS affiliate Yalcin Babalioglu Kemahli have advised Turkish tile manufacturer Kaleseramik on its IPO and Borsa Istanbul listing.

CMS has advised YGY Industries on the sale of the 229-megawatt St. George greenfield solar plant in Bulgaria's Silistra municipality to Rezolv Energy. Boyanov & Co and, reportedly, Clifford Chance advised Rezolv Energy.

Koutalidis, working with CMS, has advised the Olympia Group on the acquisition of the remaining stake in Triathlon Holding, via its subsidiary Sunlight Group.

From the resolution of election uncertainties and the surge in M&A transactions to the focus on ESG matters and the country’s alignment with EU regulations, Turkey is positioning itself as an attractive destination for foreign investors, while also increasing the volume of outbound investments, according to Yalcin Babalioglu Kemahli in cooperation with CMS Managing Partner Done Yalcin.

Did You Know that a total of 14 partners at Bulgarian law firms have worked on multiple client matters in that country so far this year? That group is led by Boris Teknedzhiev of Tokushev & Partners, who has worked on five reported Bulgarian client matters in 2023.

DWF has advised ONDE on the acquisition of two photovoltaic projects with a total capacity of 23 megawatts, located in Lower Silesia. CMS reportedly advised the sellers.

DZP has advised Qair Polska on a 15-year corporate power purchase agreement with Zabka Polska. Reportedly, CMS advised Zabka Polska.

Did You Know that 12 firms in Central and Eastern Europe worked on more than 16 client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in the first half of the year? According to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, two firms worked on more than 40 client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in the first six months of 2023: Schoenherr, which worked on 42, and Clifford Chance, which worked on 41.

DLA Piper has advised Bracia Sadownicy and its founders on joining forces with minority investor Syntaxis Capital – providing a mezzanine loan – to acquire Victoria Cymes. Grant Thornton advised both the buyer and the investor on due diligence for the target. CMS reportedly advised Syntaxis Capital.

GNZ Legal Gorzelnik Nentwig Ziebinski has advised Modus Asset Management on its ten-year virtual power purchase agreement to supply 50 gigawatt-hours of solar energy per year to off-taker Zabka Polska. CMS reportedly advised Zabka Polska.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and stay up to date with the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas. 

For many years, we have witnessed how the laws of England and Wales were introduced in the Montenegrin financial legal system by the application of Loan and Market Association (LMA) templates in financing transactions. It was usually the lenders insisting on having the LMA standards in the loan agreement and for the laws of England and Wales to govern the loan agreement.

Before the introduction of the latest amendments to the Company Law of the Republic of North Macedonia (Company Law) on April 29, 2022, it stipulated that only loans provided by sole shareholders to their companies may be converted into share capital.  The practice of conversion overseen by the Central Registry of North Macedonia (CRM) was strict. For example, loans taken over by the shareholder from the companies of the same group were considered ineligible for conversion. 

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With the first quarter of 2023 wrapped up, we turned to the future and asked: In which practice area do you expect the most growth – in terms of work volume – in the next 12 months?

With ESG gradually coming into focus, companies, industries, and whole countries are looking to the TMT sector for guidance. CMS Ukraine Partner Olga Belyakova and CMS Bosnia and Herzegovina Counsel Sanja Voloder share their insights.

CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz has established a dedicated, separate competence center for English law – to serve its operations across CEE and SEE countries – with members including Vienna-based Partners Marcell Clark, Alexander Rakosi, and David Kohl and Solicitor Anna Freund.

Did You Know that a total of 11 law firms have worked on four or more reported Energy/Natural Resources deals in CEE so far this year? According to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, the leaderboard is led by Norton Rose Fulbright, which has worked on ten Energy/Natural Resources deals reported since January 1, 2023.

Former DWF Partner Rafal Morek has joined CMS's dispute resolution team in Poland as Partner, along with Jan Markiewicz as Counsel and Andrzej Girdwoyn as Associate.