CMS has advised the Linamar Corporation on its acquisition of Dura-Shiloh’s battery enclosures factory in North Macedonia. The acquisition also included factories in the Czech Republic and the US, with a total transaction value of USD 325 million.

On February 19, 2024, Tosic & Jevtic and JPM Partners jointly announced their new strategic partnership, with the Serbia-headquartered firm expanding its presence to North Macedonia and Tosic & Jevtic becoming part of JPM Partners.

Harrisons, Maric & Co, Lambadarios, and Wolf Theiss, working with Linklaters, have advised a banking consortium led by UniCredit Bank London on the United Group's EUR 1.7 billion issuance of four tranches of senior secured and PIK notes as well as on the increase and extension of its EUR 410 million revolving credit facility. Selih & Partnerji, working with Paul Weiss, advised the United Group. Schoenherr, Koutalidis, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and Elvinger Hoss Prussen reportedly advised the United Group as well.

Did you know that, using the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, you can look up the 2023 deal leaderboards in each CEE market, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovenia?

Drakopoulos has become a part of the South East Legal Alliance, thus expanding the network’s reach to Athens, Bucharest, and Nicosia.

While the legal landscape in North Macedonia might be somewhat stagnant – due to 2024 being an election year – there are still challenging complexities to the judicial reforms on the table, as well as struggles with consistency and knowledge, according to Polenak Law Firm Partner Tanja Polenak.

Here, we will look at the draft tax reforms proposed by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in 2022 (Tax Reforms) that aims to ensure a fair, efficient, transparent, and modern tax system.

With CMS’s recently published European M&A Outlook report taking the temperature of the M&A activity across the continent, CMS Romania Managing Partner Horea Popescu and CMS Vienna Partner Alexander Rakosi share their insights on M&A trends in the CEE region.

In recent times, the global economic landscape has raised concerns about the potential onset of a recession. Consequently, businesses operating in North Macedonia are proactively seeking strategies for cost reduction and organizational restructuring.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) and the World Bank are among the international financial institutions spearheading a 3-billion-euro plan to wean North Macedonia off its reliance on coal. The “Just Energy Transition Investment Program” (JET-P) plan follows the footsteps of several other countries in efforts to retire coal power plants, with the joint support of the government, as well as public lenders and private investors.

Recent months in North Macedonia have brought notable proposals and draft laws for legislative changes and have seen thriving energy and financial sectors – but also a concerning lack of progress on the rule of law, impacting businesses and investment – according to Law Office Lazarov Managing Partner Dragan Lazarov.

On Friday, 17 November, the Minister for transport and communications of North Macedonia, Mr Blagoj Bochvarski, and the Minister for construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, Mr Goran Vesić, signed a Memorandum for the Construction of a Fast Railway from Niš to Skopje.

The concept of a digital workplace, characterized as an employment environment allowing employees to complete tasks, collaborate, and function as part of a team, irrespective of location, has been around for some time but has gained significant traction in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This surge in popularity can be substantially attributed to the measures enacted by the Macedonian Government to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

Tender Opportunities in North Macedonia

North Macedonia continues to align its laws with EU directives while introducing a solidarity tax and a food price freeze – both of which raise concerns, according to Debarliev, Dameski & Kelesoska Partner Jasmina Ilieva Jovanovik.

The end of September 2023 not only marked the close of the month but also heralded the replacement of Macedonia’s previous Law on Advocacy with a new substantially amended law. The new law, which entered into force on 3 October 2023, introduced significant amendments designed to elevate the level of practice of law in Macedonia.

In the era of digital technology, it is natural to contemplate the potential effects of the digital revolution on various aspects of life. Generative AI, although still in its development stage, is already causing the anticipated revolution in the markets. Generative AI is beginning to revolutionize the delivery of services and products and has already made significant strides in transforming how markets operate. It is not yet clear whether generative AI will cause competition law issues; however, based on experience with digital revolutions, it is worth noting that a few scenarios are possible that will disrupt the current competition law framework everywhere, including in North Macedonia.

Clifford Chance has advised KKCG Group's Technology pillar on the complete refinancing of its existing bank indebtedness and the further recapitalization of its members, including those in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Poland, and Serbia.