PRK Partners has advised the Remy Cointreau Group on Czech and Slovak aspects of the sale of its Czech and Slovak distribution companies to Germany's Mast-Jagermeister. Germany's Luther law firm provided advice on German elements of the deal, which closed in April 2019. while Germany's Gutt Olk Feldhaus and Schoenherr in the Czech Republic and Slovakia reportedly advised Mast-Jagermeister. Financial details were not disclosed.

In a recent decision (Ra 2015/11/0113), the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court (VwGH) inter alia addressed the question whether the application of stem cell therapy violates Section 49 of the Austrian Act on the Medical Profession (Ärztegesetz, ArzteG), which requires physicians to treat patients "… in accordance with state of the art medical science and practice" and to at all times act in the best interest of the patients.

Schoenherr has advised South Korean investment fund KTB Investment & Securities and KTB Asset Management on the indirect acquisition of the T-Center, an office building in Vienna, from GENO Saturn Tower/T-Center Immobilienbeteiligungsholding GmbH & Co.OG and BEGO - ZWP GmbH. The sellers were advised by DSC Doralt Seist Csoklich Rechtsanwalte.

Starting or continuing a mining project has always been subject to various licensing requirements. However, an amendment to spatial planning laws that became effective on March 15, 2019 increases the regulatory challenges faced by investors by introducing a completely new condition for obtaining the local municipality’s blessing, even for operations that are already underway. Therefore, the aftermath of the most recent regulatory changes should not be underestimated, as the number of mining sites exceeds 800 in Hungary.

Schoenherr Sofia Managing Partner Alexandra Doytchinova starts by talking about what’s happening — or rather, what’s not happening — in the Bulgarian legal market. “Nothing has moved,” she says, "which is not surprising, because Bulgaria is very conservative in this respect. Firms splitting and merging happens once in five years, if at all. So there’s nothing happening there on this front.”

The Hungarian Government is considering creating new legislation to cover all kinds of insolvency proceedings, including bankruptcy, liquidation, winding-up, and dissolution proceedings. This move has been roundly welcomed, especially by creditors, as the current law is from 1991, and although it has been amended numerous times, it counts as an outdated and much-criticized piece of legislation.

Schoenherr has advised South Korean investment fund KTB Investment & Securities and its subsidiary KTB Asset Management on the acquisition of 100% of Liegenschaftsbesitz GmbH from GENO Saturn Tower/T-Center Immobilien beteiligungs holding GmbH & Co.OG and BEGO-ZWP GmbH. The sellers were advised by DSC Doralt Seist Csoklich.

Bulgarian anti-money laundering law requires that companies and other entities having their seat in Bulgaria register their ultimate beneficial owner(s). The registration is mandatory, and the deadline for registration is approaching. These obligations arise from the Bulgarian Anti-Money-Laundering Measures Act (2018) transposing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 (4th AML Directive) into national law.

Following the adoption of the new EU framework for screening of foreign direct investments (see Schoenherr Newsletter 13.03.2019), the Austrian government recently published a draft bill to amend the current rules on foreign direct investments (FDI) into Austria. This draft is currently under review and shall enter into force in summer 2019.

Croatia introduced significant changes to the Companies Act and the Court Register Act on 20 April 2019 with the main goal of easing the incorporation of (simple) limited liability companies ("ltd companies").

Jones Day and Schoenherr have advised Societe Generale on its sale of subsidiaries SKB Banka d.d. Ljubljana, SKB Leasing d.o.o., and SKB Leasing Select d.o.o. to OTP Bank Group. CMS advised OTP Bank Group on the deal.

In March 2019 the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) cleared the acquisition of Nova Broadcasting Group AD (Nova TV) by Advance Media Group EAD, which is owned by the well-known Bulgarian businesspeople Kiril and Georgi Domuschievi. On this decision, Nova's previous owner, Swedish entertainment company Modern Times Group (MTG), was finally able to sell the TV network and exit the Bulgarian market, after having been prohibited from doing so by the CPC in July 2018.

The Romanian Ministry of Energy recently finalised the public debate of a document outlining a new mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation, in the form of a Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme.

In July 2018, following an in-depth investigation and in a rather hasty and controversial decision, the Commission on the Protection of Competition ("CPC") prohibited the acquisition of the largest media conglomerate in Bulgaria, Nova Broadcasting Group AD ("Nova TV" or "Nova"), by PPF, owned by Czech businessman Petr Kellner.

EU Regulation 2017/460 (16 March 2017) has established a network code on harmonised transmission tariff structures (TAR NC). It defines, among other provisions, rules on reference price methodologies, publication and consultation requirements and the calculation of reserve prices for standardised-capacity products. Articles 26 and 28 require the national regulatory authority (NRA) or transmission system operators to carry out one or more consultations on the proposed reference price methodology and the resulting indicative reference prices as well as on the proposed discounts, multipliers and seasonal factors.

Scandals from Danske Bank to LuxLeaks and the Panama Papers would never have come to light were it not for insiders who dared to expose major wrongdoings within companies and organisations. Until recently, protection of whistleblowers in the EU has been fragmented across Member States and even across policy areas. The meagre protections granted to whistleblowers have been subject to constant criticism.

Last year was a good one for the automotive industry in Bulgaria. According to information from the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, a total of 12 projects worth more than EUR 500 million were in the process of implementation in late 2018 and early 2019. These projects are from companies like ETEM, Visteon, Leoni, Voss Automotive, Sensata, and Bosch; i.e. first-, second- and third-tier suppliers whose business is not solely tied to the automotive industry. According to the Cluster, the sector already covers more than 220 enterprises with a turnover of EUR 5 billion, which represents approximately 10% of Bulgaria’s GDP.

Unimpressed by Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square, Stela Pavlova and Katerina Kaloyanova have, in recent years, left positions with high-powered international law firms in London to return to their native Bulgaria and join Schoenherr’s office in Sofia. Both insist the trade-offs were less dramatic than many assume … and both credit Schoenherr Bulgaria’s Managing Partner Alexandra Doytchinova with making them feel right at home.