On 1 February 2021, the Slovak Ministry of Economy submitted an investment screening proposal to the government. This proposal was approved by the National Council (with amendments) on 5 February 2021 and is scheduled to enter in force on 1 March 2021.

Dentons, reportedly working with Law & Trust, has advised Slovak businessman Ivan Chrenko on the sale of his stake in Exponea to the US-based BloomReach e-commerce digital platform. Ferro Legal and Blumenfeld Legal advised Exponea, and Wilson Sonsini and Taylor Wessing reportedly advised the buyer on the deal.

Slovakia’s political life is currently marked by the government's internal struggles, says Martin Magal, Managing Partner at Allen & Overy Bratislava. “We have a fairly inept coalition government and our politicians are much more involved in fighting among each other than fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

What changes must employers expect with respect to employee alimentation, working from home, employee intragroup assignment, or employing teenagers before their completion of compulsory education? The latest amendment of the Slovak Labour Code introduces several changes, establishes a new ground for dismissal, and also significantly modifies the regulation of collective labour relations.

On January 12, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Slovak Republic confirmed the verdict delivered by the Specialized Criminal Court in February 2020 on the forging of four promissory notes of private television broadcaster TV Markiza. Businessman Marian Kocner and former minister Pavol Rusko, a onetime owner of TV Markíza, were accused of forging the promissory notes and using them to demand EUR 69 million from the television station. Both Kocner and Rusko were convicted of forging the promissory notes and were each sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment. Dentons' Litigation team in Bratislava represented TV Markiza in the case.

Havel & Partners has advised the Premium Design Group on its acquisition of 100% of the shares in the manufacturing cooperative Javorina.

Stetom has advised Slovak private equity group Eastfield on the restructuring and subsequent sale of the Raevskoe winery, together with vineyards and agricultural land plots in Anapa, in the Black Sea coast region, to the Krasnodarzernoprodukt Group.

Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka, working alongside Allen & Overy, has advised J&T Bank, the arranger on a public offering of senior secured bonds. 

Kinstellar has advised Austria's KA Finanz on the sale of a Greek municipal loan portfolio to Piraeus Bank.

The Wise 3 law firm — consisting of 20 fee-earners, led by four founding partners coming together from three other firms — has opened its doors for business in Bratislava.

Clifford Chance’s Prague office has helped the Sazka Group obtain a EUR 640 million senior secured loan. Allen & Overy advised the unidentified lenders on the deal, along with, reportedly, the Bernitsas Law Firm in Greece, Georgiades & Pelides in Cyprus, and CMS Reich Rohrwig Hainz in Austria.

Over the course of our seven years, CEE Legal Matters has interviewed most of the British lawyers working on the ground in Central and Eastern Europe as part of our recurring “Expat on the Market” feature. We reached out to them recently and asked them to bring us up to speed on what they’re doing and/or share their thoughts on the ramifications of Brexit or the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Allen & Overy has advised Cisco on the acquisition of Slovakia-based Sli.do from Instando, Anton Zajac, Hewor Property Management, and Kenneth Patrick Ryan. Dentons advised the sellers on the deal.

According to Kinstellar Bratislava Partner Viliam Mysicka, the Covid pandemic has posed a significant challenge for Slovakia's government. “The government was formed just before the March 2020 lockdown happened, and the majority of the ministers are new,” he says. “They have more experience as CEOs than as politicians.”

The Czech Republic's Masek, Koci, Aujezdsky has joined forces with the Slovak Republic's Nosko & Partners to form MKA Nosko, serving clients in both countries. 

Although in use long before, on January 1, 2018, a new type of equity funds – “capital funds from contributions” – were expressly recognized and regulated by the Slovak Commercial Code. These funds are considered a supplement to contributions to a company’s registered capital and may be created by all capital company forms in Slovakia, including joint stock and limited liability companies.

This article is an excerpt of Producing in CEE, Dentons’ guide to tax and financial incentives for film, television and digital media production.

Havel & Partners has advised Austria's Innofreight Consulting & Logistics on the formation of a joint venture with Slovakia's Budamar Logistics. Hamala Kluch Viglasky advised Budamar Logistics on the deal.