Former Allen & Overy Senior Associate and Head of Real Estate in Slovakia Vojtech Palinkas has joined Slovakia's MCL law firm, where he will co-head the Real Estate, Projects, M&A, and Corporate law practices.

White & Case has advised Deutsche Bank, HSBC France, Natixis, Societe Generale, and Vseobecna Uverova Banka as lead managers on the Slovak Republic's bond issue of EUR 1 billion 0.750% notes due in 2030.

Budapest lawyer Balazs Csuday, Bratislava lawyer Daniel Lipsic, and Prague lawyer Jan Prochazka are among the 25 European lawyers promoted to partner by Dentons as part of its 2019 cycle.

Taylor Wessing is reporting that it provided Slovakian president-elect Zuzana Caputova and her team with legal advice on contractual matters and opinions and advice on the operative agenda connected with her successful campaign for President.

Vladimira Chlandova was hired as the new Head of Legal Affairs at T-Mobile Czech Republic and Slovak Telekom.

Clifford Chance has advised Vseobecna Uverova Banka, a.s., a Slovak subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo, in connection with the update of its EUR 5 billion covered bond program and its inaugural syndicated EUR 500 million issuance listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

CMS has advised Gramercy Europe, acting through its fund Gramercy Property Europe III, on the successful acquisition of the KiK Logistics Centre near Dunajska Streda, Slovakia, from Go Asset and ECE European City Estates. Peterka & Partners advised the sellers on the deal.

Bratislava Property Forum 2019, 2nd April 2019, Sheraton Bratislava Hotel, Slovakia

Dentons has appointed Bratislava-based partner Zuzana Simekova as Co-head of the Europe Life Sciences group, joining Paris-based Partner Jean-Marc Grosperrin, who has led the group since its inception in 2014.

“The biggest current concern in Slovakia is the non-operating Constitutional Court,” says Cechova & Partners Senior Partner Katarina Cechova, who claims that for the first time in its history the Slovak Republic faces real concerns about the future of its major judicial institution.

Kinstellar has advised Veolia Energie International on the acquisition of Slovintegra Energy from local investment group Slovintegra. Havel & Partners reportedly advised Slovintegra on the sale.

Dvorak Hager & Partners has changed its name to Eversheds Sutherland.

In its December session the Slovak parliament will decide whether to adopt a sectoral tax in the form of a 2.5% levy on net quarterly turnover of retail chains (the “retail chains levy”). The official purpose of the bill under consideration is to reach the strategic goal of food self-sufficiency, to finance the creation of mechanisms supporting Slovakia’s agricultural production and food industry, and to weaken the allegedly dominant position of large retail chains as regards their profits. The annual yield of the new tax is estimated at approximately EUR 150 million – a figure on which the Ministry of Finance relied in calculating its state budget for 2019.

At the end of 2018 long-time Allen & Overy Partner Hugh Owen announced that, after 23 years at A&O — 19 of which were spent in CEE — he was stepping away from that Magic Circle firm to start his own consulting firm, called Go2Law. A year later, we checked in on him.

Weinhold Legal has provided Czech and Slovak assistance to Henry Schein, which the firm describes as "the world's largest provider of health care solutions for office-based dental and medical professionals," in relation to the spin-off of the company's animal health business.

Noerr has advised Swedish web-hosting service provider Loopia Group AB on its acquisition of 100% of the shares in WebSupport s.r.o. from Trantor Ventures GmbH.

The Bratislava office of Glatzova & Co, working with lead counsel Hengeler Mueller, has provided legal advice on the Slovak part of the acquisition by Canadian information technology services provider Syntax and private investor Novacap of a stake in IT company Freudenberg.

Kinstellar has advised Neuraxpharm Group on the acquisition of Farmax from SVUS Pharma in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. BBH reportedly advised SVUS Pharma on the sale.