There is a growing concern, across CEE, about a potential wave of insolvency and restructuring proceedings. Given the economic aftermath of COVID-19, coupled with the ramifications of rising inflation and interest rates, energy crisis concerns, and the war in Ukraine – the road ahead seems bumpy at best.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised a banking syndicate on a new credit facility for MedLife, as part of the company's EUR 228 million syndicated loan. Mitel & Partners advised MedLife on the loan.

Law No. 265/2022 on the trade register and for amending and supplementing other normative acts with impact on the registration in the trade register (“Law No. 265/2022”) was published in the Official Journal of Romania No. 750, Part I, of 26 July 2022. Law No. 265/2022 entered into force on 26 November 2022.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Smithfield Group subsidiary Elit on its acquisition of Goodies Meat Production. PwC Legal Romanian affiliate D&B David si Baias advised the sellers.

Wolf Theiss has advised the founders of Fortech on its sale to Global Logic. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii reportedly advised Global Logic.

Deloitte Legal affiliated firm Reff & Associates has advised NEPI Rockcastle on its acquisition of Carrefour's stake in Ploiesti Shopping City. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised Carrefour.

Did You Know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, Filip & Co. and RTPR have both worked on 16 reported deals so far this year in Romania, putting them in a two-way tie atop the leaderboard in that country?

Deloitte Legal affiliated firm Reff & Associates has advised Bank of Cyprus on the sale of a portfolio of non-performing loans and repossessed properties in Romania with a face value of EUR 147 million to an entity part of the APS group. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised the buyer.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Speedwell on the EUR 60 million sale of a 75% stake in the Miro office building to Hili Properties. Musat & Asociatii advised the buyer.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Mol Romania on the development, authorization, and opening of two new service stations on the A2 Motorway.

Sustainability is no longer the responsibility of legal, public affairs, and corporate governance departments, but has become a top management priority and a central element of business strategy. One hundred years ago, Henry Ford said that the two most important assets of society – reputation and people – do not appear on the balance sheet of a company. Today, ESG standards come to measure precisely these two intangible assets.

On July 12, four leading lawyers from Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the latest in ESG developments with a focus on green financing, its regional and local drivers and roadblocks, its impact on non-financial reporting, and what it all means for the legal profession.

On July 15, 2022, in the Romanian Official Gazette No. 716, Ordinance No. 16/2022 for the amendment of Law No. 227/2015 regarding the Tax Code, abolishment of certain normative acts and other fiscal-financial measures (“Ordinance 16/2022”) was published, through which multiple amendments were brought to the fiscal framework.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Electrica on its EUR 600,000 acquisition of Green Energy Consultancy & Investments from shareholders Vlad-Mihai and Tudor-Nicolae Ungureanu.

In Romania, the first legal enactment specifically addressing PPP projects was adopted in early 2002. In the 20 years that followed, four primary pieces of legislation on this topic have been passed, with the declared objective to provide a sound legal basis for the implementation of PPP projects. Nevertheless, each of these successive enactments was adopted not to keep pace with the practical developments in PPP matters, but rather to respond to criticism of the absence of a proper legal basis to structure and implement PPP projects.

Although the Romanian law on transfers of undertakings has no more than two pages, it is notorious for its complexity, while the relevant case law is constantly developing. Briefly, if an undertaking is taken over by, or is transferred to, a new entity, the relevant employees are automatically transferred to the new employer, together with their existing rights provided under the individual employment agreements and the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

An in-depth look at Ioana Hrisafi-Josan of Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii covering her career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about her as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

By most counts, 2021 was a successful year for the Romanian M&A market. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii Deputy Managing Partner Stefan Damian, Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen Partner Gabriela Cacerea, Dentons Managing Partner Perry Zizzi, and Wolf Theiss M&A Partner Ileana Glodeanu have many reasons to believe 2022 could be a good year as well, but also quite a few to expect a slowdown in activity.