On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

On 15 February 2024, the Albanian Parliament adopted law no. 18/2024 “On some amendments and addendums on law no. 155/2015 ‘On gambling in the Republic of Albania’, as amended” (the “Gambling Law”). The amendment overturned a five-year ban on sports betting activities in Albania and entered into force on 27 March 2024.

In Albania, renewable energy, start-ups, and gaming all present significant market opportunities according to Partner Anisa Rrumbullaku of CR Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners, with significant changes being implemented that stand to not only revitalize the economy but also create a hotbed for legal expertise.

Kinstellar has advised Dutch aircraft maintenance provider SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance on the acquisition of Austrian Airlines Technik – Bratislava. CMS, working with Netherlands-based BarentsKrans, advised Austrian Airlines on the sell side.

Schoenherr has advised Euro Real Estate Holding on the indirect acquisition of the City Tower Vienna via United Benefits Holding from Immofinanz. Reportedly, Jank Weiler Operenyi advised Immofinanz and Wolf Theiss advised UniCredit Bank Austria.

E+H has advised PAI Partners on the acquisition of VAMED Group's rehabilitation business from Fresenius. Schoenherr, working with Latham & Watkins, advised the sellers. Reportedly, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Novacos, Baer & Karrer, KNPZ Rechtsanwaelte, and Havel & Partners advised on the deal as well.

Belarus's Revera law firm has teamed up with Adamante Management to open the firm's Cyprus office.

On July 9, 2021, substantial amendments to Belarusian currency legislation entered into force. We will briefly review the key amendments.

Economic optimism in the face of adversity, the introduction of English law instruments, and some new potential for growth are the highlights in Belarus, according to Aleinikov & Partners Senior Partner Denis Aleinikov.

Ibrahimovic & Co has launched a German Desk to support companies wishing to establish, expand, or consolidate their activities in German-speaking countries. The German Desk will be co-led by Partner Nadin Kantic and Attorney at Law Tomislav Tomas.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

The latest amendments to the Republika Srpska Civil Procedure Law were enacted to ensure procedural improvements, align the rules with the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights, better regulate cases involving marital and family disputes, and strengthen court rulings.

Boyanov & Co, working with Gianni & Origoni, has advised UniCredit Bulbank and the United Bulgarian Bank on their financing for Plastchim-T's acquisition of Manucor.

Historically and statistically, most joint ventures and business combinations have short and difficult lives. Lawyers can assist with preparation and negotiation of best of class, workable and practical corporate and legal structures and agreements. But only the parties, the would-be partners, can make the combined business work and succeed.

Taylor Wessing has advised the shareholders of the international Denkstatt Group on its integration with EY in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. EY Law reportedly advised EY.

Savoric & Partners has advised Jadran Hoteli on a partnership agreement with Marriott International under its Tribute Portfolio.

In the realm of modern politics, where every move is meticulously calculated and every tactic scrutinized, the strategic employment of intellectual property (IP) has emerged as a potent tool for political parties. From catchy slogans to iconic logos, intellectual property has become integral to shaping public perception and garnering support during election seasons. However, the fine line between legitimate use and exploitation of IP often blurs, raising ethical and legal questions about the (ab)use of intellectual property by political entities.

Tihana Posavec Vlasic and Marko Mecar have teamed up to launch the Posavec Vlasic & Mecar Joint Law Office in Zagreb.

The amendment to the Code of Administrative Justice, slated to take effect on 1 January 2025, will bring many changes.

Havel & Partners has advised HP Invest on its full acquisition of HP Tronic from Genesis Private Equity Fund III.

Clifford Chance has advised Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka and Ceska Sporitelna on the financing for Oriens group member Central European Retail Holding's acquisition of the Hruska retail chain through the full acquisition of Hruska and Sempronemo. Clifford Chance also advised Oriens on the acquisition transaction.

Zepos & Yannopoulos has advised Hellenic Properties on its acquisition of a former industrial building located in Tavros, Attica, to be developed into a green office building.

Kyriakides Georgopoulos has advised Lightsource BP on the financing-related land and regulatory due diligence of a PV project in Greece with a capacity of 560 megawatts and a budget of EUR 395.15 million in the areas of Larissa and Fthiotida.

Bernitsas has advised Eurobank on the issuance and offering of its new EUR 650 million senior preferred notes due April 2031 to international and domestic institutional investors, as well as their listing on the Euro MTF Market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

“Water resilience” is joining AI, competitiveness and sovereignty, as a new buzzword in Brussels’ policy-making conversations. But while the latter three concepts are rather intangible, water resilience is a more concrete concept, and is also a life-threatening problem.

Ban, S. Szabo, Rausch & Partners has advised Talentis Group Zrt on its acquisition of a 100% interest in Brendon Holding Kft. Deloitte Legal reportedly advised the seller.

Taylor Wessing has advised the shareholders of the international Denkstatt Group on its integration with EY in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. EY Law reportedly advised EY.

Linklaters and Cobalt have advised Mirova on its investment in the Estonia-based Baltic Storage Platform energy storage project, a joint venture between Corsica Sole and Evecon established in 2023.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Magnusson has successfully represented Albrecht & Dill Trading in having its claim accepted as part of the bankruptcy proceedings against Erst Finance, Albergrupp Teenused, and Omul-Fot, in bankruptcy.

Cytowski & Partners has advised Kode Labs on its USD 30 million series B financing round with Maverix Private Equity. Canada's Osler Hoskin & Harcourt advised Maverix.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Contributed by Boga & Associates.

TGS Baltic, working with Hannes Snellman, has advised Accel-KKR on its majority equity investment in the Aico Group.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Estonian law firm Lextal, Latvian law firm RER Lextal, and Lithuanian law firm ILAW Lextal have unveiled their new name and identity: Widen, "a Baltic law firm that sees itself as the Legal Jazz Company."

Averus has advised sellers Arunas Suika and Renata Suikiene on their sale of VS Fitness – operating eight fitness clubs in Lithuania – to Gym Plius. Ellex Valiunas reportedly advised the buyer. Estonian investment bank LHV financed the transaction.

Fort has advised EIKA Grupe on its purchase, together with the Etapas Group, of the plot and project planned for the site at 4 Seinu Street, in Vilnius, from NT Pletros Grupe. Sorainen reportedly advised the seller.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Schoenherr has advised the owners of ITgma on the sale of a majority ownership stake to Modirum.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

North Macedonia faces a temporary slowdown in economic activity as it gears up for presidential and parliamentary elections set for late April and early May, according to Law Office Serdjuk Managing Partner Petar Serdjuk, while the post-election period holds promise of revitalizing key sectors such as construction and infrastructure through long-awaited public procurement projects.

Dolea & Co Partner Sorin Dolea talks about the evolution of energy projects and their role in Moldova's legal landscape over the last 10 years.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

ACI Partners' Competition practice is busier than ever in Moldova, according to Legal Manager Carolina Parcalab, who points to transactions, Competition Council investigations, and competition law educational initiatives as their primary work sources.

BDK Advokati has advised Turkish Net Holding subsidiary Net Montenegro on a casino concession agreement with the Government of Montenegro.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Contributed by Jovovic, Mugosa & Vukovic.

Greenberg Traurig has advised Abris Capital Partners on the sale of Scanmed Group to the American Heart of Poland Group. Rymarz Zdort Maruta advised the American Heart of Poland.

Rymarz Zdort Maruta, working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has advised Huuuge on a USD 70 million share buyback.

CMS has advised gas transmission system operator GAZ-System in the process of selecting a supplier and executing a floating regasification unit chartering agreement with White Eagle Energy. Reportedly, Mayer Brown advised Mitsui.

CMS has advised energy company Iberdrola on the sale of Eolica Dobrogea One – an 80-megawatt wind energy production facility – to Premier Energy Group, for EUR 88 million.

Taylor Wessing has advised the shareholders of the international Denkstatt Group on its integration with EY in Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. EY Law reportedly advised EY.

Schoenherr, working with Dorsey & Whitney, has advised building software provider Eleco on the full acquisition of Vertical Digital.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. But in the case of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, it just might be. Russia breached Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Russia's acts have prompted the EU, the UK and the US to impose economic sanctions, such as freezing assets and disconnecting Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments network. Whilst the number of private businesses that are halting their activities in Russia is steadily growing, Russia has adopted a law paving the way for expropriations of assets of foreign firms that leave the country following economic sanctions. But what can foreign companies do if Russia proceeds to take their assets, if they are unable to freely transfer returns from investments out of Russia or if their profits collapse?

Baker McKenzie and DLA Piper have joined the plethora of firms announcing their exit from the Russian market.

Debevoise & Plimpton, Dentons, Dechert, and CMS have announced they are closing their Russian offices and exiting the market.

The Companies Act of the Republic of Serbia (“Off. Herald of RS”, Nos. 36/2011, 99/2011, 83/2014 - other law, 5/2015, 44/2018, 95/2018, 91/2019 and 109/2021; hereinafter: “the Law”) prescribes a circle of persons who have certain special duties towards the company:

The Commission for Protection of Competition (“CPC”) and the Republic Secretariat for Public Policy (RSPP), in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), enacted a while back a Control List for Assessing the Impact of Regulations on Competition (“Control List”), which establishes whether a specific proposal or draft regulation could lead to competition distortion in the market.

In December 2023, The New York Times (“NYT”) filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement and misuse of intellectual property, all related to the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT.

Kinstellar has advised Dutch aircraft maintenance provider SAMCO Aircraft Maintenance on the acquisition of Austrian Airlines Technik – Bratislava. CMS, working with Netherlands-based BarentsKrans, advised Austrian Airlines on the sell side.

Nedelka Kubac Advokati has successfully represented Klement in an energy construction bid rigging case before the Slovak Competition Authority.

The requirements for the Whistleblowing Officer’s (WO) role are covered by various guidelines that have been published by the Slovak Office for Protection of Whistleblowers over the past several months. The multitude of information sources now requires clarification, as the role of the WO leading internal investigations of reports is becoming increasingly prominent. 

ODI Law has advised German Katera Beteiligungs-Verwaltungsgesellschaft P11 mbH on its acquisition of an 87,58% shareholding in Nama from Zavarovalnica Triglav and Generali. Senica & Partners advised Zavarovalnica Triglav on the deal.

On the evening of April 25, 2024, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms in the region in Warsaw.

Kinstellar has advised the Hungarian Power Exchange and the Hungarian transmission system operator on the Project Bluesky transaction which saw HUPX join the regional Adex power exchange. Lukman Odvetniska Druzba reportedly advised Adex's Slovenian shareholder, ELES. Isailovic & Partners reportedly advised EMS, the Serbian shareholder of Adex.

Paksoy has advised Iyzico on the acquisition of Paynet from Arena Bilgisayar. Baker McKenzie Turkish affiliate Esin Attorney Partnership advised the sellers.

Turunc's Yasemin Erden – a Partner at the firm for the past two years – has moved to an Of Counsel position within the Istanbul-based outfit. 

Norton Rose Fulbright Turkish affiliate Pekin Bayar Mizrahi has advised the founder of Derivex Teknoloji on the sale of a minority stake in the company to the Startup Burada VC fund. Atar Avci advised the buyer.

The post-war reconstruction of Ukraine is an immense challenge that necessitates mobilization of substantial resources. During a United Nations Security Council meeting in November of the previous year, the approximate cost of the country's reconstruction and rehabilitation was estimated at $400 billion. Acknowledging the impossibility of covering such expenses solely through state funds and international aid, Ukraine is placing emphasis on enhancing collaboration with the private sector. Among the various forms and mechanisms for securing resources required for rebuilding of the destroyed infrastructure, public-private partnership (PPP) stands out as one of the most widely debated.

On 27 April 2024, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine adopted Order No.262 (the ''Order'') which amended Order No.402 ''Regulations on Military Medical Expertise in the Armed Forces of Ukraine'' dated 14 August 2008.

CMS, working with Harneys Cyprus, has advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on a EUR 22 million loan to the Cyprus-based Farmak Group and Ukraine's JSC Farmak for the acquisition of Poland's Symphar and the upgrade of JSC Farmak's IT systems.