TGS Baltic and Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov have advised Ifco Systems on its acquisition of Bepco. RASK advised Rostock Capital, Navitas, and Green Technology on the sale.

By Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") of 14.12.2023 in case C‑340/21 the CJEU clarified several controversial aspects of the implementation of the GDPR.

Harrisons, Maric & Co, Lambadarios, and Wolf Theiss, working with Linklaters, have advised a banking consortium led by UniCredit Bank London on the United Group's EUR 1.7 billion issuance of four tranches of senior secured and PIK notes as well as on the increase and extension of its EUR 410 million revolving credit facility. Selih & Partnerji, working with Paul Weiss, advised the United Group. Schoenherr, Koutalidis, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, and Elvinger Hoss Prussen reportedly advised the United Group as well.

Three years after its launch, e-Justice in Bulgaria is still under construction and improvement and has not yet reached its final form.

CMS has successfully represented the interests of Free Energy Project Oreshets – formerly owned by CEZ and currently a part of the Eurohold Group – in a dispute against the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance.

Dentons, Binder Groesswang, and Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov have advised UniCredit Bulbank and the EBRD on the financing for Enery Development's construction and operation of a large-scale solar plant in north-eastern Bulgaria set to add 112.5 megawatts of solar power generation to the country's electricity system. Schoenherr reportedly advised Enery Development.

Wolf Theiss has advised the Real Estate Development company on the development of the River Park Sofia project.

Eversheds Sutherland Bulgarian member firm Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners acted as the single transaction counsel on TBI Bank's December 15, 2023, private placement of MREL notes maturing 2026, with a total value of EUR 10 million.

Former Sabev & Partners Partner Boryana Boteva has joined Kinstellar's Sofia office as a Senior Counsel and its Head of Projects & Infrastructure.

Employment contracts can only be terminated on specific grounds listed in the Bulgarian Labor Code. There are over 50 grounds for termination, each with its unique facts, documents, and procedures.

Drakopoulos has become a part of the South East Legal Alliance, thus expanding the network’s reach to Athens, Bucharest, and Nicosia.

Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov has advised Nasekomo on the closing of its EUR 8 million Series A equity investment round led by Invenio Partners. DGKV also advised Invenio Partners on the deal.

Did you know that while only five lawyers worked on ten or more CEE client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in 2022, a total of fourteen lawyers reached that level in 2023? The 2023 leaderboard was led by Milos Felgr of Clifford Chance in Prague, who worked on a remarkable 20 CEELM-reported client matters last year, with Alper Onar of Istanbul’s Aksan Law Firm, who worked on 19, close behind. Fellow Turk Kerem Turunc, the Managing Partner of Turunc, worked on 17 reported deals, while Djordje Nikolic of NKO Partners in Belgrade worked on 16, and Tomasz Rogalski of Norton Rose Fulbright in Warsaw worked on 15.

On January 4, 2024, Boyanov & Co announced that the EUR 1.4 billion sale of Cargo-Partner subsidiaries to Nippon Express (reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 17, 2023) had closed.

On 30 November 2023 Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (the “CPC”) finally published draft of new decision on group exemption of certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices with effect on national markets (the ”Draft”), such as: vertical agreements and practices, agreements and practices in the motor vehicle sector, specialisation and R&D agreements and practices as well as agreements for transfer of technologies, from the ban under article 15 (1) of the Competition Protection Act (the “CPA”). The latter reflects article 101 (1) of the TFEU.

After a few years of political struggle, Bulgaria seems to be on a good path, with interesting legislative updates on the horizon and promising M&A activity levels, spurred primarily by strong activity in the energy and IT sectors, according to KDBM Law Founding Partner Dimitar Kaldamukov.

Cryptocurrency has been gaining momentum in the recent decade all over the world, including Bulgaria. On one hand, the development of block chain technology and the wide spreading digitalisation in almost every sphere of human life reasonably produced new revolutionary payment means along with the traditional good old money. On the other hand, cryptocurrency rapidly became a symbol of freedom as not being issued and accepted by any central bank or credit institution as well as being easily accessible via Internet literally by every person.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.