CEE Legal Matters
In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets
CMS Bardek Lisac Musec Skoko and Partners has advised Global Offshore Engineering Group owner Matko Zuanic on the full acquisition of Adria Winch, including the indirect acquisition of Dalstroj. Ivkovic & Kruc advised Adria Winch Group shareholders Marin Srzentic, Milivoj Peruzovic, and Ivo Jercic on the sale.
CMS Bulgaria Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov talks about the evolution of the energy sector and their role as legal advisors in Bulgaria over the last 10 years.
With CMS’s recently published European M&A Outlook report taking the temperature of the M&A activity across the continent, CMS Romania Managing Partner Horea Popescu and CMS Vienna Partner Alexander Rakosi share their insights on M&A trends in the CEE region.
In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. Shifting our focus to the financial aspects of legal work, we asked: What percentage of your issued bills end up being overdue, what percentage end up never paid, and what is your firm’s/office’s standard methodology to handle both cases?
Inflation rates, while high across Europe, have been particularly making headlines in Turkiye. Yalcin Babalioglu Kemahli in cooperation with CMS Managing Partner Done Yalcin, Ergun Law Firm Partner Lara Sezerler, Celepci Law in cooperation with Schoenherr Office Managing Partner Levent Celepci, KP Law Managing Partner Onur Kucuk, and Guleryuz & Partners Partner Zahide Altunbas Sancak discuss the current outlook.
Dentons has advised Modus Asset Management on obtaining EUR 58 million in debt financing from BNP Paribas Bank Polska and PKO Bank Polski to finance and refinance the acquisition of a 93-megawatt portfolio of photovoltaic projects in Poland. CMS advised BNP Paribas Bank Polska and PKO Bank Polski.
Dentons has advised Heimstaden on the refinancing of the acquisition of two residential complexes in Warsaw – Heimstaden Bokserska and Heimstaden Grzybowska – via a EUR 47.2 million loan from Santander Bank Polska. CMS advised Santander Bank.
CMS has advised a syndicate of banks led by ING Bank on the adjustment to the loan repayment terms under the USD 450 million pre-export facility for Ukraine’s Kernel Group. Allen & Overy reportedly advised Natixis, one of Kernel Group's creditors. White & Case reportedly advised the Kernel Group.
PeliPartners has advised Mitiska REIM on the sale of 25 retail parks in Romania to the LCP Group, part of M Core Property, for EUR 219 million. CMS advised M Core Property.
Vlasceanu & Partners and Wolf Theiss have advised the Ratesti Solar Plant – an Econergy group and Nofar group subsidiary – on the EUR 60 million financing from Raiffeisen Bank International and Raiffeisen Bank Romania to finance part of its EUR 102 million 155-megawatt solar project in Ratesti, Romania. CMS reportedly advised Raiffeisen Bank.
Schoenherr has advised Borealis AG on the agreement to purchase Bulgarian polyethylene and polypropylene recycler Integra Plastics. Boyanov & Co and CMS reportedly advised on the deal as well.
CMS has advised Astronergy on the acquisition of the Karlovo and Novi Pazar greenfield solar projects in Bulgaria, with a combined capacity of 120 megawatts. Schoenherr reportedly advised the sellers.
Redcliffe Partners has advised the IFC, EBRD, and DFC on their USD 480 million loan to Ukrainian poultry and grain producer MHP. Avellum advised MHP. CMS and Harneys reportedly advised the DFC and EBRD, with Harneys and Baker Botts reportedly advising the IFC.
CMS has advised Nordic private equity fund Alder Investment III on the acquisition of a majority stake in Austrian food industry optical sorting company Insort. Herbst Kinsky reportedly advised the sellers.
Wolf Theiss has advised the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund and Eco Baltia on the financing from mBank for the acquisition of a 70% stake in the Polish PVC window recycler Metal-Plast.
Allen & Overy has advised Bank Pekao and Berlin Hyp on a EUR 125 million financing to G City Europe for the Promenada shopping center in Warsaw. CMS advised G City Europe.
CMS has advised coordinator and facility agent Raiffeisen Banking Group on the EUR 600 million nine-banking-group club multicurrency revolving credit facility for the MOL Group. Baker McKenzie advised the MOL Group on the deal. CMS also acted as transaction counsel on MOL's JPY 14.6 billion bilateral revolving credit facility and its EUR 50 million bilateral EUR/CNY revolving credit facility.
Harrisons, working alongside CMS, has advised the EBRD on a EUR 27.6 million loan to District Center doo Beograd and PKS-LATEX-HLC doo Cacak. Karanovic and Partners advised District Center doo Beograd and PKS-LATEX-HLC doo Cacak.
CMS Sofia is a full-service law firm, the largest international law firm in Bulgaria and one of the largest providers of legal services in the local market as a whole. The breadth and depth of our practice means that our lawyers are specialised, with a level of specialisation that few of our competitors can match.
CMS Sofia is the Bulgarian branch of CMS, a top ten global legal and tax services provider with over 5000 lawyers in 43 countries and 78 offices across the world.
CMS entered the Bulgarian market as one of the first internationally active law firms in 2005 and is now among the most respected legal advisors in the country. We have 7 partners, 4 counsel and over 30 lawyers in our office in Sofia.
Our legal experts, who are rooted in Bulgaria’s local culture, can also draw on years of experience in foreign countries and are at home in several legal systems at once. We know the particularities of the local market just as well as the needs of our clients and combine both to achieve optimum solutions. Our lawyers are Bulgarian qualified and we also have English qualified experts – all of them regularly working on cross-border mandates.
In our work, we focus on M&A, Energy, Projects and Construction, Banking and Finance, Real Estate, Media, IP and IT law, Tax, Employment law, Competition, Procurement and any kind of Dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation. What’s more, we also take care of the entire legal management of our clients’ projects.