CMS has advised mBank on the PLN 42 million financing for Zemportic Investments' acquisition of Polska Grupa Bruno-Tassi. Baker McKenzie advised Zemportic Investments. Wardynski & Partners advised a consortium of banks financing Polska Grupa Bruno-Tassi. MJH Moskwa Jarmul Haladyj and Forton Legal advised Bruno-Tassi.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. As we bid farewell to 2023, this time around we turn our attention forward: What is your one main wish for 2024 and what do you see as the biggest potential risk?

In a time of economic turmoil, company directors and owners focus on maintaining their businesses as going concerns, ensuring financial stability, and managing relationships with their creditors, contractors, and employees. When necessary, that includes considering strategic debt management options. On the other hand, creditors and contractors concentrate on properly assessing and understanding the risks associated with a dynamically changing commercial environment, evaluating their strategies toward clients, and implementing adequate safeguards and responses to emerging threats.

Nowadays, one can hear a lot about generative artificial intelligence ("Generative AI"), which can be used to create different types of content (e.g., text, images, software source code) in an automated way by giving simple instructions (so-called "prompts"). Companies may reasonably ask whether it is worth investing, at this point, in software using Generative AI; however, the current Hungarian legislative environment does not provide answers to this question, which could clearly provide guidance in all cases, on a general basis. For this reason, the legal implications of each investment (be it either procurement or "in-house" development) need to be examined on a case-by-case basis.

TGS Baltic, working with Baker McKenzie and Accura, has advised Mitsubishi on its acquisition of a 20% stake in Denmark-based European Energy through a EUR 700 million investment.

Allen & Overy and Turkish affiliate Gedik & Eraksoy have advised the joint bookrunners on Turkiye Wealth Fund’s inaugural international bond offering, raising USD 500 million at 8.25% interest.

In Ukraine, employee job titles should be named exclusively in accordance with the national classifier DK 003:2010 "Classifier of Professions".

The GDPR generally prohibits the processing of data relating to sexual orientation. In practice, this can be an obstacle to efforts towards inclusion.

The new EU regulation on electronic evidence will enable law enforcement authorities from one EU member state to order service providers in other EU member states to surrender digital evidence. Providers who fail to comply within ten days or, in urgent cases, within eight hours, could face fines of up to two percent of their global group turnover.

Although gender identity does not constitute sensitive data under the GDPR, its legal protection is nevertheless very robustly designed. Companies that choose to disregard it may face claims for damages and fines.

Baker McKenzie has advised the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group on setting up its first operation in Hungary following the renovation and rebranding of the former Gellert Hotel in Budapest.

Noerr has advised Bauer Media on its sale of the Semergy Group to the WeNet Group. Baker McKenzie advised WeNet.

Baker McKenzie and its Esin Attorney Partnership affiliate have advised a club of banks including ING Bank, ING Bank Singapore, Bank of China Limited Beijing, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, Halyk Bank, and AB Bank of China Kazakhstan on the USD 286 million financing of the development a soda ash production facility by the Yildirim Group in Kazakhstan. Morgan Lewis & Bockius reportedly advised the Yildirim Group.

Technical guidance published on the websites of the Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) and the Public Procurement Authority in November 2023 on corruption risks and cartel agreements affecting the fairness of public procurements.

Baker McKenzie Partner Oleksiy Stolyarenko talks about the evolution of the TMT sector and their role as legal advisors in Ukraine over the last 10 years.

The Cybersecurity Act imposes new requirements on many companies regarding the operation of their electronic information systems. Organizations have until the end of 2023 to prepare to comply with the new rules.

Under the EU's Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), companies must notify the European Commission in advance of certain acquisitions, mergers or large public procurement transactions if the groups of companies involved have received financial contributions from outside the EU. Compiling the notification and gathering the necessary information can be a heavy administrative burden for companies, and failure to do so can result in fines of up to 10% of the group's worldwide turnover.

White & Case has advised dealers Bank Polska Kasa Opieki, BNP Paribas, BofA Securities Europe, Citigroup Global Markets Europe, and JP Morgan on the establishment of Bank Pekao's EUR 5 billion program for the issuance of medium-term eurobonds and first EUR 500 million issuance of 5.5% fixed-to-floating green bonds maturing in November 2027. Baker McKenzie advised Bank Pekao.