Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov has acted as Bulgarian legal counsel to UniCredit Bank Austria AG and to a syndicate of lenders comprised of UniCredit Bulbank AD, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria EAD, and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberosterreich Aktiengesellschaft for the EUR 100 million facility to Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD. The Noblex Group advised Kronospan. 

“Generally, the Bulgarian economy is on an upward path, so law firms are busy,” reports Kinstellar Bulgaria Managing Partner Diana Dimova, who describes increased M&A activity, a strong demand for regulatory advice, and significant public sector opportunities.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Boyanov & Co. have advised Bulgarian telecommunications company Vivacom on the refinancing of its EUR 400 million worth of senior secured notes from a syndicate of more than a dozen financial institutions. The banks were represented by Allen & Overy. 

As of 1 April 2018, applicants in tender procedures must submit the European Single Procurement Document ("ESPD") in electronic form using a template provided by the European Commission.

Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov has acted as the Bulgarian legal counsel of Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd., China, on its EUR 31 million acquisition of the Bulgarian graphics and imaging technology company MM Solutions. Boyanov & Co. has advised Texas Instruments - one of the sellers - on the Bulgarian legal aspects of the sale of its shareholding in MM Solutions.

Kinstellar has advised DZI on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Bulgarian insurance company UBB-MetLife. The deal included the parallel acquisitions of Metlife’s 40% stake and UBB’s 60% stake in UBB-MetLife. Kinstellar advised UBB on the transfer of their 60% shareholding in UBB-MetLife, while Boyanov & Co advised MetLife on the transfer of their 40% interest.

Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov has succeeded in having a foreign arbitral award delivered by a panel on behalf of Sandvik Bulgaria in proceedings under the auspices of the Vienna International Arbitral Center recognized and enforced in Bulgaria. 

Latham & Watkins and Schoenherr have advised Telenor on its agreement to sell its assets in Central and Eastern Europe to the PPF Group for EUR 2.8 billion on an enterprise value basis. White and Case (as lead counsel) and Karanovic & Nikolic advised PPF Group on the deal. Allen & Overy, BDK Advokati, and Boyanov & Co. advised Societe Generale, as agent, and a syndicate of banks on a EUR 3.05 billion credit facility provided to PPF Group for the acquisition, which is expected to close in Q3 2018 and is subject to the relevant merger control and regulatory approvals. 

Penkov, Markov & Partners has represented the interests of BA Glass Bulgaria, a part of the multinational glass producer BA Glass Portugal, in a dispute against Toplofikatsia Sofia EAD, a heating producer and supplier for Sofia.

CMS has advised Global Biomet on the acquisition of two photovoltaic parks in Bulgaria from the US/Indian venture Good Earth. The seller was represented by Hristova, Jivkov & Tsotsorkova, a recent spin off from Eurolex Bulgaria.

DGKV has advised VMware Bulgaria, part of the US cloud computing company VMware Inc., on its lease of more than 20,000 square meters of office space in two buildings in Sofia’s Garitage Park residential and business complex currently under construction.

CMS has advised PPF Group on the acquisition of Bulgaria's Nova Broadcasting Group, with 95% of the shares acquired from the Modern Times Group — advised by Allen & Overy and Spasov & Bratanov — and the remaining 5% from Eastern European Media Holdings S.A.

Venture capital investments in Bulgarian start-ups are on the rise, and modern legal structures such as share option plans and convertible notes can, if local law peculiarities are taken into account, be applied in the country.

Kinstellar has advised United Bulgarian Bank and Cibank on the merger of the two companies.

Kinstellar has advised The Adecco Group on the spin-off of its business in Bulgaria into two separate companies. As part of the process, which started in July 2017 and concluded in January 2018, the IT Outsourcing business, one of the Adecco’s key activities, moved into a new structure that will operate under the brand Modis Bulgaria.  

One of the defects of the Bulgarian tax system and of the enforcement authorities in Bulgaria – the lack of direct access to information for the purposes of administrative cooperation (the automatic exchange of information) between the relevant authorities and legal entities – is on its way to being resolved.

DGKV has advised Hungary's OTP Bank and its Bulgarian subsidiary DSK Bank EAD on a EUR 80 million restructuring and extension of additional facilities to the Bulgarian subsidiaries of Libena Resorts.

According to Ilko Stoyanov, Partner at Schoenherr in Bulgaria, although his country has a very small legal market, which means that it is difficult to identify trends and to forecast the future, non-performing loans, the GDPR, and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence are topics that will definitely keep lawyers wired throughout 2018.