CMS Hungary has advised OTP Bank Plc., the arranger of Pannonia Bio's issuance of the first Hungarian forint bond in line with the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme announced by the Central Bank of Hungary in July, 2019 which involves the bank's purchase of bonds with good ratings issued by non-financial corporations as well as securities backed by corporate loans from a HUF 300 billion funding pool. Solo practitioner Gabor Kovacs represented Pannonia Bio.

CMS Sofia has advised Bulgaria's Argos Energy Ltd on the completion of the first renewable energy project in Bulgaria created without any subsidy or feed-in tariff.

The Jalsovszky law firm has advised Hungarian-based integrated business management and administration software distributor Libra Szoftver Zrt. on its take-over of VT-Soft Kft. from Unit4 Software NV. CMS Budapest advised the sellers on the deal.

CMS Sofia has advised Global Biomet on the acquisition of the Resen photovoltaic project, with installed capacity of 5 MW, from Austria's Novasolar GmbH. The deal, which is valued at almost EUR 10 million, closed on September 16, 2019.

CMS Hungary has advised Balbec Capital and Momentum Credit Zrt, a Hungarian joint venture owned by Balbec Capital and the APS Group, on the purchase of MKB Bank Nyrt’s non-performing retail mortgage loan portfolio, secured mostly by residential mortgages. MKB Bank was advised by HBK Partners on the transaction.

CMS Bulgaria has helped Robert Bosch, a subsidiary of the German Bosch Group, secure a multi-million public procurement contract with EVN Bulgaria District Heating for the supply, installation, and operation of 19+1 MW water heating boilers.

Rupert Hartzhauser has been appointed Chief Operating Officer at CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz in Vienna.

Raya Maneva has been promoted to Head of Projects at CMS Sofia.

CMS has advised GTC Hungary on the sale of the White House office building in Budapest. to Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate. Warburg-HIH was reportedly advised by Baker McKenzie, and DLA Piper advised the financing bank.

CMS has advised the Slovenian branch of Sberbank on the financial restructuring of loans to Serbian companies Dijamant AD and Kikindski Mlin AD amounting to EUR 20 million.

Jones Day has advised Societe Generale in connection with the sale of its majority stake in the share capital of Societe Generale Montenegro, a company listed on the Montenegrin Stock Exchange, to OTP Bank Nyrt. Schoenherr advised Societe Generale on matters of Montenegrin law, while CMS advised OTP.

CMS has advised the owners of Kino Swiat, a film distributor in Poland, on the sale to ITI Neovision S.A, the operator of the nc+ platform. Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka advised ITI Neovision on the deal, which remains contingent on the approval of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

It has been over a year since the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation became mandatory across Europe, marking a seismic shift in the way that companies collect, process, and handle personal data. Countries across the European Union and beyond have adapted their national laws to meet the requirements of the GDPR – with many introducing local derogations as permitted by the GDPR.

This time, our law firm marketing friends across CEE considered the following question: “What one part of your job would you most appreciate having more help with – not in terms of training or capability, but simply in terms of time?”

How do law firms in Austria promote themselves to current and prospective employees? A series of conversations with several leading firms revealed more than expected.

It is no secret that North Macedonia is facing the issue of usage of products for plant protection which often fail to meet legal standards. Namely, Macedonian manufacturers producing agricultural products for human and animal nutrition often use unauthorized products which fail to meet safety criteria and may have suspicious origins. Although this issue is not as widely-discussed as air pollution in North Macedonia, it contributes significantly to the existing environmental pollution problem and has a huge impact on the health of plants, people, and the environment.

Use of Artificial intelligence is growing rapidly. Some of the world’s largest industries are using AI as frequently as any other business tool. Still, there are industries which seem to be more risk averse. Pharma integrates AI at the rate of 31% in the service operations sector, 31% in the product/service development sector, and 27% in the marketing sector. Does that mean that pharma is lagging in implementing AI?

CMS has advised construction company Warbud S.A on its entrance into a public-private partnership investment project involving the reconstruction and expansion of a secondary school in Piastow, Poland. Warbud's participation will be funded by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.