Vukmir & Associates, working with Taylor Wessing, has advised Dertour on its acquisition of I.D. Riva Tours.

Kovacevic Prpic Simeunovic has advised Mlin i Pekare on its reverse takeover of Cakovecki Mlinovi. Vukina & Partners advised OTP Bank, which financed the transaction. Tus and Grzic advised PBZ Croatia Osiguranje on the sale of its stake. Mamic, Grgic, Vinter advised the management board of Cakovecki Mlinovi. Pesut, Matic, Galekovic, and Zgombic reportedly advised the sellers of the initial stake in Cakovecki Mlinovi. Gugic, Kovacic & Krivic reportedly advised AZ, a pension management company that sold its stake in Cakovecki Mlinovi.

Central and Eastern Europe is increasingly on the radar of digital nomads seeking new destinations. The countries they flock to see their markets impacted – for better or worse – with both opportunities and challenges aplenty. Babic & Partners Partner Marija Gregoric and JPM & Partners Partner Jelena Nikolic analyze these impacts.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE Regulations) were incorporated in their current form into the laws of the European Union (EU) with Directive 2001/23/EC of March 12, 2001 (TUPE Directive), with Croatia ensuring its transposition in its legal system via the Labor Act (albeit with a few missed opportunities). Although TUPE Regulations are relatively simple to comprehend, with the main goal being the protection of employee rights in the event of a transfer of an undertaking, business, or part of an undertaking or business as a result of a legal transfer or merger, their application in practice raises many questions to which statutory provisions of Croatian law do not provide an answer.

The Croatian Government is preparing to establish a comprehensive system for screening foreign direct investments (FDIs) by adopting the new Act on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments (the "Act").

Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka, working with Massumi + Consoli, has advised Cuadrilla Capital on its acquisition of Repsly from Resolve Growth Partners. Goodwin Procter reportedly advised Resolve Growth Partners.

With the amendments to the Companies Act (the “Act”), which entered into force on 5 December 2024, Croatia has implemented EU Directive (EU) 2022/2381 on gender balance on corporate boards of listed companies (the “Directive”). The so called “Women on Boards” Directive aims to ensure that at least 40% of non-executive board seats or 33% of all board seats for listed companies are occupied by the “underrepresented sex” by the end of June 2026.

Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac, BDK Advokati, and Gorjup Law Office have advised Bosqar Invest on its acquisition of a 50.1% indirect stake in the Mlinar Group from MidEuropa Partners. Karanovic & Partners and Ilej & Partners in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners, working with Dechert, advised MidEuropa Partners. Gospic, Plazina, Stojs advised Mr. Skojo, the former owner of Mlinar and a current shareholder of SEE Bakery, the sole shareholder of Mlinar. Janezic & Jarkovic, and Van Campen Liem reportedly advised Bosqar as well. Gospic Plaznina Stojs reportedly also advised the sellers.

Vukmir & Associates, working with Taylor Wessing’s teams in Germany and Ireland, has advised Lightspeed Venture Partners on leading the EUR 5.8 million seed financing round in Orqa. Flynn O'Driscoll reportedly advised Orqa.

With the Cybersecurity Act entering into force in February 2024, Croatia was, unexpectedly, one of the first EU member states to implement NIS2, and it seems this happened just in time. Throughout this year as well as in 2023, government and financial institutions, companies, and even airports and hospitals were targets of multiple cyberattacks. Unsurprisingly, these resulted not only in temporary loss of availability of crucial services but also in loss of data – at times even life-and-death patient data.

Six years after the introduction of the GDPR, many businesses still treat it as if it were a “new law,” a regulation to be addressed later, rather than a priority today. It took years for the GDPR and data protection in general to even make their way onto Q&A lists in legal due diligence, competing alongside other established legal risks when analyzing target companies.

Energy law in Croatia is governed by a series of laws and regulations designed to ensure energy security, promote renewable sources, and support environmental protection. The key legal framework in the energy sector in Croatia includes the Energy Act (Zakon o energiji, Official Gazette no. 120/12, 14/14, 95/15, 102/15, 68/18) and the related Energy Development Strategy of the Republic of Croatia until 2030, with a view to 2050, adopted on February 28, 2020. The Energy Act, which has seen a few amendments since its adoption, is still slowly trying to meet the challenging EU requirements in terms of the green transition, which emphasize renewable energy integration, energy efficiency, and environmental responsibility.

The Croatian M&A market in 2024 is experiencing significant changes, largely driven by two key factors: the rise of sustainability and ESG considerations alongside a notable surge in energy-sector transactions. These trends reflect both global movements and Croatia’s commitment to the EU’s broader climate goals.

Currently, the Croatian AML Act (Official Gazette no. 108/2007, 39/2019, 151/2022) uses the term “virtual assets,” while the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) (EU Regulation 2023/1114), along with subsequent Implementing Act for MiCA (Official Gazette no. 85/2024) adopted by Croatian Parliament in July 2024), uses the term “crypto-assets.” Clearly governing the same, the terms used are similar, but slight nuances persist in definitions. Yet, inconsistency of legal terms should be avoided to prevent misinterpretation and confusion in legal applications.

Even though renewables have been very popular in Croatia for quite some time, the good old hydrocarbons are once again creating a significant buzz.

It's been a dynamic year for Croatia according to Kovacevic Prpic Simeunovic Partner Ana Novakovic Stipanicev, who highlights robust M&A activity, political stability fueling investor confidence, and key regulatory developments as reshaping sectors like energy, real estate, and public procurement.

Labor shortages have emerged as a pressing issue across CEE, prompting diverse responses from governments, businesses, and the public as they navigate the challenges of workforce gaps and economic sustainability.

In 2024, Croatia introduced another round of changes to its tax rules, with further novelties announced for 2025 aimed at fair taxation of property and bringing order to the residential rent market.