Did You Know that a total of 14 partners at Bulgarian law firms have worked on multiple client matters in that country so far this year? That group is led by Boris Teknedzhiev of Tokushev & Partners, who has worked on five reported Bulgarian client matters in 2023.

The Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 on Foreign Subsidies Distorting the Internal Market (FSR) formally entered into force on 12 January 2023, but the regime did not apply until 12 July 2023. On the same day, the respective Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441 was published in the Official Journal.

Wolf Theiss and Oziemska Gruner & Partners have advised Polish IT developer Touk on the transaction that led to approximately 65 of its engineers joining Snowflake's developer team in Warsaw. Baker McKenzie advised Snowflake.

Wolf Theiss has advised joint lead managers and bookrunners Raiffeisen Bank International and MM Warburg on the subscription and placement of UBM Development's EUR 50 million issuance of 7% green bonds. DLA Piper advised the issuer.

With the new EU-US Data Privacy Framework in place, personal data may again be transferred from the EU to any US-based commercial organization participating in the Framework free of further restrictions or authorizations.

Boyanov & Co has advised Borealis on the Bulgarian aspects of the sale of its indirect shareholding in Neochim to Agrofert. Wolf Theiss advised Agrofert.

Wolf Theiss has advised Bain Capital Special Situations on the acquisition of an approximately 20% stake in Intel’s IMS Nanofabrication business, as part of a transaction that values IMS at approximately USD 4.3 billion. Hogan Lovells reportedly advised Intel.

Wolf Theiss has announced the expansion of its Polish Corporate/M&A practice with the addition of seven Partners, at the core of a 27-strong team, from Wardynski & Partners. The move includes Partners Izabela Zielinska-Barlozek, Anna Dabrowska, and Krzysztof Libiszewski – who will also lead the WT Corporate/M&A practice – and Bartosz Kuras, Maciej Szewczyk, Marcin Pietkiewicz, and Katarzyna Wojcik-Bakowska.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and stay up to date with the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas. 

Building upon the key principles set out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which included 17 sustainable development goals and 169 associated targets to be met by 2030, as well as on the provisions of the Paris Agreement, regulators in the EU have published the plan for sustainable finance (Renewed Strategy on Sustainable Finance, published in 2021 and based on the action plan originally published in March 2018). Achieving the economic transformation envisaged under the above instruments requires extensive funding, estimated by the UN at about USD 2.5-3 trillion per year. 

With most of Europe facing turbulent times, Romanian markets are experiencing vibrant PE fund activity across a wide plethora of sectors. Popovici Nitu Stoica and Asociatii Managing Partner Florian Nitu, Wolf Theiss Partner Ileana Glodeanu, and Schoenherr Partner Madalina Neagu take a deep dive into the markets and their drivers.

The crypto-assets sector — which includes unbacked and asset-stabilised digital currencies, securities tokens, utility tokens, non- fungible tokens and services related to them — has potential benefits, but is turbulent. During 2022, it experienced valuation plunges, a stablecoin's collapse, the exchange FTX's bankruptcy and concerns about decentralised finance (DeFi) arrangements.

Schoenherr has advised the joint lead managers on Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark’s EUR 500 million issuance of mortgage-covered bonds. Wolf Theiss advised the issuer.

Wolf Theiss, working with Ropes & Gray, has advised Astorg on the separation of price-reporting agency Fastmarkets from businesss and financial information company Delinian.

On 22 March 2023, an amendment to the Transnational Provision of Services Act (Zakon o čezmejnem izvajanju storitev – ZČmIS-1, “Act on Cross-Border Services“) was adopted and partially came into force on 18 April 2023, with individual provisions becoming effective on 1 January 2024.

ODI Law has advised Slovenian diagnostic company MESI on the EUR 18 million investment received from SHS Capital's SHS VI Healthcare Investments fund. Wolf Theiss advised the investor. 

On April 20, 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") adopted a merger simplification package ("Package") aimed at simplifying the Commission's review of concentrations under the EU Merger Regulation. The core of the Package is the expansion of the categories of cases which can be treated under the Commission's simplified procedure. In addition, the Package aims to streamline the review of simplified and non-simplified cases by introducing new notification forms.

Securing e-evidence and establishing efficient procedures is key.