BDK Advokati has advised Frontier Pharma and the Baystone investment group on the acquisition of Zdravlje Leskovac, a Serbian pharmaceutical company owned by Actavis, which is itself a subsidiary of Israel's Teva. Karanovic & Partners advised the sellers on the deal, which is expected to close in March of 2021.

Karanovic & Partners has advised Pollard Banknote on its EUR 36 million acquisition of the Next Generation Lotteries in Serbia. Canada's Torys law firm reportedly also advised the buyer on the deal.

Clifford Chance has advised the Aricoma Group on the acquisition of the Seavus technology company. Karanovic & Partners’ North Macedonian office provided advice pertaining to the local side of the transaction in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. Seavus was reportedly advised by Bird & Bird's Stockholm office.

Cipcic-Bragadin Mesic & Associates has advised Pfizer on a global business combination with Mylan N.V. The transaction involved a spin-off of Pfizer’s Upjohn business and a subsequent merger of that business with Mylan N.V. to form a new global generics company, called "Viatris." Bird & Bird was global lead counsel to Pfizer, with Karanovic & Partners providing local support for Serbia and Jadek & Pensa providing local support in Slovenia. 

MPR Partners has helped J. Christof E&P Services S.R.L. and Christof Private Firefighting Services S.R.L. provide notification to Romanian and Serbian competition authorities of the economic concentration arising from OMV Petrom’s externalization of several operations and general surface services ancillary to extraction and production of petroleum as well as natural gas, together with the relevant assets and dedicated staff. D&B David and Baias and Karanovic & Partners provided advice to J. Christof E&P and Christof Private Firefighting Services.

“As much as we don’t want to deal mess with politics – it seems to be messing with us,” says Milena Roncevic Pejovic, Partner and Head of the Montenegrin practice at Karanovic & Partners. “Montenegro is waiting for the new government to form, and until that happens, everything is on hold, more or less.”

Karanovic & Partners has helped set-up Ventu.rs, the first Serbian crowd-investing platform. 

There is an interesting legal tool in the Competition Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina (originally adopted in 2005), that is seldom seen in other jurisdictions. Per the legal framework, the governing body of the local competition authority, the Competition Council, consists of six members appointed in order to reflect the complex ethnic structure of the country: two Bosnians, two Croats, and two Serbs.

It’s no secret that competition law across the Western Balkans has been greatly shaped by EU accession, with local developments regularly driven by EU practice and the EU’s regulatory framework.

On 17 September, the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition (the “Serbian NCA”) initiated official proceedings against a local pharmacy chain (“Jankovic Pharmacy”), in order to investigate whether it failed to file a mandatory merger notification prior to a reportable acquisition.

Karanovic & Partners has announced the withdrawal of Founding Partners Patricia Gannon and Dejan Nikolic, after a prolonged process.

“Due to a very hefty package of financial aid, at least judging by Serbian standards, our economy shouldn’t suffer a significant drop in GDP,” says Karanovic & Partners Partner Goran Radosevic. "Some estimates show that the drop shouldn’t be higher than 4%, which is much better than what our neighboring countries are expecting.”

Karanovic & Partners has partnered up with Blocknify to launch an electronic signature technology called "k/signing."

According to the newly adopted package of COVID-19 economic measures, financial aid will be provided to Serbian companies registered between 15 March 2020 and 20 July 2020, which were not able to apply for fiscal benefits from April this year. The measure is introduced by Conclusion of Serbian government 05 No. 401-6052/2020 (“Conclusion”). These companies may receive direct aid in one tranche in September, in the amount of 120% of the minimum wage for March (approx. EUR 300) for each employee. These funds can be used until 31 October 2020, and only for the purpose of employees’ salaries.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) is a contracting party to the Energy Community. As such, it has undertaken the obligation to align its energy sector legislation and transpose the Third Energy Package in the gas sector, among others. Such alignment in the gas sector requires the adoption of state and entity-level legislation to ensure unbundling, third party access, the liberalization of the wholesale market, end-consumer protection, and adequate interconnectivity.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the energy sector is critical to mitigating climate change. Studies have shown that the electricity sector will play a key role in this mission, primarily through decarbonizing electricity production, which is heavily dependent on the massive deployment of renewable energy.

The National Bank of Serbia (“NBS”) announced that it adopted the decision concerning temporary measures for Serbian banks (the “Decision”) on 17 August 2020. The Decision is aimed at facilitating an easier access to financial sources for purchasing residential real estate in Serbia by its citizens.

Karanovic & Partners has provided its analysis of the Serbian railway freight transport market to the World Bank Group and the Serbian Competition Commission. The firm's analysis — conducted in partnership with the Compass Lexecon consulting company — was provided as part of the Program for Improving the Business Environment in Serbia.