ODI Law has advised the Eta Invest Group on the refinancing of a development project encompassing 28 newly-constructed villas near Nova Gorica, Slovenia. The transaction included a transfer of claims held by various banking and non-banking entities to the Elements Capital Management investment fund, followed by the entrance into a Master Restructuring Agreement by Eta Invest Group and the investment fund. Karanovic & Partners advised Elements Capital Management.

At the moment, there is no generally applicable obligation to report a personal data security breach in Serbia. This type of obligation is currently envisaged only by certain sector specific laws such as the Law on Electronic Communications.

Karanovic & Partners acted as Serbian legal counsel for Vale Canada Limited on its acquisition of the option to earn-in in four of Mundoro Capital Inc’s exploration licenses in the Timok mining complex.

This April, the new EU foreign investment screening regulation entered into force, with terms scheduled to become applicable on October 11, 2020. The regulation was conceived and designed to provide member states with a valuable tool to employ in defending their strategic interests. We spoke to several experts in the region to learn more.

BDK Advokati and Clifford Chance advised the EBRD, IFC, and the Development Bank of Austria on financing for a waste management public-private partnership project in the Vinca district of Belgrade. The City of Belgrade was advised by Hogan Lovells and Karanovic & Partners, with Karanovic & Partners also advising the IFC on the matter.

Motieka & Audzevicius has advised Petstart UAB on its exit from a joint venture with a Romanian PET packaging waste company. The buyer was advised by Karanovic & Partners.

At the beginning of April 2019, the Serbian Parliament adopted the new Law on Healthcare Protection (the “Law”), with the aim of improving the legal framework and facilitate better functioning of the healthcare system in Serbia, aligning it more closely to EU standards in this field.

Pharmaceutical products have been in the spotlight of the Council of the European Union’s Product Liability Directive since its adoption in 1985. Despite the amount of time that has passed, some legal uncertainties remain that strike directly at the notion of defectiveness, as well as the causal link between the defect and the damage (which proved to be even more important in the case of pharmaceutical products). Establishing such causal link in cases involving vaccines is notoriously difficult, especially from the perspective of a lay consumer. This has led some EU member states, such as France, to introduce case law aimed at facilitating the burden of proof in specific sectors.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has advised Fadi Rida and Mihai Stanescu, founders of the Global Technical Group, on their sale of a majority stake in the group to private equity fund manager Abris Capital Partners. Clifford Chance Badea advised Abris Capital Partners on the deal.

In The Corner Office we ask Managing Partners across CEE about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: How do you do performance reviews, and how important are they to the planning and management of the firm?”

Karanovic & Partners has advised Ionity, a Munich-headquartered joint venture of the BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford, and the Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche, on opening its first 350 kW charging stations in Slovenia.

Karanovic & Partners has advised the German company ZF on matters related to the opening of its factory in Pancevo, Serbia, as part of the first phase of a EUR 160 million investment. The factory will start producing machines, generators for hybrid and electric drives, gearshift switches, and microswitches in the first half of June.

“It has been busy in the business arena,” says Marko Ketler, Senior Partner and Attorney at Law in cooperation with Karanovic & Partners, citing ongoing consolidation in banking sector with the potential sale of Abanka, the third largest bank in Slovenia, and recent major M&A transactions, including the sale of Intereuropa, the largest Slovenian logistics company, to Posta Slovenije. "We can expect a busy summer with several large M&A deals pending."

JPM, Clifford Chance, and Kocian Solc Balastik have advised Pepsico and Karlovarske Mineralne Vody on the acquisition of Knjaz Milos, a producer of mineral water and soft drinks in the countries of former Yugoslavia, from Mid Europa Partners. Karanovic & Partners advised the sellers.

At the end of 2018, the Government of the Republic of Serbia extended the validity of the Decree on Incentive Measures for the Production of Electric Energy from Renewable Energy Sources and High-efficiency Cogeneration of Electric Energy and Thermal Energy (the “FIT Decree”) until the end of 2019. The FIT Decree was initially valid until the end of 2018.

After a few troublesome years during the global financial crisis, it seems like Slovenia is on a positive economic route again. On December 14, 2018, S&P Global Ratings affirmed an “A+/A-1” credit rating for Slovenia with a positive outlook. Slovenian GDP has grown in the last two years between three and four percent annually, with a growth forecast for 2019 of 3.4 percent.

Karanovic & Partners has advised Japanese automotive company Calsonic Kansei on its EUR 5.8 billion acquisition of Magneti Marelli, a high-tech components manufacturer for the automotive industry, from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Dentons reportedly advised the seller.

After the announced reform of the public procurement procedures in 2017, at the beginning of this year the National Parliament adopted the new Public Procurement Law (“Law”). This new piece of legislation embodies the current EU public procurement rules and sets the legal landscape which is expected to result with transparent and efficient spending of public funds. The Law entered into force on 1 April 2019, but its applicability will be de facto prolonged in practice due to the start of the presidential elections.