On May 31, 2023, the Sofia City Court issued a landmark decision in the field of copyright protection, pursuant to which three internet providers were directed to disable the access of their users to peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms Zamunda and The Pirate Bay – to both the main torrent websites and any known proxies allowing access to these platforms.

At the end of September, the long-awaited Regulation (EU) 2023/1804) on the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU (“AFIR”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Though the entry into force of AFIR is 13 April 2024, it is worth reviewing the key takeaways that the AFIR introduces as part of the EU’s Fit for 55 package.

September 2023 – According to Article 5 of the Serbian Banking Act (Zakon o bankama), no person other than a bank licensed in Serbia may engage in the granting of loans unless authorised by law. One Serbian law that does allow foreign banks (i.e., banks not established and licensed in Serbia) to provide cross-border loans to Serbian entities is the Serbian Foreign Exchange Act (Zakon o deviznom poslovanju). In particular, Article 18(7) of the Foreign Exchange Act expressly allows Serbian entities to borrow cross-border from foreign banks, which are not required to obtain a banking licence in Serbia for this purpose.

Kinstellar has advised the Electrolux Group on the sale of its manufacturing facility in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary, to Qvantum for EUR 38 million. CMS reportedly advised Qvantum.

Linklaters has advised NREP on its acquisition of an 80% stake in Polish logistics developer 7R, with the buyer aiming to invest approximately EUR 200 million into the company. Rymarz Zdort Maruta advised 7R. Kinstellar reportedly advised NREP. Kancelaria Kurek Wojcik i Partnerzy reportedly advised 7R.

Bulgaria's economic landscape appears to be evolving rapidly, driven by a proactive government and a series of long-overdue legislative reforms, according to Kinstellar Partner Nina Tsifudina. From changes in the available company forms to alignment with EU regulations and the anticipation of eurozone integration – all these keep the country’s markets buzzing, with movements in the banking and telecommunication sectors leading the charge.

Did You Know that 12 firms in Central and Eastern Europe worked on more than 16 client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in the first half of the year? According to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, two firms worked on more than 40 client matters reported by CEE Legal Matters in the first six months of 2023: Schoenherr, which worked on 42, and Clifford Chance, which worked on 41.

Kinstellar has advised Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka on its EUR 85 million long-term financing for a retail and logistics real estate portfolio of the CPI Property Group in the Czech Republic. 

Kinstellar has advised Localazy's founder on the approximately EUR 500,000 venture capital investment into the company by Garage Angels, 12Bullets, Lighthouse Ventures, and JIC Ventures. Hladky Legal advised Garage Angels on leading the round. Hladky Legal and, reportedly, KroupaHelan also advised the other investors.

Kinstellar has announced it is strengthening its presence in Serbia by teaming up with the local SOG Law Firm in a strategic partnership.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With the first quarter of 2023 wrapped up, we turned to the future and asked: In which practice area do you expect the most growth – in terms of work volume – in the next 12 months?

In June 2023, Kinstellar announced that the first step of OTP Bank's acquisition of Ipoteka Bank in Uzbekistan – the acquisition of a 73.71% stake from the state – (reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 22, 2022) had closed. 

Kinstellar has advised the Budapest Stock Exchange Plc on listing its shares in the BSE regulated market Standard category. The company went public on June 21, 2023, on the 33rd anniversary of its re-establishment.

The Government of the Slovak Republic has introduced a draft law on the conversions of companies and cooperatives (the Draft Law) that implements EU Directive 2019/2121, amending Directive 2017/1132 with regard to cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions (the Directive).

Kinstellar, working with William Fry and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, has advised human capital management cloud company UKG on its acquisition of payroll provider Immedis.

Bulgaria’s infrastructure sector has seen major projects completed and many more are planned. With the country facing political turmoil and corruption still an infrastructure buzzword, Kinstellar Partner Antonia Mavrova and Gugushev and Partners Senior Partner Victor Gugushev navigate the intricacies of Bulgarian infrastructure.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. Keeping in mind last year’s complexities and the uncertainties ahead, this time we asked: Has your team shrunk or increased in the last 12 months and what are your expectations for 2023?

Did You Know that a total of 15 partners have worked on multiple reported Hungarian Banking/Finance client matters in the ten years that CEE Legal Matters has been covering the market? The Banking/Finance leaderboard over the past decade is led by CMS Budapest Partner Erika Papp, who has worked on 14 reported Banking/Finance client matters in that time.