NKO Partners has advised Emmezeta on its acquisition of ES Logisticke Nekretnine from BIG Shopping Centers. Markovic Vukotic Jovkovic advised the seller.

BDK Advokati has advised Croatia's Agez Group on its acquisition of a 60% stake in Serbian printing and graphics company Grafostil.

Spanish authority in charge of personal data protection has recently fined a personal data controller for using the audio recording option of its surveillance system, which data was subsequently used for termination of an employment contract.

European Union (EU) and Western Balkans telecommunication operators signed a Roaming Declaration at the EU-Western Balkans Summit held on Tuesday in Tirana. According to the Declaration, Western Balkans – EU roaming charges will be reduced voluntarily from 1 October 2023, with subsequent reductions gradually leading to their complete elimination. The commitment was also reinforced as part of the Tirana Declaration, which was agreed upon at the Summit.

Karanovic & Partners has advised the Duomed Group on its acquisition of Mar Medica Ltd. Mrakovic Markovic & Partners reportedly advise Marko Rackovic on the sale.

On December 5, 2022, BDK Advokati announced that Francisco Partners’ acquisition of Litmos from SAP (reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 23, 2022) had closed.

Immigration from war-afflicted areas, issues with the national energy company, and contentious lithium extraction operations are keeping people talking in Serbia, according to Andrejic & Partners Managing Partner Aleksandar Andrejic.

BDK Advokati has advised MediGroup on its acquisition of Konzilijum. Sole practitioner Djordje Ivanisevic reportedly advised the seller. 

Strong M&A transaction volumes, rising investor interest in the renewables sector, and a flood of work relating to the immigration waves from Ukraine and Russia are the headlines for Serbia, according to Bojovic, Draskovic, Popovic & Partners Senior Associate Milica Pesteric.

In the Official Gazette of the RS no. 131/2022 of November 29, 2022, the Decision on Fees for Registration and Other Services Provided by the Business Registers Agency was published, which regulates the type, amount and method of payment of fees for the registration procedure and other services provided by the Business Registers Agency in keeping registers and records (“the Decision”).

NKO Partners has advised the Dr. Max Group on its acquisition of the Sveti Sava pharmacy chain. Sole practitioners Biserka Crnoglavac and Mihajlo Micic reportedly advised the sellers.

The fact that the last 20 years have been marked by the expansion of digital markets has undoubtedly contributed to the "enthronement" of leading companies in dominant positions all over the planet, created issues of effective competition enforcement regulations and the obvious need for more comprehensive and better regulation of the markets themselves.

On November 10, four Banking & Finance experts from Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss banking consolidation, financing availability, the effects of high interest rates, bank capitalization, green financing, the specter of loan restructuring, and the other challenges the sector is facing.

According to a non-binding opinion delivered on September 20, 2022, by Athanasios Rantos, influential adviser to the European Court of Justice, antitrust authorities may also assess infringement of personal data protection rules during their investigations.

In the last two months, the Commission for the Protection of Competition (“Commission”) initiated several different proceedings i.e., 3 gun-jumping cases, one for abuse of a dominant position and one case regarding restrictive agreements. It is necessary to pay attention to these proceedings, because they are not coincidences but rather are initiated due to Commission’s reasonable doubt that market participants have breached the Law on Protection of Competition of Republic of Serbia (“Law“).

Keeping investments in or out of line with the development of the IT sector.

Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr has advised Integral Venture Partners on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Chips Way alongside co-investor and industrial partner Nelt Group. Vukina & Partners advised sellers Jagoda Bajevic, Dobroslav Barbaric, Ivana Vujcic, Matko Dropuljic, Vlatko Barbaric, Djordje Dragicevic, Ivana Einfalt, and Tomislav Bajevic.

Continuing our series on opportunities for investment in Serbia, we discuss the real estate sector.  Historically, countries have been reluctant to allow foreigners to acquire real estate. In the past, real estate (primarily lands) symbolized its owners’ power, and today apartments, buildings, houses, properties, mines, and fields have significant worth. Nevertheless, globalization has increased the dynamics of “international” real estate trade. Real estate has thus become an important segment in international investment, both as a secondary part of the project (leasing or even buying space for the investors’ regular business operations) and as the very purpose of the investment (real estate construction, exploitation of mineral resources, construction of roads, etc.). As discussed in our previous articles, Bilateral Investment Treaties (“BITs”) play a crucial role in encouraging and securing foreign investors to invest in a foreign country, this time in real estate.