Did you know that, according to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, a total of twenty law firms and seventeen individual lawyers worked on five or more reported Romanian client matters in 2023? 

Wolf Theiss has advised the Real Estate Development company on the development of the River Park Sofia project.

Once implemented, those initiatives will require significantly more efforts from parties involved in trade and foreign investments to ensure regulatory compliance. The pursued security aims will lead to enhanced monitoring, assessments and controls being put in place, which will have to be factored into a reframed regulatory compliance approach by affected parties.

Wolf Theiss and Cobalt have advised Accession Capital Partners Credit on a EUR 10 million credit facility granted to Mogo IFN.

Wolf Theiss and Balicki Czekanski Gryglewski Lewczuk have advised MidEuropa Partners and Accel-KKR portfolio company Symfonia on its acquisition of Softeh Plus. PwC Legal Romanian affiliate D&B David and Baias advised the shareholders of the Romanian software company.

This year several employment law rules of practical relevance will change in Hungary. These changes will have different entry into force dates, and are all briefly summarised below.

Changes to the Croatian Labor Act, governing work for digital platforms, took effect on January 1, 2024. Croatia opted to regulate platform work before the formal adoption of the EU Platform Work Directive. What are the main novelties?

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 keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

At the end of May 2023, the Austrian Ministry of Finance issued a new draft law. The Start-Up Promotion Act is intended to create a new regulation for start-up employee shareholdings that should apply to shares surrendered on or after January 1, 2024.

It was another strong year for the leading law firms in Central and Eastern Europe, which, combined, worked on over a thousand deals and other client matters across the region reported on by CEE Legal Matters this year. According to the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, Clifford Chance, which worked on an impressive 95 CEELM-reported CEE client matters in 2023, led the international firms in the region, with Schoenherr, which worked on 90, close behind. Dentons (82), CMS (71), Wolf Theiss (65), Cobalt (66), Kinstellar (50), White & Case (45), and Allen & Overy (42) took notable places on the leaderboard as well.

Wolf Theiss has advised the shareholders of Romania's DRIM Daniel FMCG on the sale of their majority stake in the company to Polish retail company Zabka, part of CVC Capital Partners. DLA Piper advised buyer Zabka Polska.

Former Eversheds Sutherland Counsel Ondrej Benes has joined Wolf Theiss as a Counsel and Head of the firm's Employment team in Prague.

Wolf Theiss has advised Panattoni on obtaining a EUR 17 million financing from BNP Paribas Bank Polska for the construction of the Panattoni Park Grodzisk V warehouse park in the village of Natolin, near Warsaw.

Wolf Theiss has advised AMS-Osram on the implementation of the company's refinancing plan with a volume of approximately EUR 2.2 billion.

The current rules on foreign direct investments (FDI), which are already quite restrictive, will be tightened further from January next year: the current exemptions will be narrowed, and the Hungarian State will have a right of first refusal for solar power plant investments. The government is trying to address a long-standing and sensitive issue for domestic energy policy, while also affecting other non-renewable investments by tightening the exemptions.

As of 1 January 2024, the Hungarian Parliament is expected to introduce a new framework for the conditions of residence and employment of third-country nationals in Hungary, significantly rewriting the existing rules.

In early September of this year, the President of Ukraine signed the Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Legislation on Protection of Economic Competition and Activities of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine” (the “Law”). 

2023 has been marked by unprecedented challenges and unexpected developments, according to Wolf Theiss Partner Ileana Glodeanu. From major events like the Hidroelectrica IPO to a surge in large-scale transactions and surprising sectoral activities, Glodeanu shares her thoughts on market conditions and emerging trends in Romania.