Category: Bulgaria

Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski has advised Bombardier Transportation Italy, part of the Plobur Consortium, on its entrance into a public procurement contract with Bulgaria’s state-owned National Railway Infrastructure Company worth EUR 94.6 million.

According to TBK “the deal is part of the rehabilitation of the railway line connecting Bulgaria’s second-largest city Plovdiv with the city of Burgas, on the Black Sea coast, and envisages upgrade of the signaling system of 18 railway stations, integration of an European Train Control System, a video surveillance system, and a dispatch system.”

The TBK team was led by Senior Associates Aleksandar Aleksandrov and Dimitar Grozdanov

Editor’s note: This article was updated to more accurately reflect the TBK team. 

Hristov Partners has advised Elit Car and its founders on the parallel acquisition of Auto Kelly Bulgaria Ltd. and the sale of 20% of Elit Car’s share capital to Auto Kelly a.s., an affiliate of LKQ Corporation. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised Auto Kelly.

The series of transactions was completed on September 30, 2019, following the unconditional phase-one merger control approval of the Bulgarian competition authority.

The Elit Car Group is a dealer of auto spare parts in Bulgaria. The company has been in the market for over 15 years.

The Chicago-based LKQ Corporation is a global provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. It has operations in North America, Europe, and Taiwan, offering a broad range of replacement systems, components, equipment and parts to repair and accessorize automobiles, trucks, and recreational and performance vehicles.

The Hristov Partners team was led by Partner Pavel Hristov, supported by Partner Biliana Shagova and Associate Dragomir Stefanov.

The DGKV team consisted of Partner Zdravka Ugrinova, supported by Senior Associates Lilia Kisseva, Silviya Apostolova, Vladislav Antonov, and Kamen Gogov, and Associates Tsvetelina Bayraktarova, Galin Atanasoff, Lena Borislavova, Viktoriya Marincheva, Dessislava Ivanova, Darina Kuzeva, Hristo Stoyanov, and Peter Angov.

Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. has advised Bulgarian entrepreneur Dilyan Pavlov on the acquisition of an unspecified stake in Sofia’s Park Lane Office Center from founding shareholders Park Lane Invest and SofCapital, a part of the AG Capital group.

Dimitrov, Petrov & Co. describes Park Lane Office Center as “a high-tech multifunctional business building at a top, easily accessible location in the area of Hladilnika in Sofia,” which “will offer 35,000 square meters of class A office space, suitable for companies in the financial, IT, and commercial sectors.” According to the firm, “construction had already begun and the deadline for commissioning of the building is July 2021.”

The DPC team was led by Partner Zoya Todorova, supported by Associate Radina Tomanova.r.

Editor’s Note: This article has been revised to provide additional details the deal. In addition, Dimitrov, Petrov & Co informed CEE Legal Matters that Partner Anna Ganeva from the Krusteva & Ganeva Law Firm advised the sellers on the deal.

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Former Kambourov & Partners Partner Nikolay Vasilchev has joined Maxima Bulgaria/T Market as Administrative Director and Chief Legal Counsel.

Vasilchev, who joined Kambourov & Partners in 2004 and made partner in 2014, headed the firm’s Regulatory & Compliance department. He graduated from Sofia University in 1998.

In a statement on the Kambourov & Partners website, the firm stated that “we are glad to continue enjoying and upgrading our successful mutual cooperation in the future and wish Nikolay all the success and prosperity in his professional development.”

CMS Sofia has advised Bulgaria’s Argos Energy Ltd on the completion of the first renewable energy project in Bulgaria created without any subsidy or feed-in tariff.

According to CMS, the 5 MW wind project developed by Argos Energy near Kavarna in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, “was put in operation eight years after its original date due to grid congestion.” The firm reports that it assisted Argos Energy “with its negotiations with the Bulgarian Transmission System Operator (ESO EAD), the owner of the distribution network — Energo-Pro — [and] with the related meetings with the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy and the Energy Commission in Parliament. The work involved regulatory assistance, negotiations of various commercial and administrative agreements, [and] overall legal support.”

CMS’s team was led by Sofia Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov, supported by Associate Borislava Piperkova and Junior Associate Elena Yotova-Yordanova.

CMS Sofia has advised Global Biomet on the acquisition of the Resen photovoltaic project, with installed capacity of 5 MW, from Austria’s Novasolar GmbH. The deal, which is valued at almost EUR 10 million, closed on September 16, 2019.

UniCredit Bulbank and the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank provided financing on the deal.

CMS’s team was led by Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and included Associates Elena Yotova-Yordanova, Raya Maneva, Borislava Piperkova, and Dimitar Dimitrov, and student Tsocho Boshnakov.

CMS Bulgaria has helped Robert Bosch, a subsidiary of the German Bosch Group, secure a multi-million public procurement contract with EVN Bulgaria District Heating for the supply, installation, and operation of 19+1 MW water heating boilers.

According to CMS, “the project was initiated in 2017 and “CMS has assisted the client for the last 18 months with full legal support during all stages of the public procurement procedure.

The CMS team was led by Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and included Senior Associate Angel Bangachev and Associate Zornitsa Stoykova.

Raya Maneva has been promoted to Head of Projects at CMS Sofia.

“I am proud of this promotion, which has come as a natural step for Raya thanks to her excellent capabilities as a legal professional and her sound experience and knowledge in the area of environmental law and projects,” commented Office Managing Partner and Head of Energy for CEE and Bulgaria Kostadin Sirleshtov. “I am excited about all the opportunities coming our way under Raya’s leadership.”

Kambourov & Partners has assisted international cargo operator Fleet Air International Kft. on the incorporation of its Bulgarian subsidiary and the relocation of Fleet’s air fleet to Bulgaria.

According to Kambourov & Partners, “as of now, the air fleet of the group has been licensed to operate from Bulgaria, rendering Bulgaria the group’s main operational hub where all aircraft are registered, operated, and maintained.”

DGKV has advised Patisha AD, a Bulgarian infrastructure construction company, on the sale of a 90% stake in the company to Zavodski Stroeji PS Pazardzhik EAD, a construction company in the Pazardzhik region of Southern Bulgaria.

Closing remains subject to the approval of the Bulgarian competition watchdog.

The DGKV team included Partner Georgi Tzvetkov and Senior Associate Krassimir Stephanov.