Category: Bulgaria

Kambourov & Partners, working with Latham & Watkins, has advised Triton Partners on local aspects of the carve-out and acquisition of Siemens Energy’s Trench high-voltage component business. Baker McKenzie advised Siemens Energy. White & Case advised a syndicate of banks and financial institutions on financing the acquisition.

Trench specializes in the manufacturing of high-voltage grid components including bushings, instrument transformers, and coil products, sold under the brands HSP and Trench. The Trench Group has locations across Europe including Germany, Austria, France, Bulgaria, and Italy, with an additional operational footprint in China and Canada. “The Trench Group is at the heart of Triton’s investment focus to acquire market-leading companies with high growth potential and a technological edge,” Kambourov & Partners reported.

Founded in 1997 and owned by its partners, London-based Triton is a European mid-market sector-specialist investor focused on businesses that provide important goods and services in the Business Services, Industrial Tech, Healthcare, and Consumer sectors.

The Kambourov & Partners team was led by Partner Veronika Hadjieva and Senior Associate Todor Vlaykov.

Kambourov & Partners did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Boyanov & Co. has advised digital transformation consultant Synechron on its full acquisition of Bulgarian developer Dreamix. Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised Dreamix and its nine shareholders on the sale.

The transaction closed on March 26, 2024.

Dreamix was founded in 2006 in Sofia, Bulgaria. “As a bespoke end-to-end software engineering and digital product/application development company, Dreamix caters to the customized needs of an array of globally renowned enterprise clients across key industries, including aviation, transportation, reg-tech, fin-tech, ESG, and healthcare,” Boyanov & Co reported.

Synechron is a global digital transformation consulting company focused on financial services and technology organizations.

The Boyanov & Co. team was led by Partner Nikolay Zisov and included Principal Associate Violeta Kirova, Senior Associates Hristian Gueorguiev and Deyan Terziev, and Associate Deyvid Iliev.

The DGKV team included Partner Georgi Tzvetkov, Senior Associate Silviya Apostolova, and Associate Anita Dangova.

Kinstellar has advised the United Energy Group on its acquisition of Green Profit – the company developing the 250-megawatt Simeonovgrad-Polyanovo photovoltaic project. Wolf Theiss advised Delcho Nikolaev Pehlivanov on the sale.

UEG is a Hong Kong-based producer of traditional and renewable energy.

Green Profit is the developer of the Simeonovgrad-Polyanovo photovoltaic project located in southern Bulgaria, with a forecasted capacity of 250 megawatts.

The Kinstellar team included Partners Nina Tsifudina, Antonia Mavrova, and Sava Savov, Counsels Atanas Mihaylov and Mladen Minev, and Senior Associates Simeon Vachev and Nikolay Gergov.

The Wolf Theiss team included Partners Richard Clegg and Radoslav Mikov and Senior Associate Staniella Todorova.

CMS has successfully represented El Consult PV in a civil dispute initiated by EPC contractor SimInvest claiming compensation for damages before Bulgarian courts.

The El Consult PV Ltd. Group is a Bulgarian renewable energy investor that owns and operates over 30 megawatts of hydro and PV assets in the country.

“CMS Sofia advised the client throughout the development and the implementation of the [disputed] project and handled the legal representation on the case initiated by the EPC contractor SimInvest. As a result, with its final decision, the Bulgarian court rejected all claims as ungrounded,” the firm reported.

The CMS team was led by Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and included Counsel Borislava Piperkova and Senior Associate Elena Yotova-Yordanova.

Boyanov & Co. has advised the Eurobank group on its EUR 61 million general corporate purposes financing for Galleria Burgas EAD and Galleria Stara Zagora EAD, which own and manage the Mall Galleria Burgas and Mall Galleria Stara Zagora shopping centers in Bulgaria. Dentons reportedly advised the lenders as well.

Galleria Burgas describes itself as the biggest shopping mall on the Southern Black Sea coast, a contemporary, upscale mall offering international brands & open-air eateries, plus a cinema. It covers 36,600 square meters.

Galleria Stara Zagora covers 23,900 square meters and offers four levels of shops and restaurants, including a cinema with seven screens, cafes, fast food chains, and a children’s corner.

The Boyanov & Co. team included Partner Damian Simeonov and Senior Associate Georgi Drenski.

CMS has advised electricity trader Danske Commodities on the licensing of its Bulgarian activities before the country’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, including for the coordination of a standard and combined balancing group.

Danske Commodities is an international trader of electricity active in 40 countries. It was established in 2004 in Denmark. The company was acquired by Equinor in 2019, and now serves as its route-to-market for renewables.

“In addition to electricity trading, Danske Commodities is also licensed and has become the coordinator of a standard and combined balancing group in Bulgaria, which will allow for the significant broadening of its activities within the country,” CMS reported.

The CMS team was led by Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and included Counsel Borislava Piperkova, Senior Associate Elena Yotova-Yordanova, Junior Associate Lubomira Tanchovska, and Trainees Boris Kirov and Nia Ivanova.

Kinstellar has advised Globe Trade Center subsidiary Dorado 1 on a EUR 55 million financing from OTP Bank and DSK Bank.

Dorado 1 EOOD is the owner of the Mall of Sofia and the Sofia Tower 1 and Sofia Tower 2 office buildings, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Kinstellar team included Counsel Svilen Issaev and Senior Associate Denitsa Kuzeva.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov confirmed it had advised OTP and DSK on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Georgi Tzvetkov, Senior Associates Tsvetelina Bayraktarova and Maya Mircheva, and Associates Emilia Mitroshanova, Irina Mihaylova, Yavor Genchev, and Dian Iliev.

Boyanov & Co recently announced that Borealis’ acquisition of Integra Plastics (reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 8, 2023) had closed on March 29, 2024.

According to Boyanov & Co, on March 29, “the Austrian specialty chemicals company Borealis AG, a majority-owned subsidiary of Austrian oil and gas giant OMV, finalized the acquisition of Bulgarian recycling company Integra Plastics JSC.”

As previously reported, Schoenherr advised Borealis AG, while Boyanov & Co advised Vallenova, one of the sellers. CMS reportedly worked on the deal as well.

Headquartered in Vienna, Borealis AG is a provider of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a provider of base chemicals, fertilizers, and the mechanical recycling of plastics. The company employs around 6,000 people and operates in over 120 countries. It generated a net profit of EUR 2.1 billion in 2022.

According to Schoenherr, “Integra Plastics JSC is one of the most advanced plastics recycling companies in Europe, producing high-quality PCR resins. It specializes in the production of top-quality low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene granules, with color variation and an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons.”

The Schoenherr team was led by Partner Alexandra Doytchinova and Attorney at Law Katerina Kaloyanova-Toshkova.

The Boyanov & Co team included Partner Yordan Naydenov and Associate Teodora Peycheva.

CMS and King & Spalding have successfully represented ACF Renewable Energy Limited – a JV between ACWA Power, Blackrock, and Crescent Capital – in an ICSID case against Bulgaria for the breach of fair and equitable treatment under the Energy Charter Treaty, concerning the 61-megawatt Karadzhalovo photovoltaic plant built in 2012.

According to CMS, it “completed the acquisition of the 61-megawatt Karadzhalovo photovoltaic plant in January 2012 and subsequently defended the investors in the Bulgarian domestic courts against most of the illegal measures taken by the Regulator and other Bulgarian authorities against the Feed-In Tariff, which was fixed for a period of 20 years.”

Moreover, the firm reports that, on January 5, 2024, the ICSID tribunal issued its “final award and found that Bulgaria had broken the treaty and ordered them to pay the claimant EUR 61.04 million plus interest, legal costs and expenses of approximately EUR 265,000 and USD 5.2 million, as well as the Tribunal’s and the Secretariat’s fees and expenses of approximately USD 480,000.”

Back in 2018, CMS advised ACF Renewable Energy Limited on the restructuring of its debt (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 3, 2018), and, in 2020, advised on the sale of the plant to Enery (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 15, 2020).

The CMS team included Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov, Counsels Borislava Piperkova and Jenia Dimitrova, Senior Associates Elena Yotova-Yordanova and Borislava Pokrass, and Associate Diyan Georgiev.

CMS has advised Global Biomet on the EUR 50 million financing for the Aratiden PV project in Bulgaria granted by UniCredit Bulbank. CMS also advised on the project’s two EPC contracts, with Green Solar Energy for substations and grid connection, and with Rashev & Co for the PV section.

Aratiden is an SPV of Global Biomet, a Bulgarian transportation and renewable energy company. Global Biomet operates 12 photovoltaic plants with a total capacity of over 18.5 megawatts in Bulgaria.

The financing comes following the successful licensing of the project by the Utility Regulator of Bulgaria, on which CMS assisted Global Biomet last year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 9, 2023).

Back in 2021, CMS successfully represented Global Biomet in proceedings against the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Bulgaria in a dispute related to the country’s feed-in tariff (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 19, 2021) and, in 2020, helped the company settle a multi-million euro renewable energy dispute with the Sustainable Energy Development Fund (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 23, 2020).

The CMS team included Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov, Counsel Borislava Piperkova, Senior Associate Elena Yotova-Yordanova, Junior Associate Lubomira Tanchovska, and Trainees Boris Kirov and Nia Ivanova