CEE Legal Matters

Category: Serbia

  • Former JPM Partners Launch MVJ Markovic Vukotic Jovkovic

    Former JPM Partners Launch MVJ Markovic Vukotic Jovkovic

    Former JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic Partners Uros Markovic, Nikola Vukotic, and Marko Jovkovic have left that Serbian law firm to launch their own practice: MVJ Markovic Vukotic Jovkovic. 

    The lawyers left JPM in November of last year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 13, 2017). At MVJ — which focuses on Corporate/M&A, Banking & Finance, Real Estate & Construction , and Energy — they are joined by two associates, as well as additonal trainees and administrative staff.

    According to Uros Markovic, the firm’s smaller size reflects a deliberate strategy. “At some point we recognized that there is a huge gap between the standard legal advice which you can obtain at almost any major law firm on the market and the premium advice and guidance which you can receive only from a limited number of professionals,” he said. “The concept we are pursuing is a boutique law firm with the goal to be more efficient than the larger law firms, where the clients will be provided with agile legal services, tailored to clients’ specific needs through personalized support, understanding and advise furnished directly and entirely by the leaders in their fields.  

     

  • Karanovic & Nikolic and Linklaters Advise on Serbian Baking Yeast Factory Sale

    Karanovic & Nikolic and Linklaters Advise on Serbian Baking Yeast Factory Sale

    Karanovic & Nikolic has advised Alltech, a global animal and crop nutrition company, on selling its baking yeast factory in Senta, Northern Serbia, to Lesaffre, a global baking yeast and fermented products company. Lesaffre was advised by Linklaters Brussels. 

    According to Karanovic & Nikolic, “the acquired factory will continue to produce baker’s yeast for the Serbian market and yeast extracts for the food and animal feed industries. The transaction is in line with Alltech’s continued focus on its core business in animal and crop nutrition.”

    Alltech is headquartered outside of Lexington, Kentucky, in the United States. With expertise in yeast fermentation, solid state fermentation, and the science of nutrigenomics, the company is a producer and processor of yeast additives, organic trace minerals, feed ingredients, premix, and feed.

    Lesaffre, which was founded in northern France in 1853, is a multi-national and a multicultural company which designs, manufactures, and markets solutions for baking, food taste and pleasure, health care, and biotechnology.

    Karanovic & Nikolic’s team included Partner Ivan Nonkovic and Junior Associates Milijana Tomic and Marko Culafic. 

    The Linklaters Brussels team was led by Competition Partner Bernd Meyring and Corporate Partner Eric Pottier. 

     

  • AP Legal Advises Eurobank and Komercijalna Banka on Loan to Retail Center Belgrade

    AP Legal Advises Eurobank and Komercijalna Banka on Loan to Retail Center Belgrade

    AP Legal has advised Eurobank a.d. and Komercijalna Banka a.d. Belgrade, in relation to a EUR 29.6 million senior loan to Retail Center d.o.o. Belgrade. The borrower did not engage external counsel on the deal.

    The loan is meant to finance the acquisition of the TC Mercator Belgrade shopping mall from Mercator-S d.o.o. Novi Sad. Mercator S is a Serbian subsidiary of Slovenian retail chain Mercator (a member of Agrokor group).

    The AP Legal team consisted of Counsels Aleksandar Preradovic and Aleksandra Jovic, with the help of Lawyer Dusan Preradovic.  

     

  • A&O, BDK, Van Campen Liem, Sidley Austin, and ZSP Advise on Mid Europa Acquisition of Majority Stake in Medigroup

    A&O, BDK, Van Campen Liem, Sidley Austin, and ZSP Advise on Mid Europa Acquisition of Majority Stake in Medigroup

    Allen & Overy, BDK Advokati, and Van Campen Liem have advised Blue Sea Capital on the sale of a 55% stake in Serbia’s MediGroup healthcare provider to Mid Europa, which was represented by Sidley Austin and Zavisin Semiz & Partneri. 

    Blue Sea Capital will retain a 45% stake in the company. The transaction is subject to customary competition clearance and is expected to close in second quarter of 2018.

    According to a Blue Sea Capital press release, “MediGroup is the leading private healthcare provider in Serbia with 13 facilities across key cities, providing inpatient, outpatient, lab, IVF, ophthalmology and cosmetology services.”

    Matthew Strassberg, Co-Managing Partner of Mid Europa, who founded and leads its healthcare sector practice, commented: “MediGroup represents an ideal entry platform into the burgeoning private healthcare market in Serbia. We expect to leverage our decade-long experience of nurturing the growth of healthcare providers such as LuxMed in Poland and Regina Maria in Romania to accelerate the development of MediGroup.”

    “Our partnership with Blue Sea Capital will ensure that MediGroup continues to have access to their local expertise and execution capabilities while benefiting from our significant sector experience and resources as well as the know-how of Regina Maria’s management team.” Csanad Daniel, Principal of Mid Europa, who led the execution of the transaction, added. “With its leading brand and high-quality facilities, MediGroup is poised to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities in the Serbian healthcare market. We are enthusiastic to work together with our partner Blue Sea Capital and MediGroup’s management during the next phase of the Company’s development, supporting it through capital investments for organic and acquisitive growth.”

    Sasa Galic, Managing Partner of Blue Sea Capital stated: “I am proud of what the Blue Sea Capital team together with the management has achieved since MediGroup’s launch in 2013.”

    Vuk Vukovic, Partner of Blue Sea Capital commented: “Through its distinctive approach to the provision of healthcare services and its willingness to invest strongly, MediGroup has become a country leader. The partnership with Mid Europa creates a great opportunity to take MediGroup’s development to another level.”

    The transaction was executed by Csanad Daniel, Murat Buyumez, and Can Karapence from Mid Europa, and by Vuk Vukovic, Mirko Milojevic and Marko Jojic from Blue Sea Capital. 

    The Allen & Overy team consisted of Consultant Hugh Owen, working with Senior Associates Anna Osinska and Maciej Szykut in Warsaw. Tax advice was provided by Partner Lydia Challen in London. Luxembourg advice was provided by Associate Matthieu de Donder and Partner Peter Myners. London-based Partner Gordon Milne and Bratislava-based Counsel Attila Csongrady assisted on certain finance related matters.

    The Van Campen Liem team providing Dutch and Luxembourg counsel consisted of Partners Andrew de Vries, Marcello Distaso, and Aldo Shuurman, Counsel Coen Sip, and Associate Ekaterina Lebedeva.

    The BDK Advokati team was led by Senior Partner Vladimir Dasic, assisted by Junior Associates Jelena Zelenbaba and Milica Skaro.

    The Sidley Austin team advising Mid Europa was led by Partner Mark Thompson and included Partners Sava Savov and James Crooks, Senior Associate Michelle Tong, and Associates Priya Rupal and  Martin Michalski. Partner Oliver Currall and Associate Jason Pegnall provided tax advice as well.

    The ZSP team was led by Partner Natasa Zavisin, supported by Associate Nikola Sugaris.

  • Partner Dino Jusufovic Leaves JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic

    Partner Dino Jusufovic Leaves JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic

    Partner Dino Jusufovic has left JPM Jankovic Popovic Mitic.

    Jusufovic, who graduated from the University of Belgrade in 2006, joined JPM the same year, and he made Partner in June, 2015. He specializes in commercial litigation and arbitration. 

    According to a firm press release, “it has been twelve years of remarkable accomplishments, marked by common collegial values and shared purpose of achieving and exceeding standards of professional excellence.”

     

  • BDK Advokati Advises EBRD on Loan to BG Reklam

    BDK Advokati Advises EBRD on Loan to BG Reklam

    BDK Advokati has advised the EBRD on its provision of a EUR 2 million loan to BG Reklam, a marketing materials manufacturer. 

    The deal included financing from the Enterprise Expansion Fund (ENEF) and Banca Intesa. Due to the fact that the ENEF is managed by the EBRD, BDK Advokati indirectly advised ENEF too, while Banca Intesa was counseled by its in-house lawyers.

    BG Reklam designs, develops, and produces permanent point-of-sale materials in Serbia. The EBRD loan will help the company to upgrade and expand its facilities, increase its capacity, and produce specialized products.

    The transaction is the latest in the continuing trend of investments made by multilateral agencies in Serbia and the region (including those in the SME market) since the second half of last year.

    The BDK team was headed by Managing Partner Tijana Kojovic, who was assisted by Senior Associate Dragoljub Sretenovic and Associates Dorde Zejak and Igor Matic.

     

  • Ivan Petrovic Makes Partner at JPM

    Ivan Petrovic Makes Partner at JPM

    Ivan Petrovic has been promoted to Partner in JPM’s Real Estate department.

    According to JPM, Petrovic, who joined the firm in 2005, “has accumulated extensive experience in the real estate sector, advising on some of Serbia’s most complex real estate deals. His pragmatic and commercially-focused legal advice is trusted and sought after by numerous clients.” 

    He holds an LL.B degree from the University of Belgrade and is a member of the Belgrade Bar Association.

     

  • Electronic Documents: Will They Prevail or Exist in Parallel With Hard-Copy Documents?

    In this era of digitalization, where legal frameworks around the world are rapidly changing to cope with revolutionary developments in the IT sector, the Serbian Government is following a similar path. Serbia is in the EU accession process and is thus obliged to harmonize its legislation with EU laws. One such law is EU Regulation No. 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (the “Relevant EU Regulation”). 

    With the objective of harmonizing its legislation with the Relevant EU Regulation, the Serbian Parliament has recently adopted the Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Identification and Trust Services in E-Commerce (the “Law”), which entered into force on October 27, 2017. The Law introduces significant improvements and innovations and its implementation is expected to lead to the rapid development of a digital environment and electronic business in Serbia.     

    The Law explicitly states that the validity, power of evidence, or written form of an electronic document cannot be challenged solely because of its electronic form. Moreover, it provides that if an electronic document contains an electronic signature or electronic stamp, it is unnecessary to provide a signature or stamp of the same person or legal entity in any other form. Further, the Law defines when an electronic document is considered to be an original (according to the Law: when it was originally created in an electronic form) and when it is considered a copy (when it was made by digitalizing a hard-copy document). It also states that digitalized electronic documents (i.e. the e-documents considered to be copies of original hard-copy documents) have, subject to the fulfillment of certain statutory terms, the same power of evidence as the hard-copy originals. The same is applicable in the opposite direction as well – if original electronic documents are printed, their printed copies have, assuming that certain statutory terms are fulfilled, the same power of evidence as the electronic originals. 

    The Law recognizes three types of electronic signatures: (1) electronic signature, (2) advanced electronic signature, and (3) qualified electronic signature. Only a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a hand-written signature. The Law also states that certain types of agreements and other legal acts (e.g., real estate sale and purchase agreements), as prescribed by specific laws, cannot be undertaken in an electronic form, and need be made in a particular form of hand-written document (e.g., a hand-written signature certification before a notary public). 

    The current electronic signing practice in Serbia is under-developed. Based on reports in the media in October 2017, qualified electronic certificates were obtained by only 360,000 citizens – thus only 5% of the Serbian population. The e-signatures are currently used predominantly in business, as legal entities are obliged to sign certain documents (e.g., financial statements) by using qualified electronic signatures. 

    The Law changes the current situation by creating an environment that encourages the use of electronic signatures by natural persons both on their own behalf and as authorized representatives of legal entities. One of the innovations which should contribute to this objective, when it comes to legal entities, is the introduction of an electronic seal. The objective is to make electronic seals as valid as standard seals (except in the above-described exceptional cases in which only hand-written documents are legally acceptable). 

    The Law also prescribes the channels of electronic communication between natural persons and legal entities on one side and the Serbian public authorities on the other side, as well as between the public authorities themselves. It also governs the issue of an electronic document’s receipt confirmation by the e-document’s recipient directly or by the provider of the electronic delivery services. These services are envisaged by the Law, along with some other types of services (e.g., the issuance of electronic signatures/seals, the issuance of qualified certificates for electronic signatures, and so on), as so-called trust services and qualified trust services, with foreign providers of qualified trust services on an equal level with local providers.

    Coming back to the question in the title, the Law certainly does not relegate hard-copy documents to history, but rather keeps them on a parallel trail with e-documents. Our overall impression is that hard-copy documents will remain a part of the Serbian business practice in the near future, but that this duality is a temporary one and that e-documents will prevail in the future.

    By Sanja Spasenovic, Attorney at Law in cooperation with Karanovic & Nikolic 

    This Article was originally published in Issue 4.12 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.

  • 10, 5 Billion EUR Investment Needed for EU’s Chapter 27

    Closing of Chapter 27: Environment is one of the most difficult and expensive challenges Serbia faces on its EU accession path.

    The rough estimate is that the fulfillment of obligations arising out of the Chapter 27 will cost the astounding 10, 5 billion EUR.  At the end of 2016, Serbia established the Green Fund, a new budgetary line which will serve solely for implementation of environmental projects and is funded by various environmental taxes, donations and loans. The Green Fund itself will not be nearly enough to cover the necessary investments – Serbia largely relies on EU’s financial help in order to fulfill its obligations on the long and difficult Chapter 27 journey, but the engagement of private sector will, for sure, be of great importance.

    Amongst other environmental issues Serbia faces, the most concerning one is the fact that there are not enough systems for water and waste management, which require investment of around 8 billion EUR. Serbia needs to construct more than 300 wastewater treatment facilities in the next couple of decades.  Current situation is rather bleak – Serbia has less than 50 of such facilities, out of which under 10 comply with relevant EU standards.

    Financing of investments requires synergy of multiple sources – state budget and local municipalities’ budgets, the Green Fund, various loans, EU funds, and the deployment of public-private partnerships (PPPs). Tapping into private sector is not only crucial for funding, but also for the exchange of very specific expert knowledge private companies possess, especially given there aren’t enough environmental experts in Serbian public administration.

    Promotion of public-private partnerships is particularly important when it comes to the two biggest environmental issues Serbia faces – wastewater treatment plants construction and construction of waste management plants and landfills. One of the most significant PPPs in Serbia is the PPP for waste management in Vinča, worth more than 300 million EUR, which will also serve for the production of green energy.  In the last years, the number of PPPs for the storage of non-hazardous waste are increasing in Serbia and feature a long-term cooperation between municipalities and private companies.

    When it comes to construction of wastewater treatment plants, reports show that there are some developments in plans to construct a wastewater treatment plant in Belgrade, which is the only European capital without such plant. However, the funding might represent a major issue for wastewater treatment plants construction. Therefore, the synergy of a public and potential private partner in applying for EU funds, as well as a more decisive approach in water pricing might be a good solution.

    The good news is that Serbia already possesses legislative supporting the establishment of PPPs and that recent years show a major progress in this field – PPPs are more often, and the public stakeholders show a much bigger openness to engage in such endeavors.

    By Marija Oreski Tomasevic, Partner, and Dunja Tasic, Senior Associate, Samardzic, Oreski, & Grbovic

  • JPM Promotes Ivan Milosevic and Bojan Sunderic to Partner

    JPM Promotes Ivan Milosevic and Bojan Sunderic to Partner

    Jankovic Popovic Mitic has announced the promotion of Ivan Milosevic and Bojan Sunderic to Partner.

    Milosevic joined the firm in 2007 from the Radovic Ratkovic Law Offices, where he had spent the previous nine months. Before that he worked as a Senior Legal Advisor with the Serbian Ministry of Defense for three and half years. According to JPM, “apart from being recognized in Serbia as a GDPR legal expert and accredited as a CIS Information Security Auditor, Milosevic has a wide experience in public procurement, corporate, and environmental law.” He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Nis in 1998.”

    Like Milosevic, Bojan Sunderic joined JPM in 2007. His practice focuses on intellectual property, contract law, consumer protection, labelling, advertising, and litigation. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade in 2005.