CMS has advised the Romanian Commodities Exchange on its acquisition of a 75% stake in the Bulgarian Energy Trading Platform.
The Bulgarian Energy Trading Platform is Bulgaria’s second gas exchange market and the first privately owned.
The CMS team included Partner Atanas Bangachev, Senior Associates Denitsa Dudevska, Alexander Rangelov, and Katya Todorova, and Associates Nikola Naydenov and Nadya Chukova.
Walless, working with Gernandt & Danielsson, has advised ICA Gruppen on the sale of Rimi Baltic Group to Salling Group for EUR 1.3 billion. Sorainen reportedly advised Salling Group on the deal.
Rimi Baltic Group operates 314 grocery stores across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and employs 11,000 people.
According to Walless, the deal allows ICA Gruppen to sharpen its focus on the Swedish market while positioning Rimi Baltic Group for growth under new ownership.
The Walless team included Managing Partner Dovile Burgiene, Partners Arturas Grimaila, Indre Jonaityte-Grice, Minni-Triin Park, Sintija Radionova, Kuldar-Jaan Torokoff, Joana Baublyte-Kulviete, Alina Makovska, Darius Miniotas, Andres Siigur, Hannes Vallikivi, Toomas Taube, Renata Jatuzyte-Muleviciene, and Andis Ozolins, Associate Partners Vytenis Cep, Edita Dauksiene, Akvile Marozaite, Danielius Matonis, Simona Miliauskaite-Gintute, Alma Monkeviciene, Arina Stivrina, Guoda Sileikyte, and Konstantins Telakovs, Counsel Katrin Alliksaar, Experts Raimondas Andrijauskas, Senior Associates Mara Bekere, Arturs Caics, Giedre Cesiulyte-Megine, Igors Dambrans, Monika Gadeike, Gabriele Gudauskiene, Indre Jocite, Kaisa Saarmann, Liina Kais, Zane Karklina, Margus Koiva, Baiba Krievina-Sutora, Mykolas Luksenas, Janis Ozolins, Tomas Paulauskas, Ieva Pikaiste, Laura Tumina, Ignas Urbonas, Liis Venelaine, and Eduardas Simkus, Attorney at Law Riin Rehepapp, Associates Ieva Smigelskaite, Artur Dubickij, Ugne Grigaityte, Rasa Jakstait, Karolina Mickute, Roma Morkunait, Karlis Murnieks, Aura Rimonyte, Adomas Saladzius, Vytautas Samavicius, Dominyka Seputaite, and Martynas Zdanavicius, Junior Associates Emils Klavs Liepins, Justinas Gasys, Igne Kazanaviciete, Maria Lutter, and Erika Vicaiste, and Legal Assistants Rezija Gaujere, Konstance Krievina, and Salvijus Vitas.
Linklaters, working with Ergun, has advised Turkerler Holding subsidiary Turker Global Madencilik on a share purchase and option agreement for the acquisition of a gold mine development project in Bulgaria for USD 55 million from Toronto-listed Velocity Minerals and its joint venture partner, Gorubso Kardzhali. Lotz & Company reportedly advised the sellers.
The Linklaters team included Partner Daniel Cousens, Managing Associate Klaudia Sliwka, Associate Zuzanna Oldfield
The Ergun team included Partner Lara Sezerler and Associate Melis Kaim.
Freshfields has advised Midea Group subsidiary Midea Electrics Netherlands on its EUR 750 million acquisition of the climate division from Arbonia AG. BDK Advokati advised Midea on the local aspects of the acquisition of Serbian company Termovent, as part of the broader transaction. Baker McKenzie advised Arbonia.
Midea develops and manufactures products in the area of air conditioning and building technology, industrial components, robotics, and automation.
Arbonia AG is a Swiss building supplier, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
The Freshfields team included Vienna-based Counsel Gernot Fritz and Associate Iris Amschl as well as further team members in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hong Kong, Brussels, Tokyo, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Milan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Paris.
The BDK Advokati team included Senior Partner Vladimir Dasic and Junior Associate Peter Eric.
The Baker McKenzie team included Warsaw-based Associates Anna Krekora, Michal Pakosz, and Piotr Pawlowski and Paralegal Konrad Rutkowski, Prague-based Associate Jan Dudik, as well as further team members in Zurich, Geneva, Berlin, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Beijing, Shanghai, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and Stockholm.
Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Karanovic & Partners announced that it advised Arbonia as well. The firm’s team included Senior Partner Milos Jakovljevic and Junior Associates Teodora Vasin and Kristijan Nikolic.
Ellex, working with Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, has advised Adven on the renewal of its financing platform by raising EUR 675 million.
Adven is a provider of sustainable energy solutions in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
According to Ellex, the transaction, which raised EUR 675 million through a mix of bank financing and private placement loans, closed in January 2025 and provides a strong foundation for the company’s future growth.
In 2023, Ellex advised Adven Group Companies in Latvia on joining global financing (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 11, 2023).
The Ellex team included Latvia-based Associate Partner Marta Cera, Senior Associates Beata Plocina and Niklavs Zieds, and Associate Eliza Semkina and Estonia-based Partner Ermo Kosk and Counsel Toomas Kasesalu.
Ellex did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
Cerha Hempel has advised the shareholders of Semantic Web Company and the company itself on a collaboration with Ontotext which resulted in the formation of Graphwise. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised Ontotext.
According to Cerha Hempel, Graphwise is a company combining expertise in semantic technologies and knowledge management to strengthen Europe’s AI ecosystem – with a key focus on reducing the “hallucinations” of large language models.
Semantic Web Company, based in Vienna, is a software and consulting firm in semantic technologies.
Sofia-based Ontotext is a semantic graph database and knowledge-graph solutions company.
The Cerha Hempel team included Partners Mark Krenn, Heinrich Foglar-Deinhardstein, and Boyko Gerginov, Senior Associates Alina Alavi Kia and Kalin Bonev, and Associates Bernhard Lichtneger and Lazar Georgiev.
The DGKV team included Partners Georgi Tzvetkov and Valentin Bojilov and Associate Irina Mihailova.
Dentons, working with Kirkland & Ellis, Grette, and Akund Forbes, has advised Helmerich & Payne on the USD 1.97 billion acquisition of UK-headquartered KCA Deutag International Limited. Allen Overy Shearman Sterling reportedly advised KCA Deutag International Limited.
Helmerich & Payne is an NYSE-listed drilling rig manufacturer.
KCA Deutag is an international oil and gas services company, which employs approximately 9,000 people and operates in more than 20 countries worldwide.
According to Dentons, the deal will “establish a global leader in onshore drilling and will allow Helmerich & Payne to enhance its global presence, particularly in the Middle East, and diversify its operational mix across crude oil and natural gas markets.”
The Dentons team included Prague-based Partner Evan Lazar, Bucharest-based Partner Perry Zizzi, Warsaw-based Partner Aleksandra Minkowicz-Flanek, Senior Associate Tomasz Lasyk, Associate Rozanna Piela-Wojciechowska as well as further lawyers in Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Germany, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom.
Cobalt has advised Apollo Group’s Estonian subsidiary Treeland on increasing its ownership in the Latvian restaurant chain Lido AS to 96% via share acquisition from KE Projekti.
The Apollo Group is a hospitality management company.
KE Projekti is fully owned by Gunars Kirsons, the founder of Lido.
According to Cobalt, the acquisition of an additional 21% of shares solidifies Treeland Group’s position as the majority shareholder. “Lido founder Gunars Kirsons will retain a 4% stake in the company but has withdrawn from the supervisory board.”
The Cobalt team included Senior Associate Diana Zepa.
Oppenheim and Invicta have advised JRD Energo Group and its co-investors on the sale of JRD’s Hungarian photovoltaic power plant portfolio with a 29.440 kilowatt built-in capacity to the Hungarian subsidiary of Obton. Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners and Havel & Partners advised Obton.
JRD Energo Group is a Czech Republic-based investor in the renewable energy sector engaged in the development, construction, and operation of solar, battery, and wind parks in the CEE region.
Obton is an investment and development company that targets land and rooftop owners, developers, and financial institutions with the goal of building a broad and risk-diverse portfolio of assets in the field of renewable energy.
The Oppenheim team included Partner Peter Horvai-Hillenbrand, Counsel Zoltan Kolodzey, and Associates Patrik Pazmandi and Gergely Szecsenyi.
The Invicta team included Managing Partner Martin Mladek and Associate Marek Plojhar.
The Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners team included Partners Zsofia Fuzi and Reka Bali, Associate Eszter Bedo, and Trainee Lawyers Bence Spisak, Dora Kisszabo, and Matyas Komlosi.
The Havel & Partners team included Partner Jan Koval and Managing Associate Petra Tomsu.
Eversheds Sutherland has advised the Foreign Expansion Fund 2 FIZAN of Polski Fundusz Rozwoju on debt financing to Euvic for the acquisition of stakes in five companies operating in the IT sector in Lviv, Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Vinnytsia.
Euvic is a Polis IT service provider.
According to Eversheds Sutherland, this marks the PFR Group’s inaugural project financing investment in Ukraine.
The Eversheds Sutherland team included Partner Mateusz Dereszynski, Of Counsel Adrian Ziolkowski, and Lawyer Rafal Wlodzimierz Piasecki.
Eversheds Sutherland did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.