CEE Legal Matters

Category: News

  • CMS and Filip & Company Advise on Banca Transilvania Purchase of OTP Bank Romania

    CMS has advised the OTP Group on the binding agreement to sell its stake in OTP Bank Romania and all subsidiaries to Banca Transilvania for a combined purchase price is EUR 347.5 million. Filip & Company advised Banca Transilvania on the acquisition.

    The transaction includes OTP Bank Romania, OTP Leasing, and OTP Asset Management and remains contingent on regulatory approval.

    According to CMS, the deal marks OTP Group’s full exit from the Romanian market, after 20 years, to local market leader Banca Transilvania.

    Since 2004, the OTP Bank banking group has been the majority shareholder of OTP Bank Romania. Operating in Romania as a universal bank, OTP Bank Romania currently serves approximately 420,000 retail customers and more than 22,000 corporate/SME customers, thanks to its 1,800 employees and a network of 96 branches.

    BT is the largest bank in Romania and South-Eastern Europe, CMS reported, covering all customer segments and business lines in the financial sector. It has more than 4 million customers, approximately 10,000 employees, and a strong branch network countrywide.

    “We are honored and happy to contribute to furthering the success story of Banca Transilvania at the top of the Romanian banking market,” Filip & Company Partner Alina Stancu Birsan said. “We thank BT for choosing us to partner again in this complex and challenging project and to work together with a team we admire. We take pride in the success of both our client and our team.”

    “It is a pleasure to continue supporting our longstanding client in navigating the complexities of the disposal of its Romanian business to BT,” CMS London-based Partner Eva Talmacsi commented. “OTP Bank Romania has been an important feature of Romania’s banking sector for two decades, characterized by strong organic growth and exceptional customer service. The disposal of its Romanian arm forms an important part of OTP Group’s strategic objectives, and we look forward to following OTP’s journey in realizing its future plans.”

    The CMS team was led by Talmacsi and Partner Rodica Manea and included Partners Horea Popescu and Cristina Reichmann, Counsels Raluca Ionescu and Claudia Nagy, Tax Director Andrei Tercu, Associates Simona Strava and Cristina Ciomos, and more than 10 other lawyers from the banking, data protection, IP, litigation, and white-collar crime teams.

    The Filip & Company team was led by Stancu Birsan and Partner Cristina Filip and included Partners Alexandra Manciulea, Catalin Suliman, Eliza Baias, Olga Nita, George Trantea, Ioana Roman, and Cristina Tudoran, Senior Associates Rebecca Marina, Camelia Iantuc, Simona Ungureanu, Alin Grapa, and Diana Gavra, and Associates Marius Gheldiu, Raluca Bita, Andrei Banescu, Daria Olteanu, Monica Popa, Valeriu Iliescu, Ionut Blidar, Tudor Dobinda, Ruxandra Tenea, Madalina Cristache, Teodor Trandafir, Cezara Diaconescu, Malina Palade, and Alina Savastre, among others.

  • Schoenherr Advises Enery on Ten-Year Renewable Energy VPPA with Dreher Breweries

    Schoenherr has advised Enery on its ten-year virtual cross-border power purchase agreement with Asahi Europe & International’s Dreher Breweries in Hungary.

    The agreement aims to provide green energy and guarantees of origin for the production at Dreher Breweries’ facilities in Hungary, Schoenherr reported. “Under the deal, Austria-based Enery will provide the venerable Hungarian brewery with 14 gigawatt-hours of certified renewable electricity a year, starting from January 2025. This marks Enery’s second long-term VPPA with subsidiaries of Asahi Europe & International, following a 50-megawatt-peak VPPA with Romania’s Ursus Breweries concluded in 2023.”

    Enery has an operating renewable energy portfolio of 312 megawatts, generating almost 450 gigawatt-hours, as well as a development pipeline of more than 8 gigawatts in 11 countries.

    According to the firm, the contract supports Asahi Europe & International’s goal of becoming carbon neutral in all its breweries by 2030 and is also “one of the first major PPAs in the Hungarian FMCG sector, as well as a sustainability undertaking yet to be followed in the local food industry.”

    The Schoenherr team was led by Romania-based Partner Monica Cojocaru and Managing Attorney at Law Vlad Cordea and included Hungary-based Attorney at Law Gergely Horvath.

  • E+H and Noerr Advise Coveris on Acquisition of S&K Label in Czech Republic

    E+H and Noerr have advised Coveris on the acquisition of S&K Label in the Czech Republic. Deloitte Legal reportedly advised the sellers.

    Coveris describes itself as a leading European packaging company that manufactures flexible and sustainable solutions for some of the world’s most respected brands.

    According to E+H, “for Coveris, this is the third acquisition in Central and Eastern Europe, following the acquisition of two flexible packaging companies in Hungary and Poland, and is the first acquisition of a labels manufacturer outside the UK. This strategic expansion underlines Coveris’ aim to build a pan-European business platform and further strengthen its presence in mainland Europe.”

    The E+H team included Partners Clemens Lanschuetzer and Judith Feldner and Associates Alexander Moser, Georg Ball, and Yvonne Handler.

    The Noerr team included Counsel Michal Janicek, Senior Associate Matej Bolek, and Associates Tereza Marek and Stepan Gresak.

  • Schoenherr Advises TeraPlast on Wolfgang Freiler Group Acquisition

    Schoenherr has advised the TeraPlast Group on its acquisition of the Wolfgang Freiler Group from Austria’s Uhl family.

    The Romania-based TeraPlast Group is a polymer processor in South-Eastern Europe. Its member company TeraPlast SA is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. The transaction included production facilities in Hungary as well as a distribution division in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and France.

    “The acquisition extends and complements TeraPlast Group’s product portfolio, facilitating the access to new, high potential markets in Central and Western Europe,” Schoenherr announced. “Polytech and Pro-Moulding, the two subsidiaries of the Wolfgang Freiler Group, carry out production activities in Hungary, while Freiler oversees the distribution activity. Polytech manufactures pipes for the protection of electrical cables and optical fibres while Pro-Moulding specialises in plastic injection.”

    The Schoenherr team was led by Markus Piuk and included Hungary-based Partner Kinga Hetenyi, Attorneys at Law Mark Kovacs, Adrian Menczelesz, and Aron Hegyi, and Associate Noemi Suller; Romania-based Partner Narcisa Oprea and Senior Attorney at Law Cristina Tudoras; and Austria-based Associate Alexandra Jelinek.

    The firm did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

  • Dentons, Binder Groesswang, and DGKV Advise UniCredit Bulbank and EBRD on Financing for Tsenovo Solar Plant

    Dentons, Binder Groesswang, and Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov have advised UniCredit Bulbank and the EBRD on the financing for Enery Development’s construction and operation of a large-scale solar plant in north-eastern Bulgaria set to add 112.5 megawatts of solar power generation to the country’s electricity system. Schoenherr reportedly advised Enery Development.

    According to Dentons, the “EBRD guaranteed up to EUR 25 million of the financing under its risk-sharing framework.  This was the first greenfield renewable project financed under this framework.”

    The Tsenovo solar plant is sponsored by Enery Development, a Vienna-based infrastructure company with more than 300 megawatts of operational renewable energy plants across Central and Eastern Europe. Enery is supported by the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund.

    The Dentons team included Bucharest-based Partner Claudiu Munteanu-Jipescu, Counsels Maria Tomescu and Elena Vlasceanu, and Associate Cristina Staicu, and Warsaw-based Partner Mark Segall and Trainee Solicitor Magdalena Luniak.

    The Binder Groesswang team included Partner Stefan Tiefenthaler, Attorney at Law Mathias Drescher, and Associate David Schneebauer.

    The DGKV team included Partners Milan Pandev and Kaloyan Krumov, Senior Associates Maya Mircheva and Deyan Bogdanov, and Associates Zhanet Miteva and Yana Dimitrova.

  • Nlaw Appoints Martin Hren as Managing Partner in Croatia and Katya Mezek To Lead Newly Opened US Office

    Nlaw Partner Martin Hren has become the new Managing Partner of the firm’s Croatian office. At the same time, Nlaw announced the opening of its US office with Of Counsel Katya Mezek at the helm.

    Originally from Slovenia, Nlaw has been present in the Croatian market since 2020 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 7, 2020).

    According to the firm, Hren “brings years of experience in corporate and commercial deals. He has worked both with larger enterprises and with young entrepreneurs. Notably, he is recognized for his work in the tech segment.” He has been with the firm since 2023. Before that, he spent four years with Savoric & Partners.

    As for the new US office, Nlaw reports that it will “focus on serving clients rooted in Central and Eastern Europe. We will be providing various corporate and commercial legal services. We expect to focus on assisting with relocating HQs to the US, raising funds from US-based VC investors, investing in US entities, and providing all the legal support required for companies to offer their services and products to customers in the US.”

    Mezek, the new office head, has previously spent six years as the Managing Attorney of LEKS Law. Before that, she spent two years with the Structure Law Group and seven years with Shaub & Williams.

  • Austria’s Mariella Kapoun and Georg Gutfleisch and Slovenia’s Amela Zrt and Ivan Kranjec Make Partner at CMS

    Mariella Kapoun and Georg Gutfleisch have become Partners at CMS in Austria, while Amela Zrt and Ivan Kranjec have become Partners at CMS in Slovenia, as part of the firm’s latest promotion round.

    Kapoun and Gutfleisch both focus on real estate, construction, and transactions. Kapoun has been with CMS since 2016. Before that, she spent a year with Cerha Hempel.

    Gutfleisch has been with CMS since 2020. Before that, he spent four and a half years with Brandl Talos and, earlier, two years with DLA Piper.

    According to CMS, Zrt is a labor and data protection law expert. She has been with CMS’s Ljubljana office for seven and a half years. Before that, she spent two years with Kraljic and, earlier, over a year and a half with Rojs Peljhan Prelesnik & Partners.

    Kranjec is the Head of Tax at CMS in Slovenia. He has been with the firm since 2014. Before that, he spent two years with PwC, four years with BDO, and just under a year with Vonda.

    “Each new partner has demonstrated a strong commitment to the interests of our clients and the legal profession,” Managing Partners Guenther Hanslik and Johannes Juranek commented. “The current promotions reflect not only professional achievement, but also the firm’s continued investment in our team members. We look forward to the next steps in the careers of Mariella, Georg, Amela, and Ivan. Their dedication, expertise, and innovative thinking embody the values we cherish at CMS.”

  • Act Legal and SSW Pragmatic Solutions Advise on Doosan Skoda Power EPC Agreement with Orlen

    Act Legal has advised Doosan Skoda Power on executing an EPC agreement with Orlen. SSW Pragmatic Solutions advised Orlen. The total value of the project exceeds EUR 125 million.

    Doosan Skoda Power is a manufacturer and supplier of turbine generator units.

    According to Act Legal, “Doosan Skoda Power struck an EPC agreement with Orlen for the modernization of the TG-4 and TG-5 turbine generator sets, of 55 megawatts each, at Orlen’s combined heat and power plant in Plock, as well as a long-term service agreement.”

    Moreover, Act Legal reports that PKN Orlen’s “combined heat and power plant in Plock is the biggest industrial CHP plant in Poland and one of the largest in Europe in terms of thermal capacity; it produces heat and electrical power in a high-efficiency cogeneration process. It is also a major supplier of heat contained in steam and heating water, as well as electricity, used for production facilities and external customers, including the city of Plock.”

    The Act Legal team included Czech Republic-based Partner Jan Havel and Senior Lawyer Jakub Adamek as well as Poland-based Managing Partner Marek Wojnar and Senior Lawyer Piotr Gizynski.

    The SSW team included Partner Hubert Wysoczanski and Counsel Katarzyna Cybulska.

  • Walless Advises Med Grupe on Sale of Distribution Business to Straumann

    Walless has advised the Med Grupe shareholders on the sale of their pan-Baltic dental equipment distribution business to Straumann. Sorainen reportedly advised the Straumann Group.

    Med Grupe is a distributor of dental products in the Baltic states.

    Straumann is a tooth replacement and orthodontic solutions company that operates brands specializing in restorative, prosthetic, corrective, and digital dentistry, including Anthogyr, ClearCorrect, Dental Wings, Medentika, Neodent, NUVO, and Straumann, among others.

    A few days prior, Straumann Holding purchased Schmidt Dental in Poland (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 31, 2024).

    The Walless team included Managing Partner Dovile Burgiene, Partners Aiste Medeliene and Darius Miniotas, Associate Partner Sarunas Basijokas, and Associates Ieva Pikaite and Mykolas Luksenas.

  • Eversheds Sutherland Advises on SWS Sale to Also Holding

    Eversheds Sutherland has advised the shareholders of SWS on the full sale of the company – including subsidiaries Entec Solutions and SWS International in Slovakia – to Also Holding.

    The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

    SWS is a Czech ICT distributor.

    Also Holding is a Swiss technology company operating in 30 countries in Europe. It provides IT services on a transactional basis as well as on an as-a-service basis. It also offers digital platform services such as IoT, artificial intelligence, virtualization, and cybersecurity.

    “We are looking forward to a period full of challenges and new opportunities that will open up by joining one of the world’s leading IT providers,” SWS Managing Director Martina Vlckova commented. “Thanks to this step, we can better compete in a competitive environment, gain a stronger market position, access to new technologies, and expand our reach.”

    The Eversheds Sutherland team included Managing Partner Borivoj Libal and Associate Marek Poloni.

    Eversheds Sutherland could not disclose further information on the matter.

    Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Noerr announced that it advised Also Holding on its acquisition of SWS. The firm’s team included Partner Barbara Kusak, Counsel Michal Janicek, Senior Associate Lucia Luptakova, and Attorney at Law Tereza Mare.