In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. With 2024 behind us, we asked: Looking at transactional volumes for this year, would you say that 2024 was better or worse than what you originally expected it to be, and why?

The private healthcare sector across CEE has been expanding at a remarkable pace, reshaping the way people access and experience medical care.

Financing transactions often involve lenders taking security over the assets of a borrower’s group of companies. The typical security package in Bulgaria includes security over the borrower’s and other relevant group companies’ shares and the receivables deriving from such shares.

CMS has advised Green Energy Market on a 10-year market coordinator license from the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission of Bulgaria.

CMS has advised the Romanian Commodities Exchange on its acquisition of a 75% stake in the Bulgarian Energy Trading Platform.

Schoenherr has advised the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy on launching two support schemes under the Bulgarian Recovery and Resilience Plan.

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.

Hristov & Partners Partners Pavel Hristov and Dragomir Stefanov talk about M&A in Bulgaria in 2025.

CMS Sofia Managing Partner Kostadin Sirleshtov and Counsel Borislava Piperkova talk about energy in Bulgaria in 2025.

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around we asked: If you have a formal partnership track, how do you handle lawyers on it who do NOT end up living up to the requirements to make a Partner?

Recent court decisions in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector are expected to influence the way in which businesses manage, protect, and enforce their intellectual property rights and trade secrets in Bulgaria.

CEE Legal Matters is proud to introduce the latest in our Comparative Guides series. This one focuses on Real Estate in CEE.

Contributed by Schoenherr.

By judgment from 9 January 2025 in Case C‑394/23 the Court of Justice (CJEU) rules that the processing of personal data relating to the title of the customers of a transport undertaking is not necessary and might even be not legally grounded.

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.

CMS has advised Solar Park Trakiya on a EUR 32 million financing from EuroBank Bulgaria for the 57.6-megawatt-peal Sinitovo photovoltaic project.

Kinstellar has advised Paradox Interactive on its acquisition of Haemimont Games.

Boyanov & Co. has advised Generali CEE Holding in the acquisition of United Health Insurance Fund Doverie. Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov advised the seller.