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Kristóf Ferenczi is appointed Firm Managing Partner of Kinstellar
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Kristóf Ferenczi has been appointed as new Firm Managing Partner effective from 1 January 2024. He will succeed Patrik Bolf, who will take on a new position within the Firm focusing on certain firm-wide projects, after having spent a very successful six years in the role. Kristóf Ferenczi has extensive executive management experience having served on Kinstellar’s Firm Management Committee since 2018 and as the Managing Partner of the Firm’s Budapest office. With over 20 years of experience, Kristóf has been with Kinstellar since the Firm’s foundation 15 years ago, and prior to that with Linklaters and DLA Piper. Kristóf is a very well-regarded energy sector specialist
Balázs Sepsey is appointed Office Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s Budapest office
Kinstellar is delighted to announce that Balázs Sepsey has been appointed as new Office Managing Partner of Kinstellar’s Budapest office effective from 1 January 2024. Balázs takes over from Kristóf Ferenczi, who has been appointed Kinstellar’s Firm Managing Partner. Rising over the years from Junior Associate to Partner in 2021, Balázs has become one of the finest acknowledged professionals in his field. A recognised energy market expert, Balázs has been a key driver of the growth and success of the Budapest energy practice over the years. As a member of the Budapest office’s management team and a mentor in the local mentoring scheme, Balázs has gained a strong understanding of our culture and values.
Romania transposes the ECN+ Directive, further strengthening the Competition Council’s investigative powers
Facing EU infringement concerns, Romania has finally adopted an ordinance amending the Competition Law no. 21/1996 (the “Competition Law”), aimed at fully transposing into local law EU Directive 1/2019 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (the “ECN+ Directive”). This was carried out through Government Emergency Ordinance no. 108/2023 (“GEO 108/2023”), published in the Official Gazette on 6 December 2023. GEO 108/2023 goes further than merely transposing the provisions of the ECN+ Directive (as some of the principles in the directive had already been reflected under national law previously)
Gotta catch 'em all: Extending the scope of the Romanian FDI Screening Regime to EU investors and below-control acquisitions
A little over one year since Romania’s new foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening regime (that we previously wrote about here and here) became fully operational, the Romanian government passed an emergency ordinance meant to further clarify particular aspects under the law (such as the scope of the screening regime, which is further extended) or to translate into law the lessons learnt or the authorities’ reading of the rules since applying the new FDI law. The new changes to the FDI law were introduced by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 108/2023 on amending the supplementing Competition Law no. 21/1996, as well as other normative acts (the “FDI Amendment Law”, published in the Official Gazette
Kinstellar advises Nova Ljubljanska Banka, d.d. (NLB) on the acquisition of Summit Leasing Slovenia
Kinstellar has successfully advised Slovenia's largest banking group, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, d.d. Ljubljana ("NLB"), on the acquisition of 100% shareholding in SLS Holdco, the parent company of Summit Leasing, a leading provider of car financing in Slovenia, and its subsidiaries, from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals and is planned for the second half of 2024. The acquisition would make NLB the first and only financial institution in the region to cover all leasing markets of the former Yugoslavia. Summit Leasing has a vast network
Kinstellar advises S IMMO AG on the sale of Eurocenter office building in Zagreb, Croatia
Kinstellar has successfully advised S IMMO AG, a real estate investment company, on the sale of Eurocenter, one of its office buildings in Zagreb, to Atlantic Grupa d.d. The transaction, which was carried out by way of a share deal, has an asset value of EUR 26.5 million. Eurocenter has been part of S IMMO AG’s commercial property portfolio since 2008. The centrally located, six-storey modern building features around 9,000 sqm and counts IBM, Atlantic Grupa, EBRD, and the Polish, Irish and Finnish embassies among its tenants. The Kinstellar team was led by Andrijana Kaštelan, Managing Associate, and included Duško Žurić, Partner, Senior Associates Tena Pajalić and Matea Sekur, as well as Kristina Marinov
Kinstellar advises Genesis Capital on the sale of SANBORN
Kinstellar’s Prague office has successfully advised Genesis Private Equity Fund III (GPEF III), from the established private equity group Genesis Capital, on the sale of SANBORN, a key supplier of precision components and specialised parts for the power generation, oil & gas and transportation industries, to industrial group Oriens. Sanborn manufactures and supplies critical components for the world’s leading manufacturers of generators and turbines, energy companies and transportation, mainly from special steel alloys. The company’s key clients include leading international industrial conglomerates such as GE, Siemens, Wabtec, Technip FMC, and OneSubsea. The company expects revenues in 2023 of over CZK
Update on the Advertising Regulatory Landscape in Ukraine
Amendments to Law of Ukraine on Advertising No. 270/96-ВР of 3 July 1996 have recently come into force. The amendments update obsolete regulations on advertising in Ukraine, thus ensuring advertising standards correspond to current technological developments. Click on one of the images below or click on the following links to read the overview in English or in Ukrainian. Download in English: Download in Ukrainian:
Kinstellar advises Chinese investors on Serbian wind farm venture
Kinstellar has successfully advised Chinese investors CMC Capital, a member of China National Technical Import and Export Corporation group (“CNTIC”), and Shanghai Electric Power & Energy Development Limited (“SEP”) on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Crni Vrh Power d.o.o., a project company developing a 150 MW onshore wind farm in the eastern Serbian municipalities of Bor, Žagubica, and Majdanpek. The Crni Vrh wind farm was purchased "ready-to-build"—which means that all essential permits and land rights were secured prior to the start of the construction phase, which includes 28 wind turbines. With this acquisition, CNTIC and SEP have entered Serbia’s renewable energy sources (RES)
Kinstellar advises AIK Banka on the acquisition of Eurobank Direktna in Serbia
Kinstellar has successfully advised AIK Banka on the competition law aspects of the EUR 280 million acquisition of 100% of Eurobank Direktna Beograd. The transaction closed in November upon receiving the necessary regulatory approvals, including competition clearances. AIK Banka is a prominent financial institution with a strong presence in the banking sector. Committed to excellence and strategic growth, AIK Banka's recent acquisition strengthens its position as a key player on the Serbian market.The acquisition of Eurobank Direktna represents a significant milestone, underscoring the consolidation trend within Serbia's banking sector and is one of the largest transactions of this kind in the sector. Kinstellar's
Kinstellar advises S IMMO AG on its acquisition of EUR 481 million property portfolio in the Czech Republic
Kinstellar has successfully advised S IMMO AG, a real estate investment company, on acquiring a property portfolio in the Czech Republic from CPI Property Group. The property portfolio comprises 11 office and retail properties, as well as development land. The transaction's property value is EUR 481 million, with an annual rental income of approximately EUR 29 million. Klára Štěpánková, Partner and the Co-head of the firm-wide Real Estate sector and Real Estate, Construction & Planning services added: We are thrilled to have advised S IMMO AG on this large and complex portfolio transaction and assist them in further expansion in the Czech Republic. The Kinstellar team was led by Klára Štěpánková
“Green Claims” in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary
On 22 March 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. The proposed Directive aims to tackle false environmental claims by ensuring that consumers receive reliable, comparable and verifiable environmental information on products and services across the European Union. By laying down clear criteria on how companies should evidence environmental claims, along with mandating an EU labelling scheme and new enforcement procedures to secure compliance, the Directive on Green Claims is designed to enable better environmental decision-making by consumers and to reduce so called “green washing” (spurious environmentally friendly claims). However, it will likely still be some time before