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Deals April 2024

Kinstellar advises Wizz Air on the lease of its headquarters in Hungary

Kinstellar has successfully advised Wizz Air in connection with the preparation and negotiation of a lease agreement for its new office headquarters in Millennium Tower, Budapest. The deal is one of the largest transactions of its kind on the Hungarian real estate market recently. Our team advised on various legal aspects throughout the transaction, the subject of which is the lease of more than 8,000 sqm in a Class A office building in Budapest. Kinstellar’s team was led by Partner Annamária Csenterics (Co-Head of the Hungarian Corporate/M&A service line) and Of Counsel Mónika Frank (Co-Head of the Hungarian Real Estate service line) and supported by Associate Judit Sós.

Deals April 2024

Kinstellar advises MAVIR and HUPX on joining Central and Southeast Europe’s largest electricity trading hub

Kinstellar has successfully advised the Hungarian Power Exchange (HUPX), together with the Hungarian Transmission System Operator, MAVIR, on the landmark Project Bluesky transaction: the Hungarian Power Exchange, HUPX’s joining Adex, a leading regional power exchange serving Central and South-Eastern Europe (CSEE). This transaction marks a significant milestone in strengthening and expanding the reach of the regional power exchange group within the region. Adex Group Ltd., which includes operators of power exchanges in Slovenia and Serbia, is recognized as the first regional energy exchange. With this transaction, HUPX becomes the third fully-owned subsidiary of Adex Group Ltd. Subject to regulatory approvals from

News April 2024

Kinstellar to continue the operation of Noerr’s CEE practice in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania & Slovakia

Noerr and Kinstellar are very pleased to announce that Noerr’s practices in Budapest, Bratislava, Bucharest and Prague are to be transferred to Kinstellar. Noerr and Kinstellar have agreed to transfer these practices after the details of the integration are fully worked out. Several important operational and technical aspects, including investments in IT systems, leasehold premises are being worked out and the deal will complete after all necessary regulatory consents and internal approvals have been obtained.  Noerr delivers the highest level of service to its clients. For many years, the law firm has successfully pursued a strategy of qualitative growth. Noerr has operated offices in CEE since 1990 and is very proud of the accomplishments

Deals March 2024

Kinstellar advises Nestlé on the sale of BOCI chocolate brand in Hungary

Kinstellar has successfully advised the world-leading food company Nestlé on the sale of the iconic Hungarian chocolate brand 'BOCI,' with a heritage spanning nearly a century, to Cerbona, a prominent Hungarian food manufacturing company.  Closing is scheduled to take place in May 2024. Kinstellar advised on transactional, commercial law, competition law as well as intellectual property matters. Notably, the transaction involved intricate intellectual property assets, adding complexity and challenge to the process.  Kinstellar team was led by Gábor Gelencsér, Partner, supported by Gergely Simon Lipták, Associate. The team also included Dániel Nagy, Managing Associate (IP law), Péter Vörös, Partner

Insights March 2024

The AI Act is adopted, what to do now?

On March 13th the EU Parliament adopted the AI Act, marking a significant milestone in shaping the region's AI landscape. The Act will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, and 20 days after publication, the AI Act will enter into force. Although it will take two full years until the grace period passes and almost all provisions will be applicable, AI providers should be aware of the detailed schedule of applicability. In addition, as the AI Act has extraterritorial scope, it does not only concern the 27 Member States of the European Union, but any AI provider worldwide whose AI systems are placed on the market or put into service in the EU. The first deadline expires in six months, as the rules

News March 2024

Kinstellar announces new promotions to Counsel

February 2024 – Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotions to Counsel of: Yerlan Akhmetov, Kuanysh Shekerbekov (Almaty, Kazakhstan), Cătălin Dinu, Cătălin Graure (Bucharest, Romania), Barnabás Sági (Budapest, Hungary), Yulia Eismont, Maksym Tesliar (Kyiv, Ukraine), Michal Forýtek (Prague, Czech Republic),  Andrijana Kaštelan, Vedran Kopilović, Marija Vuchetich (Zagreb, Croatia). ALMATY Yerlan Akhmetov focuses on banking and finance, M&A and capital markets matters. Having been with the Firm for nine years, Yerlan has earned a reputation for cultivating strong client relationships, demonstrating leadership qualities and making significant contributions to our firm's success. He has played a key role

Insights February 2024

Update: ESG reporting obligations in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia

With the 6 July 2024 deadline for the implementation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (the "CSRD”) looming, Member States across the EU have been moving at different speeds to adopt their respective local implementing legislation. Our second status update on the CSRD implementation in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia is available here. At the time of writing, three of the six countries in Central and Eastern Europe that we have been following – the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania – have already adopted legislative acts that, at least partially, implement the CSRD into national legislation. Slovakia has brought a draft act to parliament

Insights February 2024

Recent regulatory developments regarding the use of body cameras in Hungary

The use of body cameras by law enforcement (both police forces and local government) and private security services started almost two decades ago and has been becoming more and more ubiquitous globally. It is of course a challenge in terms of privacy, as it is not only a relatively new technology where the social discourse has not had the time to form a common societal position, but it is also very invasive as in most cases people interacting with the wearer do not have the choice to use or not use the camera system. National and international authorities are just starting to form their opinion and issue guidelines on the use of body cameras, that is why it is notable that the Hungarian data protection authority

Insights January 2024

Hungarian Government's decree on reducing food inflation to enter into force

The Hungarian government's decree on measures to combat the so-called “shrinkflation” will enter into force on 1 February 2024. “Shrinkflation” refers to the hidden raising of prices by reducing the size of products. The measures apply to pre-packaged products that are sold by retailers in one or more sizes in a uniform appearance. The new measures primarily affect convenience store retailers with a net turnover of more than HUF 1 billion, but also expressly impose obligations on manufacturers. Moreover, the obligations of manufacturers forms the basis of compliance. The manufacturer (or the first distributor/wholesaler in Hungary) is obliged to inform both the retailer and the National Food Chain Safety

Insights January 2024

New legislation in the real estate sector in Hungary

With the adoption in 2023 of Act C on Hungarian Architecture (the "New Legislation"), Hungary’s parliament amended several laws affecting the real estate sector, some of which entered into force on 30 December 2023. At the same time, the New Legislation repeals certain laws, or provisions thereof, including Act LIII on the Acceleration and Simplification of the Implementation of Investments of Special Importance to the National Economy (2006) (the “Previous Legislation”). Among the new changes, special attention should be given to the rules on prioritised investment projects. Below we provide a brief overview of several important provisions. A construction works project and administrative matters relating

Insights January 2024

Kinstellar contributes to International Employment Lawyer's Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce

Kinstellar is delighted to have contributed to IEL’s Guide to Restructuring a Cross-Border Workforce 2023. In 2023, cross-border restructurings increased significantly – a trend that is expected to persist in early 2024. But conducting the process fairly, and thoroughly, poses a distinct set of hurdles for multinationals. The global guide examines and provides, across 45 jurisdictions, clear answers to the key questions facing employers when conducting a restructuring, under the following areas: Reduction in workforce Restructuring/Re-or ganisation of the business Changing terms and conditions Areas to watch Kinstellar employment team covered the following jurisdictions:

News January 2024

Kinstellar appoints new Sector and Service Line Heads and Head of German Desk

Kinstellar supports professional growth by offering a broad range of career development opportunities for our team, including the role of sector/service line head or co-head. We provide growth opportunities to all of our talented lawyers with the relevant experience and an outstanding track record. We are delighted to announce the following appointments: Csilla Andrékó, Partner in our Budapest office, is the Co-Head of the firm-wide Banking & Finance Service Line. Csilla is one of the founders of the Firm and the former Managing Partner of the Budapest office. Csilla also served as the head of the regional Banking & Finance and Restructuring & Insolvency Service Lines. She retired from active practice