Hugh Owen is a Partner in the Bratislava office, with more than 25 years of experience in the field of English-law-governed M&A in the Central and South Eastern European region. He has worked on a variety of large-scale corporate and commercial transactions throughout C&SEE, in the telecommunications, media & technology, banking, insurance, energy, real estate and healthcare sectors.

He has completed deals in over 20 countries in the C&SEE region, acting for governments, private equity, large-scale institutions and founders as well as smaller corporate clients and individuals. He has advised on some of the largest ever M&A deals in Central Europe.

Hugh has been consistently rated as a leading or highly recommended advisor in Corporate and M&A in the world's leading independent legal directories, including Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, IFLR and Legal 500.

He is the dream team member on any English law governed deal in CEE.

Chambers Europe, 2023

RECENT ENGAGEMENTS INCLUDE ADVISING*

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

• THE SHAREHOLDERS AND PRINCIPALS OF DIREKTNA BANKA A.D. KRAGUJEVAC on the merger of Direktna with Eurobank’s subsidiary in Serbia, Eurobank a.d. Beograd, comprising the absorption of Direktna by Eurobank Serbia
• UNIQA on its EUR 1 billion acquisition of the Polish, Czech and Slovak subsidiaries of Axa
• AEGON on the divestment of its insurance businesses in the Czech Republic and Slovakia for EUR 155 million to Nationale Nederlanden Group
• GENERALI CEE HOLDING on its acquisition of a life insurance company Adriatic Slovenica, zavarovalna družba (Slovenia)
• INNOVA CAPITAL on its acquisition of Paypoint and Payzone in Romania

TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

• THE SHAREHOLDERS OF 2J ANTENNAS GROUP, a Slovak-based designer and manufacturer of antennas, with subsidiaries in the US and the UK, to discoverIE Group for EUR 52.5 millio
• THE SHAREHOLDERS OF FIVE (a Croatian and US digital agency) on the sale to the Endava Group
• INTEGRAL VENTURE PARTNERS on a strategic investment in Bulsatcom, a leading telecommunications company in Bulgaria
• MTG BROADCASTING AB on the sale of its 95% shareholding in Nova Broadcasting Group in Bulgaria

INFRASTRUCTURE & PROJECTS

• BLUE SEA CAPITAL (BSC), in co-operation with prominent Serbian entrepreneur and investor Andrei Jovanovic's family office (BSC is a long standing LP), on its co-investment alongside Actis in the acquisition of the macro tower portfolio of Telekom Serbia

AUTOMOTIVE & INDUSTRIALS

• KONCERNAS CONSUS, UAB on the divestment of UAB Zalvaris, the largest industrial waste management company in Lithuania
• INDORAMA CORPORATION, a Singapore based company, and Asia's leading fertilizer and chemical company on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in a Georgian based company JSC EU Investments that holds 100% shares in JSC Rustavi Azoti, one of the largest regional producers of mineral fertilizers that has been in operation since 1956 (This was one of the largest deals in Georgia in 2022.)

 CONSUMER & RETAIL 

• THE SHAREHOLDERS OF PAOLA CONFECTII MANUFACTURING on the sale of their Romanian business to Canada Goose

LIFE SCIENCES & HEALTHCARE

• THE FOUNDER SELLERS on their sale of the Optimapharm group of companies to TRG
• FRONTIER PHARMA LIMITED on its joint venture in relation to Zdravlije Leskovac in Serbia
• THE SELLERS on the sale of Fidelis Research (Bulgaria) to BioLXT 

*Experience prior to joining Kinstellar.

EDUCATION

• 1992: King's College London, UK, LL.B.
• 1993: Guildford College of Law, UK, Law Society Solicitors’ Examination

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

• Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales
• Slovak Bar Association

LANGUAGES

English, Slovak, Czech