Wolf Theiss wins six awards at the “2021 CEE Deals of the Year” Gala organised by CEE Legal Matters

Vienna/London, 13 April 2022 – Wolf Theiss wins six awards for six jurisdictions at the 2021 “CEE Deals of the Year” Gala Awards by CEE Legal Matters in London.

The “CEE Deal of the Year Awards” have been granted since 2017 by CEE Legal Matters to celebrate the transactions, financings, IPOs, and other deals that underpin growth throughout the region, as well as the lawyers and law firms who make them happen. Law firms are nominated based on the deals submitted for consideration with a two-tiered panel of prominent lawyers from across the region who evaluate the submissions based on deal complexity, size, and market significance. Click here for the full list of winners this year.

Partners Hartwig Kienast (Corporate, Wolf Theiss Vienna) and Dora Gazi Kovacevic (Corporate, Wolf Theiss Zagreb) accepted this year’s awards on behalf of Wolf Theiss on 5 April at the Gala in London.

The awarded deals in the respective jurisdictions include:

Albania – Wolf Theiss advised 4iG Nyrt on the acquisition of a majority stake in ALBtelecom. The Hungarian IT and Technology group 4iG Nyrt relied on the legal expertise of Wolf Theiss in the acquisition of a majority stake in the Albanian telecom operator ALBtelecom. 4iG Nyrt acquired the stake from a subsidiary of Calik Holding, one of Turkey’s leading privately held industrial groups. Wolf Theiss advised 4iG on this regional transaction under the lead of Richard Clegg (Partner, Corporate/M&A). For more information, click here.

Bulgaria – Wolf Theiss advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) on the sale of Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD for EUR 1,015 billion to KBC Bank NV. A multi-disciplinary cross-border team led by Andrea Gritsch (Partner) and Zeno Grabmayr (Counsel, both Banking & Finance, Wolf Theiss Vienna), Claus Schneider (Banking & Finance, Wolf Theiss Vienna), Richard Clegg and Katerina Kraeva (Banking & Finance, Wolf Theiss Sofia) advised RBI on this landmark transaction. For more information, click here.

Romania – Wolf Theiss assisted Glovoapp23, S.L. (“Glovo”), one of the world’s leading multi-category delivery players, in the multi-jurisdictional EUR 170 million acquisition of the operations of Delivery Hero in Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Glovo acquired the Foodpanda brand in Romania and Bulgaria, the Donesi brand in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pauza in Croatia. This project has been one of the largest transactions for Glovo to date. The Romanian team, led by Ileana Glodeanu (Corporate, Wolf Theiss Bucharest), acted as the coordinator of the multi-jurisdictional advice in six CEE jurisdictions regarding all stages of the transaction. For more information, click here.

Serbia – The Serbian Ministry of Economy signed, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Serbia, a Strategic Partnership Agreement, which, after several years of privatisation and finding a strategic investor, successfully completed the privatisation process of HIP Petrohemija. By finding a strategic investor who will invest EUR 150 million in the recapitalisation of Petrohemija and build a new plant for the production of polypropylene with a capacity of at least 140,000 tons per year, the Ministry ensured safe operation of this company in the coming years, as well as safe jobs and better working conditions for employees. For more information, click here.

Slovenia – Wolf Theiss advised an entity owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (80%) and EBRD (20%) in the indirect sale of 100% of Nova KBM d.d., Slovenia’s second largest bank, to the Hungarian bank OTP. The sale of the bank marks the most significant transaction in the Slovenian banking sector to date and is subject to obtaining the required regulatory approvals. The transaction team of Wolf Theiss was led by partner Markus Bruckmueller (Partner, Corporate), Klemen Radosavljevic (Partner, Banking & Finance), and Tjaša Lahovnik (Counsel, Corporate). For more information, click here.

“It is always a delight for Wolf Theiss to assist the world’s leading players in strengthening their footprint in the CEE region. Our colleagues in all six CEE awarded jurisdictions have put all of their dedication and expertise into the successful completion of these deals. We are very proud of our success and these awards represent a recognition of our commitment to the CEE region and our achievements in a variety of industries and jurisdictions”, says the firm’s management board.