On the evening of April 1, 2025, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, over 200 top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms and General Counsel from across the region in Prague.

Boyanov & Co has advised NewMed Energy Balkan on the acquisition of a 50% interest in the oil and gas exploration permit for the 1-21 Khan Asparuh Block from OMV Offshore Bulgaria.

CMS has promoted Romania-based Alina Tihan, Hungary-based Veronika Kovacs, and Bulgaria-based Borislava Piperkova to Partner, as part of its latest promotion round that saw a total of 56 lawyers elevated to partnership ranks.

Dimitrov, Petrov & Co has promoted Radina Tomanova and Yana Georgieva to Partner.

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.