DLA Piper has announced that Oppenheim Partners Gabor Fejes and Zoltan Marosi are set to join the firm as a Partner and Local Partner, respectively, early in 2022.

Andras Nemeth has joined Audax Renewables Hungary as a Senior Legal Counsel.

Andrejic & Partners has assisted Israel-based attorney Lior Dagan as the insolvency trustee appointed to Michael David Greenfield in the takeover process of EGFE Hungary.

In November 2021, a bill on the amendment of Act II of 2007 on the Entry and Stay of Third-Country Nationals in Hungary was accepted by the Parliament. The purpose of the modification is to create a new type of residence permit for “digital nomads” and it will enter into force on 1 January 2022.

At the end of October 2021, the Hungarian Government decided to take new protection measures to contain the fourth wave of the coronavirus outbreak, as a result, from 1 November 2021 employers have the right to require their employees to be mandatorily vaccinated. This means that to increase vaccination coverage and to protect workplaces, the Government allows employers to require their employees to be vaccinated against coronavirus as a condition of employment, either as a standard working condition for all employees or as an individual working condition depending on the job. For employees who have not yet been vaccinated, the employer may set a 45-day deadline for the first vaccination. Employers who require vaccination must inform the employee of the measure, the deadline and the possible legal consequences of not vaccinating, either electronically (in e-mail) or on paper. Furthermore, an employee who is medically certified as contra-indicated to be vaccinated against the coronavirus cannot expected to be vaccinated.

Immunisation Certificates played a big role in the previous wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary. They were issued as a supplementary certificate to confirm that the cardholder had a positive COVID test or got at least the first shot of any of the available vaccines. At many stages of the pandemic, cardholders enjoyed specific privileges compared to the others (i.e. card was asked at many places that had an indoor room, such as theatres, cinemas, restaurants etc.). Even though the European COVID passport became available from 1 July 2021 among the EU, it is only issued for persons, who got an EU-approved vaccine. Since Hungary choose to vaccinate with non-EU-approved vaccines, the dichotomy of the certificates still remains.

Vukmir & Associates and Kapolyi, working together with Herbert Smith Freehills’ Paris office, have advised Engie on the spin-off and sale of its construction and services business to Bouygues. White & Case's Paris office advised the Engie board of directors. Reportedly, Wolf Theiss, AKK, and Python Avocats also advised Engie in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, respectively.

Schoenherr has advised S-Immo on its acquisition of the BudaPart Gate office building from Market Asset Management. HP Legal Hajdu & Partners advised the seller.

Deloitte Legal has advised PortfoLion Capital Partners on financing the merger of Hungarian W.UP and the Czech-based Banking Software Company, forming a new company called Finshape.

DLA Piper has advised Erste Bank on a EUR 60 million loan to Futureal for the realization and operation of the second phase of Budapest One for a period of more than 10 years.

Hungary has introduced a UBO register in line with the EU’s 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive by way of Act XLIII of 2021 on the Establishment and Operation of the Data Reporting Background for the Identification Tasks of Financial and Other Service Providers (“Act”). Certain provisions of the Act will come into force at a later date.

Radovanovic Stojanovic & Partners and Cerha Hempel have advised AIK Banka, Gorenjska Banka, and Agri Europe Cyprus on their acquisition of Sberbank Europe’s shares in six CEE banks. Noerr advised the buyers on Hungarian law, while Maric & Co, Zuric and Partners, Tos & Partners, and Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners reportedly advised the buyers on Bosnian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Russian matters, respectively.

Kinstellar has advised US-based X-Chem on its acquisition of Hungary's ComInnex.

CMS has advised Austrian Hypo-Bank Burgenland on the sale of its Hungarian subsidiary Sopron Bank Burgenland to MagNet Bank. Oppenheim reportedly advised the MagNet Bank.

Contributed by Nagy & Trocsanyi.

Dentons has advised the PPF Group on its sale of mobile phone operator Telenor Montenegro to Hungarian technology company 4iG. Andric Law advised PPF on local Montenegrin law aspects. Kinstellar reportedly advised 4iG on the deal. 

The Hungarian Parliament has recently put on its agenda a new bill, No. T/17280 (the “Bill”) that aims to implement two amendments to the “Consolidated Company Law Directive” of the European Union (Directive (EU) 2017/1132). One of them is the so-called “Digitalization Directive” (Directive (EU) 2019/1151 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 as regards the use of digital tools and processes in company law).

Lakatos, Koves & Partners, working with Clifford Chance, has advised lead arrangers BNP Paribas, Citi, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, and J.P. Morgan on Hungary’s EUR 1 billion and USD 4.25 billion London-listed sovereign issuances. Solo practitioner Zsolt Szita advised the Hungarian state on the matter.