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 Atanas Bangachev
Partner

Atanas Bangachev

Head of Corporate, CMS Sofia

Languages
  • Bulgarian
  • English

Atanas Bangachev is a partner based in Sofia and Head of the Corporate practice group.

He is a Bulgarian-qualified lawyer specialising in Bulgarian corporate, contract and privatisation law. His main area of expertise is M&A transactions across a variety of sectors.

Atanas has been involved in some of the largest privatisation deals in Bulgaria. He is one of the leading and best-known legal professionals in M&A and Private Equity in the country and has an extensive track record and familiarity with the market. He is experienced in all corporate matters ranging from the registration of entities to corporate restructuring, SPVs, mergers and acquisitions, capital raising and many other capital markets related matters, as well as drafting and reviewing shareholders documentation and company restructurings.

In addition, Atanas has assisted major international companies from different sectors of the economy in carrying out internal compliance investigations of their Bulgarian operations. 

Atanas Bangachev is praised as a "problem solver" who "is very commercially oriented and helps clients get good results in negotiations" by Chambers and Partners Europe.

Awards & Recognitions
01
  • Quote
    "I have worked with him on many M&A transactions. He is very cooperative."
    Chambers Global
  • Quote
    "Atanas Bangachev is one of the most capable corporate and M&A lawyers. He is reasonable when it comes to negotiations and transactions."
    Chambers Europe
  • Quote
    "Atanas has vast experience, which is a source of many practical solutions," a client says, adding: "He is business-minded, always straightforward in his advice and attentive to us as a client."
    Chambers Europe

Relevant experience

  • KJK Sports on the sale of 60% of its shareholding in Leader 96, an electric bicycles ("e-bikes") producer, to the Rohatyn Group, a global asset management firm.
  • The shareholders in Musala Soft AD on their 100% exit by sale to ARICOMA Group, part of KKCG. ARICOMA Group is a fast-growing European NextGen IT services provider. It has acquired 100% of the Bulgarian IT company Musala Soft. This investment is a key step in ARICOMA’s strategic development.
  • EBRD on its investment in Sirma AI (doing business as Ontotext), a deep-tech, enterprise software business operating in the graph database space.
  • Cordeel Group N.V. on the sale of a mixed-use logistics and office development to CTP. The acquisition was structured as a share deal involving the shares in Cordeel’s subsidiary Sofcor Logistics EOOD. The development consists of 31,000 sq. m. of warehouses and 4,000 sq. m. of offices and is leased to Orbico, one of the largest distribution companies in Bulgaria, under a long-term build-to-suit lease.
  • CTP Invest spol. s.r.o. on the acquisition of Transcapital and the Transcapital Ring Road, large logistics business in Sofia, consisting of land of an aggregate area of 340 559 sq. m. and over ten logistics buildings in two locations in Sofia, at 247, Botevgradsko Shose Blvd. and at Okolovrasten Pat, from two sellers (with one ultimate upstream owner).
  • Acwa Power/First Reserve and Crescent Capital on the successful legal due diligence and the acquisition of one the largest PV projects on the Balkans with 61 MWp installed capacity, the Karadzhalovo PV power plant. At the end of 2020, CMS Sofia successfully advised on the subsequent sale of this PV project to Austria's Enery Development GmbH. This is the largest deal for an operational renewable energy power plant in Bulgaria to date.
  • Advent International and its portfolio company Zentiva on the acquisition of the CEE business of global generic and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Alvogen. The deal was named CEE Deal of the Year 2019 by CEE Legal Matters Magazine. CMS Sofia assisted with the Bulgarian law matters, including post-acquisition integration between Alvogen Bulgaria and Zentiva Bulgaria, and coordinated required Maltese law advice.
  • Various clients including Ocado Central Services Limited, Amgen Bulgaria, Honeywell, Johnson & Johnson, WorkMotion Software GmbH, etc. on a wide range of employment matters in Bulgaria, including diversity and inclusion in the workplace, updating internal labour regulations and template employment documents, updates on labour legislation, employee data protection, internal policies and regulations, remote working and hybrid work models, template employment contracts, benefits, protection against dismissal, hiring employees under regular and temporary employment contracts, posting employees abroad, termination of employment, tax and social insurance, etc.

Memberships & Roles

  • Sofia Bar Association

Awards & Rankings

  • Top ranked for Corporate/Commercial, Chambers & Partners Europe, 2023
  • Leading individual for Commercial, Corporate and M&A, Legal 500, 2023
  • Market leader for M&A, IFLR1000, 2023

Education

  • 2000 - LL.M., Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”