Partner

Elitsa Ivanova

Head of Finance

Languages

English
Bulgarian

Social media

Elitsa Ivanova is a dual English and Bulgarian qualified partner in the International Finance team of CMS and head of the Finance practice at CMS Sofia, with more than 15 years of professional experience in the sector. She has been advising clients active in the CEE and CIS on a variety of transactional, restructuring and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on syndicated lending.

Elitsa brings in-house experience having been seconded in leading financial institutions in London and Amsterdam. In 2012/2013, she completed a secondment at UniCredit Bank AG, London Branch as part of their CEE Loans Syndication Team and in 2014, another secondment at Deutsche Bank, Amsterdam Branch, working on structured commodities and trade finance transactions as part of their Loan Documentation team.

Elitsa regularly acts as lead counsel on complex cross-border English law-governed financing transactions for a variety of clients including commercial banks, international finance institutions and corporates. She specialises in trade and structured commodity finance, and leads the CMS sector specialisation team in commodity finance.

Relevant experience

UniCredit, Raiffeisen and Sberbank on USD 250 million hybrid pre-export facilities for GeoProMining, a Russian/Armenian gold mining company.
OTP Bank Group on its acquisition of Societe Generale subsidiaries SG Expressbank Group, Sogelife Insurance Company, and SG Banka Albania, for over EUR 600 million in several jurisdictions, including Bulgaria, Albania and Serbia. In Bulgaria DSK Bank acquired indirect control over Societe Generale Expressbank's units Societe Generale Factoring, Sogelease Bulgaria and Regional Urban Development Fund, as well as direct control over insurer Sogelife Bulgaria. The CMS Sofia Banking & International Finance team was instrumental in the due diligence process of the target Societe Generale Expressbank and assisted with the structuring and regulatory advice.
Major international finance institutions, in their capacity as senior lenders, on the financing of three mall operating companies in Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, to refinance existing liabilities and provide capex facilities to be used for the expansion and upgrade of the properties.
Major Greek banks, as mandated lead arrangers, and their local subsidiary banks, on the financing of the development and operation of the Sofia South Ring Mall in Sofia, Bulgaria, including development, investment and VAT facilities, and on a full security package.

Education

Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Law, LLM (1999 – 2004)
Between September 2009 – January 2010, she participated in the Building on Talent Programme of IMD, the leading business school in Lausanne, Switzerland

Practice Areas

Banking & Finance

sectors

Energy & Climate Change

Insights

Global Reach