News

Published on 4 March 2024

Published on 31 January 2024CMS legal teams in Belgrade, Podgorica and Sarajevo have advised Actis on all Serbian, Montenegrin and Bosnian aspects of the acquisition of a carved-out tower portfolio from Telekom Srbija, one of the leading tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions operators in the CEE region.   The carved-out portfolio comprises approximately 1,800 macro towers, of which approximately 1,000 are located in Serbia, approximately 700 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and approximately 100 in Montenegro. CMS has provided legal advice on the buy-side due diligence, structuring of the carve-outs, negotiation of the transaction documents, transfer of the towers, regulatory matters (merger clearance, telecoms and energy supply regulations), tax matters and financing of the transaction. This landmark transaction marks Actis’ entry into the Western Balkans and reinforces Actis' commitment to the CEE region following previous investments in the energy sector in Romania and Bulgaria in 2022. The CMS team which advised on the transaction was led by partner Marija Tešić (Serbia, Montenegro) and included partners Radivoje Petrikić, Ivan Gazdić and Milica Popović, counsels Marija Marošan and Srđan Janković, senior associates Sandra Miljanić, Ksenija Boreta, Jovana Bingulac, Ksenija Ivetić Marlović, Tamara Zejak and Tamara Samardžija, associates Mila Drljević, Milica Tomić,  Jelena Đorđević, Teodora Vujošević and Jovan Bećirić (all Serbia, Montenegro), partners Indir Osmić and Andrea Zubović-De­vedžić, counsel Sanja Voloder, senior associate Ana Terzić and Zlatan Balta, associates Zlatko Mašović, Stefan Ćosović and Zerina Spahić (all Bosnia and Herzegovina).  

Published on 2 October 2023

Published on 14 September 2023CMS Belgrade has been assisting Palfinger AG, a global leader in innovative crane and lifting solutions, in opening a new component plant in Niš, Serbia. Palfinger operates with over 12,500 employees and 30 manufacturing sites, and has a sales and service network of around 5,000 locations in more than 130 countries on all continents. Palfinger is investing EUR 35.5 million in the new plant in Serbia, which is expected to start production in 2024. This state-of-the-art facility will adhere to industry-leading standards, incorporating advanced energy-saving and en­ergy-gen­er­at­ing technologies, such as photovoltaic systems on the roof of the future plant, as well as the latest cooling and heating technology inside the factory. Our team of expert lawyers, led by Radivoje Petrikić, Partner CMS Vienna and Managing Partner CMS Belgrade, and Maja Stepanović, Corporate/M&A Law Partner, with valuable contributions from Tamara Zejak, Ksenija Ivetić Marlović and Teodora Vujošević, has provided comprehensive legal support in the initial phases of the project, advising on a wide range of corporate, state aid, real estate, financial and employment related matters. Congratulations to Palfinger on breaking ground for their new factory in Serbia!

Published on 26 June 2023CMS Belgrade real estate lawyers Ivan Gazdić and Marija Marošan, as well as competition law expert Srđan Janković, have assisted A1 Serbia, the local subsidiary of A1 Telekom Austria Group, in agreeing to acquire a part of the infrastructure of Serbian provider Conexio.A1 Group CEO Thomas Arnoldner: “With this asset deal, we are able to successfully pursue our growth strategy. A1 Serbia positions itself as a serious player in the region, providing strong support for local traffic needed for mobile backhauling and for the provision of other local services. The continuous connectivity is also a great asset for enterprise customers that need overall solutions and long-distance con­nectiv­ity.”A total of approx. 850 kilometers of piping to be acquired will close the gap between the A1 markets in Croatia and Bulgaria, while also providing routes to Hungary and North Macedonia. After the completion of the transaction, A1 Group will be able to lay fiber in the pipes and close the existing network infrastructure gap.“With this deal we take our international connectivity to a new level. A1 Group will be able to offer state-of-the-art technology and with a total of 850 km of connecting pipes across Serbia will be able to offer fiber along this track to our national and international customers”, says Alejandro Plater, COO A1 Group. “We will be able to offer services running on our own managed infrastructure from the Bosporus to Austria”. The completion of the transaction is, inter alia, subject to the applicable merger control clearance. As agreed between the parties, details regarding the transaction will not be released. CMS has been providing legal support to A1 Telekom Austria Group for a number of years, addressing their legal requirements across the countries of their operation. We congratulate our long-standing client on this transaction and look forward to future accomplishments.

Published on 23 May 2023CMS Belgrade real estate lawyers Ivan Gazdić and Sandra Miljanić have provided expert legal support and assistance to our long-standing client Delhaize Serbia, the biggest food retail chain in Serbia, a member of Ahold Delhaize, one of the world's largest food retail groups, in negotiation of a lease agreement with VGP, a developer of logistics and semi-industrial real estate, for the lease of Delhaize Serbia’s second distribution centre in Serbia covering more than 41,000 square meters. The future VGP Park Belgrade will be the largest industrial park in Serbia and the region, covering an area of more than one million square meters. It is located next to the M-70 and M-75 highways and the Belgrade Ring Road, in close proximity to the Nikola Tesla International Airport. Jan-Willem Dockheer, CEO of Delhaize Serbia, commented: “Our Company remains consistent with the strategy of expanding the retail network and we are very pleased that our second distribution centre will be built in such an important and sustainable location. In the next ten years, we will further expand our spatial capacities, employ a large number of new colleagues, and we will continue to invest in the development of the local market. I believe in success and wish the VGP Serbia team many great years of work.”We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Delhaize team for entrusting us with their legal needs over the years. We look forward to continuing our partnership and providing them with the highest level of legal support.

Published on 15 May 2023CMS has advised NLB Komercijalna banka a.d. Beograd and NLB d.d. Ljubljana, both members of the largest banking and financial group in Slovenia, NLB Group, on the financing of the reconstruction of Sava Center, the largest congress venue in Southeast Europe. This iconic Belgrade landmark, officially opened in 1977 and host to numerous large-scale events and performances, has recently been acquired by Delta Holding and is embarking on a new era with the start of its reconstruction in 2021. The CMS Belgrade team, led by partners Ivan Gazdić and Milica Popović and including senior attorneys Ksenija Boreta, Jovana Bingulac and Sandra Miljanić, as well as members of the CMS International Finance team based in Bucharest, led by partner Ana Radnev, have provided full legal support in the preparation of finance documents for the EUR 55 million loan. The reconstruction of the 100,000 square meter building is taking place in two parallel phases, with the first expected to be completed by November 2023 and the second in the first half of 2024. The investment will amount to over EUR 100 million, a part of which is financed through the loan granted by NLB Group. This loan continues to strengthen NLB Group’s position as a leading financial institution in the SEE region. We extend our congratulations to all parties involved in this significant project for Serbia!

Published on 05/04/2023Hans­grohe, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of faucets and showers, is investing EUR 85 million in its state-of-the-art production facility in Valjevo, Serbia, with a planned start of operations in mid-2023. This new production facility, covering an area of 35,000 square meters, will be the largest investment in the 120-year-long history of Hansgrohe. The new production facility in Serbia is planned as one of the most modern manufacturing sites in Europe. Hansgrohe owns five other production facilities: two in Germany, one each in France, the United States and China. Our team of expert lawyers, led by Maja Stepanović, Corporate/M&A Law Partner, and Ivan Gazdić, Partner and Head of Infrastructure & Projects and Real Estate & Construction, has provided Hansgrohe with full legal support throughout the entire process related to this foreign direct investment, including state aid application and agreement, incorporation process, land acquisition, construction contract preparation, management contracts, health and safety matters, and other related matters. We congratulate Hansgrohe on this significant investment in Serbia and our team of dedicated lawyers who will continue to provide the highest level of legal support for the project in Serbia.

25/1/2023CMS Belgrade has assisted Delhaize Serbia in the preparation of the transaction documents for the sale-and-lease­back of its Tempo hypermarket store in Novi Sad and further reconstruction and adaptation of the building to include a new Emmezeta store at the location. The new Tempo hypermarket and Emmezeta stores should be opened later this year, upon completion of the reconstruction works. Delhaize Serbia is a member of Ahold Delhaize, one of the world's largest food retail groups, based in The Netherlands. Delhaize Serbia is the biggest Serbian retail chain with more than 500 stores throughout the country. Emmezeta is the Polish home furnishings retailer, offering a wide selection of furnishings, household appliances and home décor in its stores. Ivan Gazdić, Partner for the real estate & construction matters at CMS Belgrade, has led the team providing full-scope legal support to our long-standing client Delhaize Serbia.

Published on 12 November 2022UGT Renewables, one of the largest US solar energy and storage developers, has signed an agreement on cooperation with Montenegro’s EPCG. They will jointly develop a large-scale solar energy project in Montenegro. In this and other projects, UGT Renewables will be assisted by its strategic partner Hyundai Engineering, the South Korean engineering, procurement and construction company that is expanding from the conventional energy sector to the renewable energy sector. CMS Podgorica and Belgrade team has been supporting UGT Renewables in this project and has provided advice on all legal aspects relevant to the joint development agreement with EPCG in Montenegro. The agreement was signed by Adam Cortese, the CEO of UGT Renewables, and Milutin Djukanović, the President of the Board of Directors of EPCG. The signing ceremony in Podgorica was attended by outgoing Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović, US Ambassador to Montenegro, H.E. Judy Rising Reinke, and many others. The core CMS team assisting UGT Renewables with this green energy project in Montenegro consisted of senior at­tor­neys Tamara Zejak and Tamara Samardžija, headed by Managing Partner Radivoje Petrikić.

The stock listed private equity investment company Mutares SE & Co. KGaA has signed an agreement to acquire the Danish, Polish and Serbian business activities of the Arriva Group. The Polish business...

UK-based Hystead Limited, majority-owned by South African Hyprop Investments, has successfully closed the sale of Delta City shopping mall in Belgrade, Serbia. Delta City Belgrade, one of the most visited shopping malls in Serbia, has been acquired by MPC Properties, one of the leaders in construction and real estate management in the region. CMS Belgrade has been selected to provide full legal support to Hystead Limited in this EUR 115 million transaction. The team of CMS Belgrade experts headed by partners Maja Stepanović (Corporate/M&A) and Milica Popović (Banking & Finance) assisted the client throughout the transaction, providing support in negotiations, closing activities and tax structuring. Other team members whose engagement has been invaluable are Real Estate and Construction co-heads Ivan Gazdić and Marija Marošan.