expertise

Borissov & Partners advises clients ranging from small businesses to international corporations; from local bodies to state-owned enterprises. Since 1997 when the real reforms started in Bulgaria, the members of our team have worked on the biggest transactions involving a considerable number of foreign companies. Here follows a list of some representative transactions in different industry sectors. Upon specific request, we can provide a full description of our experience in particular area.

  • Providing advisory services and representing the French gas group Rubis SCA in relation to its acquisition of Shell’s gas business in Bulgaria and its subsequent resale;
  • Advising Atlassian Corporation PLC, Australia, on the Bulgarian elements related to its acquisition of the IT business of SIP Communicator Ltd. (a subsidiary of BlueJimp Sarl, France);
  • Providing advisory services to the French bank Credit Agricole SA in relation to its indirect acquisition of Emporiki Bank Bulgaria AD;
  • Advising the German branch of the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation on provision of cross-border financial services to residents in Bulgaria;
  • Providing advisory services to Travel Guard Worldwide Inc., UK, a company which forms part of the Chartis insurance group, USA, on insurance related and regulatory matters;
  • Providing advice to Barclays Capital in respect of securitization of mortgage loans in Bulgaria, including through issuance of mortgage bonds;
  • Providing advisory services to Victoria Group VM Ltd. on the acquisition of Kempinski Hotel Zografski Sofia;
  • Providing advisory services to ISS Global A/S, Denmark, in relation to its acquisition of Ryvola Bulgaria Ltd;
  • Providing advisory services to Bulgartabac Holding AD (Bulgarian state owned tobacco monopoly) in relation to the restructuring of the group and the sale of its manufacturing, processing and packaging businesses;
  • Providing advisory services to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in relation to debt and equity investment in several Bulgarian companies within the TBIH Group including an insurance company, pension insurance company, investment intermediary, assets management company and leasing company (Bulstrad Insurance and Reinsurance PLC, Doverie AD, TBI Leasing AD, TBI Asset Management EAD, TBI Invest EAD);
  • Providing advisory services to Raiffeisen Zentral Bank AG, Austria in relation to a proposed multimillion syndicated forfeiting facility to Huawei Tech Investment Co., Limited, Hong Kong;
  • Providing advisory services to ESO Capital Luxembourg Holdings S.а.r.l. in relation to its loan finance to MB (Holdings) Limited, the UK, and securing of the loan with Bulgarian assets of the borrower;
  • Providing preliminary advice to Barclays Capital in respect of securitization of mortgage loans in Bulgaria;
  • Providing preliminary advice to BNP Paribas in respect of security options for asset finance in Bulgaria;
  • Advising Marvel Sky Investments Limited on mortgage security issues;
  • Assisting Lehman Brothers’ Special Situations Group, London, in acquiring large portfolio of receivables (distressed debt);
  • Providing legal services to Soprey, China, in relation to acquisition of two photovoltaic projects;
  • Providing legal services to RGE Energy, Germany, in relation to acquisition of 2 MW photovoltaic power plant;
  • Providing legal services to Planificaciones Mundiales, Spain, in relation to acquisition and development of photovoltaic power plants;
  • Providing advisory services to the American companies AES and Entergy in relation to the construction and operation of a new 600 MW lignite fired thermal power plant on a BOT basis (the Maritza East I Project) and the rehabilitation of a 350 MW thermal power plant (the Maritza East III Project);
  • Providing advisory services to the Austrian oil group OMV AG in connection with its green field investment in Bulgaria and development of chain of petrol stations throughout the country;
  • Providing advisory services to and representing Telco AG, Liechtenstein in relation to the first stage of the tender procedure for the 4th GSM operator in Bulgaria;
  • Providing advisory services to a consortium between Koc Holding and Turk Telecom as potential purchaser in relation to the privatisation of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company EAD (Bulgarian state telecom);
  • Advising Net-Connect Internet, Romania, on voice over internet issues in Bulgaria;
  • Advising EQUEST Partners, a private equity fund, on the real estate aspects of several acquisitions, including the acquisition of City Center Sofia (the first multifunctional shopping and entertainment mall in Bulgaria), Praktiker Plovdiv (DIY hypo market) and a separate office building (now Hotel Metropolitan, Sofia);
  • Providing advisory services to Barrasford & Bird and The Right Move Abroad, both of them leading UK estate agents, and Bulgarian Home Loans, UK mortgage consultant, on numerous real estate projects;
  • Providing advisory services to Kaufland, Germany, in relation to acquisition of land for development;
  • Representing a number of airlines, among which Air France, Olympic Airlines, Air Via, LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH, in contentious matters related to personal injury liability;
  • Representing BH Air OOD, ACE Underwriting Agencies Limited and ACE European Group Limited in dispute resolution issues related to aircraft liability;
  • Advising easyJet on regulatory matters in Bulgaria most specifically related to implementation of EC law;
  • Providing advisory services to Euler Hermes, Germany (a global credit insurer part of Allianz group) in relation to co-insurance activity in Bulgaria and the impact of the European accession of the country on the co-insurance activity;
  • Advising and assisting Mango MNG Holding, Spain, on setting up subsidiary and corporate, banking and employment issues;
  • Advising Magna International, Canada, on corporate and employment issues, including several data protection projects;
  • Providing advisory services to Ingérop, France, and High-Point Rendel, UK, acting in joint venture in connection with the construction of Danube Bridge 2 between the towns of Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania);
  • Advice and representation of Studio Moderna SA, Italy, Deutsche See GmbH, Germany and INTRALOT S.A., Greece in relation to EU patent validation in Bulgaria;
  • Advice and representation of Yum Saap Ltd. and Lenso Wheel Co. Ltd., Thailand and New Step S.A. and HELLENICA S.A., Greece in relation to trade marks protection and registrations matters in Bulgaria and the EU;
  • Providing advisory services and representation to BMS Harris & Dixon Reinsurance Brokers Ltd, London, in relation to reinsurance policies placed for Bulgarian insurer Hildon AD (declared bankrupt);
  • Representing big Bulgarian companies such as Megachim AD (paint producer) and Bella Bulgaria AD (foods producer) in relation to registration of trade marks and full IP rights protection;
  • Advising j2 Global Communications Inc, the USA, on acquisition of BG domain name and registration of trade marks;
  • Advising CSC Pharmaceuticals, Austria, on trade marks protection in Bulgaria and representing in employment litigation;
  • Advising Shazam Entertainment Ltd., the UK, on e-commerce compliance issues and in particular on issues related to data protection and consumer protection;
  • Advising Davies Arnold Cooper, the UK, acting for confidential European clients on internet casino business in Bulgaria and regulatory compliance;
  • Advising Playboy Enterprises, Inc., the USA, on casino gaming business in Bulgaria and regulatory compliance;
  • Providing advisory services to Sportech Plc, the UK, (trading under the Littlewoods Leisure brand) in relation to developing gambling activity on the Bulgarian market;
  • Providing advisory services to USA Cable Networks (member of Universal Group) in relation to film making activity in Bulgaria;
  • Providing advisory services to Materis Group, France, in relation to distribution contracts and labelling issues;
  • Advising Lafarge Aluminates, France, on distribution law issues and regulatory compliance;
  • Providing advisory services to Medpace Inc., the USA, on corporate and employment issues;
  • Providing advisory services to Clintech International Ltd, the UK, in relation to its establishment on the Bulgarian market;
  • Advising Masterplast Bulgaria Ltd. (subsidiary of Masterplast Group, Hungary) on corporate and employment issues;
  • Providing advisory services to Samsung Deutschland GmbH, Germany, related to employment issues and regulatory regime;
  • Providing advisory services to Applied Language Solutions Ltd, the UK, on corporate and employment issues;
  • Representing Hoogerhuis & Smit Holding BV, the Netherlands, in a lawsuit in Bulgaria related to unpaid deliveries and debt collection;
  • Representing Shetland Catch Ltd, the UK, in a contentious matter in Bulgaria related to unpaid deliveries and debt collection;
  • Representing SBObet in defamation case in Bulgaria;
  • Conducting a legal research on behalf of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Paris, with focus on the relevant Bulgarian model from which bilateral treaties for mutual encouragement and protection of investments are negotiated and research of the negotiation of the dispute settlement provisions of treaties with l’Union Economique Belgo-Luxembourgeoise, Ghana, Egypt, Cyprus and China;