February 25, 2010

Borislav Boyanov & Co successfully advised the chain store Lidl on all Bulgarian aspects of taking over the competitor Plus on 19 February 2010. In cooperation with Noerr Stiefenhofer Lutz, Borislav Boyanov & Co. supported Lidl on the acquisition of the shares in various companies resulting in acquiring all Bulgarian branches of Plus from the seller Tengelmann Group. The Borislav Boyanov & Co. team was lead by the partners Raina Dimitrova and Yordan Naydenov, the senior associate Violeta Kirova and the associates Nikolay Kolev, Martina Gyosheva and Mihail Vishanin (company law) as well as by the partner Nickolay Nickolov and the associates Svetlana Tsvetkova, Iva Miteva and Georgitza Petkova (real estate law).
With this transaction, the Lidl network in Bulgaria increases by 20 shops in addition to warehouses and administration. The approval of the European Commission must still be obtained.

February 25, 2010

Citigroup Global Markets Limited has won a tender to advise the Privatisation Agency of the Republic of Bulgaria on the privatisation of Bulgartabac Holding AD (the state-owned tobacco company of Bulgaria).
Borislav Boyanov & Co. is a member of Citigroup’s team and will advise on all legal matters of the privatisation.

February 18, 2010

Borislav Boyanov & Co. advised News Corporation on the sale of bTV, its Bulgarian terrestrial TV business, to Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the leading broadcaster in Central and Eastern Europe. News Corporation and CME entered into an agreement concerning the transaction on February 18, 2010.
Under the terms of the agreement, CME will pay $400 million in cash for 100 per cent of the terrestrial free-to-air TV channel, bTV. It will also take control of the two genre channels, bTV Comedy and bTV Cinema, along with News Corporation’s 74-per-cent interest in Radio Company CJ, which operates several radio stations.
This sale completes News Corporation's programme of exiting its substantial Eastern European free-to-air broadcasting businesses.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition and other customary closing conditions.

January 14, 2010

Borislav Boyanov & Co. acted for the prominent tobacco producer Leaf Tobacco A. Michailides, Greece, when on 28 December 2009 the licence of their local company for processing of tobacco in Bulgaria was unexpectedly and arbitrarily revoked. After a successfull surge of the Litigation and Arbitration and the Administrative Departments of Borislav Boyanov & Co. with the competent authorities, on 13 January 2010 the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria gave the licence back to the company.

November 24, 2009

On November 19, 2009 Advent International, the global private equity firm, announced the acquisition from the Soravia Group of Austria and certain individual shareholders approximately 79% of the shares of Devin AD, Bulgaria’s leading mineral water bottler and distributor of soft drinks. Devin was found in 1992 and has consistently grown to reach the number one position in the Bulgarian bottled water market with its leading Devin® mineral and spring water brands. Over the past two years, the company has also established distribution agreements in Bulgaria for Red Bull® and the premium juice brand Granini®, launched the first flavoured water locally and expanded into the Romanian market.

Devin’s shares are traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and the buyer will launch a takeover bid for the remaining shares of Devin in line with local regulations. Devin’s group includes two subsidiaries – Devin Royal EAD and Atlantic Devine EAD.

Borislav Boyanov & Co has been counselling Soravia Group since the acquisition of Devin in 2006 and in the pursuit of other business opportunities in the food & drinks sector in Bulgaria and the South East Europe Region and has acted as corporate counsel for Devin. The firm has advised Soravia Group on all aspects of the transaction and continues to provide legal services to the Devin group of companies with respect to the post closing steps of the transaction.