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Kinstellar advises Electrolux Group on the successful divestment of its Nyíregyháza factory in Hungary to Qvantum
Kinstellar is proud to announce that it has advised the Swedish appliances manufacturer Electrolux Group on the successful sale of its manufacturing facility in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, to the Swedish high-quality electric heat pumps manufacturer Qvantum for a cash consideration of EUR 38 million. The Kinstellar team was led by Barnabás Sági, Co-Head of the Budapest Real Estate service line, supported by Bertalan Ványa, Associate. The team also included Annamária Csenterics (Partner), Anna Szilágyi (Junior Associate), Judit Sós (Associate), Péter Vörös (Partner), Péter Gullai (Managing Associate), Dániel Péter (Managing Associate), and Szabolcs Szilágyi (Junior Associate).
Turkey’s Competition Board sets the rules for online sales restrictions
Turkey’s Competition Board (the "Board") rendered two significant decisions last year concerning online sales restrictions that provide a view forward for many undertakings. In its decisions, the Board scrutinised the commitment packages offered by BSH and Arçelik, two of the major small and large household appliances manufacturers in Turkey. The investigations against the companies (the “Investigations”) concerned whether Arçelik and/or BSH violated Article 4 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”) by preventing their authorised resellers from selling online and/or interfering with resellers’ resale prices. The Board accepted the commitment packages, which Arçelik and BSH revised
Long-awaited changes to the competition law in Ukraine
Yesterday, 9 August 2023, the Ukrainian parliament adopted long-awaited amendments to the country’s competition law (the "Amendments"), which is the first step towards an extensive overhaul of Ukraine’s antitrust and merger control rules. The Amendments are pending the signature of the president and are expected to come into force on 1 January 2024 (except for certain provisions, which will take effect after the cancellation of martial law). Although the final text of the Amendments is not yet available, it has been reported that the key changes are aimed at: i) the implementation of additional antitrust rules to boost the leniency program in Ukraine, ii) the introduction of the concept of the infringer’s joint and
Romanian Competition Council issues draft report addressing permitting bottlenecks in the renewables sector
The Romanian Competition Council (“RCC”) published today, 19 July 2023, a preliminary report following its study on the potential market barriers to producers accessing the local energy market from renewable energy sources (“RES”), given the applicable permitting process. Romanian Competition Council report on the permitting of new RES capacities In brief, the RCC concluded that the process of obtaining all permits and authorisations needed for the commissioning of new RES capacities is cumbersome and time-consuming, in spite of some simplification steps already taken, and may be discouraging to investors. Some of the main RCC findings and recommendations included the following: The
Further changes introduced to Romania’s FDI regime
Romania has just introduced additional amendments to its foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening regime, further broadening the scope of what was already one of the more far-reaching FDI regimes in the European Union. The changes were enacted under Law no. 164/2023, published in the Official Gazette of Romania on 7 June 2023 (the “FDI Amendment Law”) and applicable as of 10 June 2023, on approving Government Emergency Ordinance no. 46/2022 on measures for applying EU Regulation 2019/452 establishing a framework for the examination of foreign direct investment in the Union (the “EU FDI Regulation”) and amending Competition Law no. 21/1996 (“GEO 46/2022”). GEO 46/2022 introduced the new FDI framework in
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Partner and Counsel
Kinstellar is delighted and proud to announce the promotions to Partner of Tomáš Melišek (Bratislava), Levente Hegedűs (Budapest), Bulut Girgin (Istanbul), Anastasiya Bolkhovitinova, Natalia Kirichenko, Oleg Matiusha, Illya Muchnyk (all in our Kyiv office), and to Counsel of Dominika Bajzáthová (Bratislava). PARTNERS Tomá š Melišek, Bratislava Tomáš is the Head of the local Banking & Finance service line. He has 15 years of experience in banking and finance, focusing on project and acquisition financing as well as on financial regulations. Tomáš has substantial experience advising clients on significant financing transactions in the areas of real estate, energy, infrastructure, automotive, media
Czech Competition Authority's sector inquiry ends with recommendations for pharmaceutical industry
The Czech Competition Authority has concluded its sector inquiry into the distribution of pharmaceuticals in the Czech Republic, with a focus on the impact of direct distribution systems on competition. The inquiry found that the direct-to-pharmacy/direct-to-h ospital (DTP/DTH) systems in the country only cover a limited range of medicinal products, accounting for roughly 9% in quantity and 27-30% in financial terms. The Authority determined that the priority of ensuring the availability of medicines for patients outweighs any potential negative effects these systems might have on competition. The primary purpose of these systems should be to ensure the supply of medicinal products to patients.The sector inquiry found
Kinstellar announces new promotions to Managing Associates and Senior Associates in the Czech Republic
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotion to Managing Associate of Martin Holub and Václav Kment, and the promotion to Senior Associate of Tereza Mašková, Matěj Večeřa and Jakub Šťastný in our Prague office. With these promotions the firm acknowledges their dedication, teamwork, consistent high level of client service, legal knowledge and transactional expertise. Martin Holub focuses on real estate, in particular real estate transactions and commercial lease agreements. Assisting clients in drafting, reviewing and negotiating of various agreements, such as share purchase, lease for office premises, development management, construction, and other real-estate related documents. Václav Kment
Amended FDI rules in Hungary
On 23 December 2022 the Hungarian Government adopted a New FDI Government Decree. The main changes as well as other several technical clarifications and modifications are set out in our overview below written by Péter Vörös (Partner) and László Palócz (Senior Associate). Click on the image below to read the whole newsletter.
Kinstellar announces new promotions in Kazakhstan
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the promotion to Managing Associate of Yerlan Akhmetov (Banking & Finance, Corporate), Dina Berkalieva (Dispute Resolution) and Assel Mussina (Corporate, Real Estate) in our Almaty office. In addition, Anna Kornilova, a Senior Associate in the Almaty office, will become Head of Competition for Central Asia. These promotions are in recognition of their importance to our firm and its future and to their commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients. Yerlan Akhmetov has over 15 years of experience in capital markets, banking and finance and M&A. He has taken the lead on numerous complicated financing transactions, and has been involved in high-profile M&A
Hungarian Competition Act amended effective the start of January
The Hungarian Competition Act (Act LVII of 1996 on the Prohibition of Unfair Market Conduct and Restriction of Competition) was amended effective 1 January. Below we provide a brief summary of the most significant changes. Increased merger control thresholds The Competition Act sets a dual turnover threshold to determine which transactions must be notified. These have all been increased, and from 1 January, only those concentrations must be notified where, in the last financial year for which a financial statement has been approved, the combined net turnover of all the groups of undertakings concerned (and their joint ventures, proportionately) exceeds HUF 20 billion (EUR 50 million) instead of HUF
Kinstellar advises OTP Bank on the successful acquisition of Ipoteka Bank in Uzbekistan
Kinstellar is proud to have advised OTP Bank, Hungary’s largest commercial bank and one of the largest independent financial service providers in Central and Eastern Europe, on the successful acquisition of Uzbekistan’s fifth-largest bank, Ipoteka Bank, with an 8.5% market share, more than 1.6 million retail customers and a significant roster of corporate clientele. Having worked together previously on several successful transactions in Hungary and in the CEE region, OTP mandated Kinstellar to handle its first acquisition in Central Asia. The deal involved four Kinstellar offices: Hungary, Uzbekistan, Serbia and Ukraine. According to the sale and purchase agreement signed on 12 December 2022, OTP Bank will