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Kinstellar Bulgaria: Banking, Finance & Capital Markets briefing
Kinstellar routinely monitors developments in finance, commercial, and contract law and in key regulatory areas relevant for financial institutions in Bulgaria in order to provide the most up-to-date information to our clients operating in or considering investments in the country. With this briefing, we will regularly update you on key developments in Bulgarian legislation, case law, and our Banking, Finance & Capital Markets practice. Please feel free to contact us if you have a topic that you would like us to cover. Update on draft legislation in Bulgaria Limitations on bank fees and commissions A draft bill seeks to amend the Credit Institutions Act by instituting caps on fees
Kinstellar and Linklaters advised the EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank International on their lending for the 238 MW Tenevo PV power plant in Bulgaria
Kinstellar Sofia acting as Bulgarian counsel, alongside Linklaters Milan acting as lead counsel, advised the EBRD and Raiffeisen Bank International on their lending to Tenevo Solar Technologies for the construction and operation of one of the largest PV power plants in Bulgaria. The total finance package of EUR 114 million will enable Tenevo Solar Technologies EAD, which is owned by Renalfa IPP and Eurowind Energy, to add 238 MW of solar generation capacity to the Bulgarian national energy system. This will be the first renewable energy plant over 100 MW that will sell all its output in the market without a support scheme or a corporate power purchase agreement in Bulgaria. Tenevo is also the first EBRD project in Bulgaria
Kinstellar Sofia advises UniCredit Bulbank on Minimart’s first corporate bond issue
Kinstellar has advised UniCredit Bulbank as lead manager of the private placement of corporate bonds worth EUR 25 million by Minimart, a fast-growing chain of convenience stores in Bulgaria. The 250 bonds with a nominal value of EUR 100,000 each have a maturity of 5 years and an interest of 7.77%, paid twice a year. The bonds were subscribed by UniCredit Bulbank, Eurobank Bulgaria, Varengold Bank, and KBC Agro - Bulgaria. The private placement enables Minimart to further expand its retail network to 300 stores in 2025 and invest in its IT infrastructure. Kinstellar’ s team was led by Svilen Issaev (Head of Banking, Finance and Capital Markets in Sofia) and included Senior Associates Nikolay Gergov and Denitsa
Kinstellar advises on a joint venture related to the acquisition of a strategic building for the development of the space sector in Bulgaria
Kinstellar advised Peter Mitev, co-founder and former CEO of Chaos Group, a global leader in computer graphics technologies, and Big Orange Foundation, on the legal aspects of their joint venture with Raycho Raychev, founder and CEO of Endurosat, one of the fastest growing satellite companies in the world, in relation to the acquisition of a landmark 17,000 sqm building in Sofia, Bulgaria. The building is strategic for Endurosat's vision for the development of the space sector and will be used for space research and other key operations. The acquisition of the building, formerly the headquarters of Alpha Bank, is the largest office transaction on the Bulgarian real estate market for the year 2024 to date. The Kinstellar
Legal aspects of the use of sustainable finance instruments in Bulgaria
The Banking, Finance and Capital Markets team in our Sofia office carried out a training session on the legal aspects of the use of sustainable finance instruments with a focus on green loans, social loans and sustainability-linked loans. The variety of ESG financing instruments allows for some flexibility in the choice of targets and KPIs; still ESG loans should follow the clearly established sustainable finance principles to avoid the risk of declassification or greenwashing claims. In addition to contributing to sustainability goals, these instruments have a wide range of advantages, including economic and reputational benefits. As they are becoming increasingly popular, we will continue monitoring the legal and regulatory
Kinstellar appoints new Service Line Heads
Kinstellar is delighted to announce the appointments of new service line heads. Jan Juroška, a Partner in the Prague office, is the firm-wide Co-Head of M&A, Corporate & Private Equity. Jan has over 15 years of experience advising both local and international clients on a wide range of commercial matters and corporate transactions. Jan specialises in all aspects of corporate law, in particular M&A (including M&A real estate), private equity, joint ventures and employment. Jan is ranked by Chambers Europe and Legal 500 2022 editions, based on excellent client feedback, one stating that ''he knows the business needs of the clients and is very solution and target-oriented''. Edmund Emre Özer, a Partner
“Buy Now, Pay Later” solutions on the rise – regulatory aspects in Bulgaria
The rapid growth of online shopping as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased demand for different payment options for consumers at the checkout. One such option that is increasingly popular with consumers is the “buy now, pay later” (“BNPL”) solution. The hot trend in consumer credit BNPL allows consumers to defer the payment of the product and repay the purchase price in several instalments over a certain period of time, usually at no interest. BNPL is also a palatable option for merchants, as it gives them another avenue to generate sales by providing consumers an accessible opportunity to acquire products on credit. Such manageable payment options are also likely to strengthen consumer