The EU Whistleblowing Directive finally implemented in Bulgaria
On 2 February the Bulgarian Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) was published in the State Gazette, implementing 1 year late the requirements of the European Whistleblower Protection Directive (the Directive). Companies will be required to ensure compliance with the new law within: 2 May 2023 – for companies with 250 and more employees and for companies […]
A dominant company can be liable for its distributors’ conduct and Intel case-law applies to exclusive dealing, according to ECJ’s judgement in C-680/20 Unilever
Last month the European Court of Justice rendered its judgement in case C‑680/20 (Unilever) extending the scope of dominant companies’ liability for anti-competitive conduct of their distributors and providing useful insight as to the applicability of the Intel case to exclusive dealing. The Italian competition authority found that Unilever had abused its dominant position on the […]
Bulgaria Inflation Forecasts 2023
In 2023, inflation and Fed/ECB and national bank base interest rates will play a major role in the deal-making. The national bank has recently published its 2023 forecast. It is expected the annual inflation to slow down to 4.2% at the year end subject to falling food and petrol prices. The average annual inflation will […]
Bulgarian National Bank Continues Rising Interest Rate
As from December 1, the Bulgarian National Bank increased the Base Interest Rate to 1.30%. This is the third consecutive increase in the last three months. The interest rise is to address the high inflation which in the BNB estimate will be c. 15% on annual basis at the year end. Going forward, BNB will […]
Insight from the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission in one of its latest antitrust cases Nikon/PRG/Profiled
On 29 September 2022 the Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (CPC) adopted a commitments decision in proceedings involving an alleged violation of Art. 15 of the Bulgarian Competition Protection Act and Art. 101 of the TFEU by Nikon Europe B.V. and its Bulgarian authorized distributor. The decision provides rare insight on how the CPC approaches selective […]
Hristov & Partners Advised on the Sale of Fidelis Research
We are delighted to have acted for a seller financial investor on the sale of its shares in the capital of Fidelis Research to BioIVT, a portfolio company of Linden Capital Partners. Fidelis Research is an innovative, fast-growing biospecimen and clinical trials group of companies, headquartered in Bulgaria, operating across South East Europe. Our team […]
Law Firm Platforms
We are determined to learn from the market leaders and the most innovative firms in our industry. One new development stands out. The law firm as a platform. By analogy to IT/tech sector, independent lawyers / experts in specific areas of law can access the platform and build/integrate their own services. In practice we’ve seen […]
Pavel Hristov Interview for CEE Legal Matters
Our partner Pavel Hristov’s interview for the regional legal news publication CEE Legal Matters topped their monthly ranking of the top 10 most read interviews with over 16,000 views! “In this challenging and rapidly changing environment, our firm’s focus and specialization in corporate matters and M&A transactions has paid off and helped us ride the […]
The next most valuable asset in M&A
You will hardly be surprised: people. High-growth companies will be challenged to justify record high valuations based on revenue growth only, they must firmly stand on the path of sustainable profitability. Hence, people (founders, executives, top and mid-level management and key employees), with their often unique skillsets, expertise, experience and reputation, will be instrumental to […]
The new rules on whistleblowing in Bulgaria
On 21 April 2022, a draft law implementing Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the “Draft WBA”) was published for public consultations. The consultations period will end on 23 May and shortly after that the Draft […]