The shortlists for the 2021 CEE Deals of the Year:

Albania:

• 4iG’s Acquisition of ALBtelecom from the Calik Group || Firms Involved: Tashko Pustina; Wolf Theiss
• Republic of Albania Eurobond Issuance || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Dechert; Wolf Theiss
• Vlora Airport Concession Project || Firms Involved: Tashko Pustina; Wolf Theiss

Austria:

• B&C Group’s Acquisition of Majority Stake in Atlas Flexibles || Firms Involved: Addleshaw Goddard; Allen & Overy; Cerha Hempel; Dittmar & Indrenius; Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Gide Loyrette Nouel; Gleiss Lutz; Grohs Hofer Rechtsanwalte; Hillbridges; Kromann Reumert; Vinge; Zepos & Yannopulos
• GoStudent Series D Funding Round || Firms Involved: Baker & McKenzie; Cooley; Goodwin Procter; Herbst Kinsky; Schoenherr; Wolf Theiss
• Starwood Capital's Public Takeover Offer for CA Immo || Firms Involved: DSC Doralt Seist Csoklich; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins; Schoenherr; Wolf Theiss

Bosnia and Herzegovina:

• Export-Import Bank of China Financing for Development of Dabar Hydroelectric Power Plant || Firms Involved: Milbank; Law Firm Sajic; Schoenherr
• Nomad Foods’ Acquisition of Fortenova's Frozen Food Businesso || Firms Involved: Akin Gump; BDK Advokati in cooperation with Dijana Pejic Sinik; Boga & Associates; Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners; Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka; Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners; Harrisons; Isailovic & Partners; Kalo & Associates; Lakatos, Koves and Partners; Maric & Co; Norton Rose Fulbright; Polenak Law Firm; Popovski & Partners; Selih & Partnerji; Zdolsek Attorneys at Law
• Republika Srpska's Eurobond Issuance || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; BDK Advokati in cooperation with Dijana Pejic Sinik; Dimitrijevic & Partners; White & Case

Bulgaria

• DZI-Life Insurance’s Acquisition of NN Group’s Bulgarian Pension and Life Insurance Businesses || Firms Involved: Boyanov & Co; Kinstellar; Stibbe
• Eurohold’s Financing and Acquisition of CEZ’s Bulgarian Business || Firms Involved: Boyanov & Co; CMS; Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov; Morrison & Foerster; Penkov, Markov & Partners; Stoeva, Tchompalov & Znepolski; White & Case
• Glovo's Acquisition of Delivery Hero's Operations in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia || Firms Involved: Cuatrecasas; Gugushev & Partners; Uria Menendez; Volciuc-Ionescu; Wolf Theiss
• KBC Bank’s Acquisition of Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria from Raiffeisen Bank International || Firms Involved: E+H; Kinstellar; Wolf Theiss
• Silverfleet Capital’s Investment in Merger of Bulpros and EC4U || Firms Involved: Ashurst; Bar & Karrer; Kambourov & Partners; Karastoyanov, Mitkov & Associates; Latham & Watkins; NautaDutilh; Noerr; Shearman & Sterling

Croatia:

• INA Bond Issuance || Firms Involved: Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac; Miskovic & Miskovic
• Nomad Foods’ Acquisition of Fortenova’s Frozen Food Business || Firms Involved: Akin Gump; BDK Advokati; Boga & Associates; Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners; Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka; Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners; Harrisons; Isailovic & Partners; Kalo & Associates; Lakatos, Koves and Partners; Maric & Co; Norton Rose Fulbright; Polenak Law Firm; Popovski & Partners; Selih & Partnerji; Zdolsek Attorneys at Law
• Bugatti and Rimac Automobili JV || Firms Involved: Bardek, Lisac, Musec, Skoko and Partners in Cooperation with CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz; Kunstek, Halle & Simac; Squire Patton Boggs

Czech Republic:

• Allegro’s Acquisition of Mall Group and WeDo from PPF, EC Investments, and Rockaway Capital || Firms Involved: Clifford Chance; Lakatos, Koves and Partners; Redcliffe Partners; Savoric & Partners; Selih & Partnerji; White & Case
• Avast and NortonLifeLock Merger || Firms Involved: Kirkland & Ellis; Macfarlanes; White & Case
• CTP IPO || Firms Involved: Clifford Chance; De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek; Karanovic & Partners; Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen; White & Case

Estonia:

• Apollo Global Management’s Acquisition of Graanul Invest from Biofuel, Neoinvesteeringud, and Renergy || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Ellex; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Sorainen; White & Case
• Enefit Green Privatization and IPO || Firms Involved: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Ellex; Shearman & Sterling; Sorainen
• Partners Group’s Acquisition of Fortum’s Baltic District Heating Operations || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Ellex; Sorainen; Van Doorne

Greece:

• Mondelez International’s Acquisition of Chipita from the Olayan Group, Spyros Theodoropoulos, and Others || Firms Involved: Boyanov & Co; Clifford Chance; Karatzas & Partners; Shearman & Sterling
• The Hellenic Republic’s Bond Exchange and Tender Offer || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Karatzas & Partners; Koutalidis Law Firm

Hungary:

• AIK Banka’s, Gorenjska Banka’s, and Agri Europe Cyprus’s Acquisition of Six Sberbank Subsidiaries || Firms Involved: Binder Groesswang; Cerha Hempel; Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Karanovic & Partners; Maric & Co; Noerr & Partners; Radovanovic Stojanovic & Partners; Tos & Partners; Zuric and Partners
• Erste Bank’s Acquisition of Commerzbank’s Hungarian Subsidiary || Firms Involved: Bird & Bird; CMS
• MVM Energia’s Acquisition of Companies and Assets from E.ON Hungary || Firms Involved: Kinstellar; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Oppenheim

Latvia:

• Akropolis Group’s Acquisition of SIA Delta Property from AMD Holding || Firms Involved: Ellex; Eversheds Sutherland; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; TGS Baltic
• Bregal Sagemont’s Investment in Printful || Firms Involved: Ellex; Goodwin Procter; Latham & Watkins; Sorainen
• Partners Group’s Acquisition of Fortum’s Baltic District Heating Operations || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Ellex; Sorainen; Van Doorne

Lithuania:

• Interactio Series A Round from Investors Eight Roads Ventures, Storm Ventures, and Notion Capital || Firms Involved: Cobalt; Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe; Sorainen; Withers
• Partners Group’s Acquisition of Fortum’s Baltic District Heating Operations || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Clifford Chance; Ellex; Sorainen; Van Doorne
• Vilnius National Stadium PPP || Firms Involved: Cobalt; Sorainen; Walless

North Macedonia:

• Interenergo’s and Trigal’s Acquisition of Wind Farm from Unidentified Sellers || Firms Involved: Fatur Menard; Karanovic & Partners in Cooperation with Local Lawyers; Nikola Lazarov Law Office
• Financing for City Plaza’s Acquisition of Majority Stake of Ramstore Mall in Skopje [actual transaction here] || Firms Involved: Karanovic & Partners in Cooperation with Local Lawyers
• Volution Group’s Acquisition of ERI Corporation Companies from Unidentified Sellers || Firms Involved: BDO Legal; Karanovic & Partners in Cooperation with Local Lawyers; Riera Wirtschaftsprufer Rechtsanwalte

Poland:

• Allegro’s Acquisition of Mall Group and WeDo from PPF, EC Investments, and Rockaway Capital || Firms Involved: Clifford Chance; Lakatos, Koves and Partners; Redcliffe Partners; Savoric & Partners; Selih & Partnerji; White & Case
• Cornerstone Partners’ and Crestyl Real Estate’s Acquisition of Budimex Nieruchomosci from Budimex || Firms Involved: BCLA Bisiorek, Cieslinski and Partners; Clifford Chance; Dentons; Linklaters
• INPOST IPO || Firms Involved: Clifford Chance; CMS; Stibbe; Weil, Gotshal & Manges
• Orsted’s JV with PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna for the Development, Construction, and Operation of Offshore Wind Projects in the Baltic Sea || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Rymarz Zdort

Romania:

• Glovo’s Acquisition of Delivery Hero’s Operations in Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia || Firms Involved: Cuatrecasas; Gugushev & Partners; Uria Menendez; Volciuc-Ionescu; Wolf Theiss
• KKR’s and Global Infrastructure Partners’ Acquisition of CyrusOne from Unidentified Seller || Firms Involved: Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Dentons; Eversheds Sutherland; Kirkland & Ellis; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Venable
• Supernova’s Acquisition of Six Cora Shopping Centers from Louis Delhaize and Galimmo Group || Firms Involved: Act Legal Botezatu Estrade Partners; BPV Grigorescu Stefanica; Dentons

Serbia:

• Nomad Foods’ Acquisition of Fortenova’s Frozen Food Business || Firms Involved: Akin Gump; BDK Advokati; Boga & Associates; Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners; Divjak, Topic, Bahtijarevic & Krka; Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners; Harrisons; Isailovic & Partners; Kalo & Associates; Lakatos, Koves and Partners; Maric & Co; Norton Rose Fulbright; Polenak Law Firm; Popovski & Partners; Selih & Partnerji; Zdolsek Attorneys at Law
• Privatization of HIP Petrohemija || Firms Involved: Law Office Miroslav Stojanovic in Cooperation with Wolf Theiss; Marjanovic Law
• Take Two’s Acquisition of Nordeus from Nordeus Holding Limited || Firms Involved: Harbottle & Lewis; Karanovic & Partners

Slovakia:

• Pavol Jakubec’s Acquisition of Remaining Stake in IDC Holding || Firms Involved: Dentons; MCL Law Firm
• Tatra-Leasing’s Acquisition of Impuls-Leasing Slovakia from Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberosterreich || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Taylor Wessing
• Wood & Co’s and Tatra Asset Management’s Acquisition of Aupark Shopping Center from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Dentons; Taylor Wessing; White & Case

Slovenia:

• OTP’s Acquisition of Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor from Apollo Global Management and EBRD || Firms Involved: Allen & Overy; Bird & Bird; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Selih & Partnerji; Wolf Theiss
• Petrol’s Acquisition of Crodux Derivati DVA from Ivan Cermak || Firms Involved: Baros, Bicakcic & Partners; Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners; BOPA Bojanovic & Partners; Cerha Hempel; Jadek & Pensa; Kavcic, Bracun & Partners; Knezovic & Associates; Law Firm Karmen Rebesco; Madirazza & Partners; Prelevic Law Firm; Ulcar & Partners
• Phoenix Group’s Acquisition of McKesson Europe from McKesson Corp. || Firms Involved: A&L Goodbody; Chiomnenti; Cuatrecasas; Gardetto; Gide Loyrette Nouel; Gleiss Lutz; Linklaters; Loyens & Loeff; Schoenherr; Selih & Partnerji; Walless
• Vitruvian Partners’ Acquisition of Fotona from AGIC Capital || Firms Involved: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Jones Day; Kirkland & Ellis; Norton Rose Fulbright; Ropes & Gray; Schoenherr; Selih & Partnerji

Turkey:

• BBVA’s Bid for Garanti Bank || Firms Involved: GKC Partners; White & Case
• Hepsiburada IPO || Firms Involved: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; GKC Partners; Paksoy; Van Campen Liem; White & Case
• Trendyol Financing || Firms Involved: Akol Law; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Gen Temizer Ozer; GKC Partners; Herguner Bilgen Ozeke; Kinstellar; Lexist; Paksoy; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Verdi Law Firm; White & Case

Ukraine:

• Kaspi.kz’s Acquisition of Portmone.com from 4i Capital Partners || Firms Involved: Avellum; Kinstellar
• Ukrenergo’s Debut ESG Bond Issuance || Firms Involved: Avellum; CMS; Linklaters; Sayenko Kharenko; White & Case
• Varvynska Production Sharing Agreement Project || Firms Involved: DLA Piper; Redcliffe Partners