Wolf Theiss law firm has won 6 awards at the 2021 "CEE Deals of the Year" Gala Awards by CEE Legal Matters in London on 5 April 2022. Wolf Theiss received the title "2021 Deal of the Year" for six distinct transactions in six countries where the firm is present, respectively in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.

2021 was an exceptional year for Wolf Theiss M&A team. In Romania, the "2021 Deal of the Year" award recognizes the outstanding work of Wolf Theiss lawyers on a landmark deal through which Glovo acquired the operations of Delivery Hero in CEE. In Albania, Wolf Theiss received this award for having advised 4iG Nyrt on the acquisition of a majority stake in ALBtelecom; in Bulgaria, for having advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) on the sale of Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) EAD for EUR 1,015 billion to KBC Bank NV; in Serbia, in connection with the privatisation process of HIP Petrohemija, by finding a strategic investor who will invest EUR 150 million in the recapitalisation of Petrohemija; and in Slovenia, for having assisted the affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (80%) and EBRD (20%) in the indirect sale of 100% of Nova KBM d.d., Slovenia's second largest bank, to the Hungarian bank OTP, which marks the most significant transaction in the Slovenian banking sector to date.

Wolf Theiss assisted Glovoapp23, S.L. ("Glovo"), one of the world’s leading multi-category delivery players, in the multijurisdictional EUR 170 million acquisition of the operations of Delivery Hero, another important player in the food delivery platform sector, in Romania, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Glovo acquired the Foodpanda brand in Romania and Bulgaria, the Donesi brand in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pauza in Croatia. The Romanian team, led by Ileana Glodeanu, acted as coordinator for the multijurisdictional advice in all 6 CEE jurisdictions which regarded all stages of the transaction. For more information, click here.

Under the lead of Ileana Glodeanu (Partner, Corporate M&A), the Wolf Theiss's Romanian team working on the deal consisted of: Luciana Tache (Senior Associate, Corporate M&A), Mircea Ciocîrlea (Counsel, Corporate M&A), George Ghitu (Senior Associate, Corporate M&A), Nina Lazar (Associate, IP&IT), Andreea Stan (Senior Associate, Employment), Costin Salaru (Associate, Employment), Cornelia Postelnicu (Senior Associate, Corporate M&A), Iulia Cumparatu (Associate, Corporate M&A), Flaviu Nanu (Counsel, Real Estate), Sorin Dumitru (Senior Associate, Dispute Resolution & IP), Anca Jurcovan (Partner, Competition), Maria Ionescu (Associate, Competition).

"Wolf Theiss success at "Deal of the Year" Awards 2021 in Romania and in 5 other countries makes us very proud, as it once again confirms our long-term strategy of building a cross-border M&A practice in Central and South-Eastern Europe", declared Ileana Glodeanu, Wolf Theiss Partner and Head of the Corporate / M&A team in Romania.

"The significance of the "Glovo's acquisition of Delivery Hero's operations in 6 CEE countries" deal was, ultimately, impossible for the two-tiered panel of voters to ignore, despite the fact that this year's line-up of deals was the most competitive to date. Our congratulations go out to Wolf Theiss for the critical role they played in making this deal happen and we're looking forward to reporting on, and perhaps celebrating similar awards for, their future deals", commented Radu Cotarcea, Managing Editor at CEE Legal Matters.

The CEE Deal of the Year Awards have been granted since 2017 by CEE Legal Matters — the leading source of news and information about the lawyers and legal industry in Central and Eastern Europe — to celebrate the transactions, financings, IPOs, and other deals that underpin growth throughout the region, as well as the lawyers and law firms who make them happen. Law firms are nominated based on deals submitted for consideration with a two-tiered panel of prominent lawyers from across the region evaluating the submissions based on deal complexity, size, and market significance. Click here for the full list of winners this year.

About Wolf Theiss

Founded in 1957, Wolf Theiss is one of the leading law firms in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (CEE/SEE). We have built our reputation on unrivalled local knowledge which is supported by strong international capabilities. With 362 lawyers in 13 countries, over 80% of the firm's work involves cross-border representation of international clients.

Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, Wolf Theiss represents local and international industrial, trade and service companies, as well as banks and insurance companies. Combining law and business, Wolf Theiss develops comprehensive and constructive solutions on the basis of legal, fiscal and business know-how.