The Legal 500

Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC has an ‘excellent’ practice and is noted for its size, practice specialisation, and depth of knowledge. Corporate is a core practice area for Elias Neocleous, who is ‘brilliant’ and ‘capable of handling complex transactions’. The team advised Cyprus-resident company Madura Holding on the sale of its estimated $5bn stake in Russian potassium producer Uralkali.

Antis Triantafyllides & Sons makes up for what it may lack in size with high-quality work and expertise, remaining a market leader in domestic and cross-border corporate work. Stelios Triantafyllides is highly recommended.

Chrysses Demetriades & Co Law Office remains a strong player in the corporate market. Christos Mavrellis is ‘a real dealmaker’, and is ‘exceptional in terms of his knowledge of commercial industry over and above pure legalities’.

Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC’s practice is headed by Stavros Pavlou. It recently advised on the establishment of a joint venture company with a value over $30m, and also advised a Cyprus public company in relation to its share listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis LLC advised offshore drilling company Songa Offshore on a $97m private placement and also on an equity financing of the company’s $50m investment in Deepwater Driller. Demetris Loizides wins plaudits for his ‘out-of-the-box solutions’, and Pavlos Aristodemou for his ‘commercial insights’.

Headed by Stella Kammitsi, the well-established team at Chryssafinis & Polyviou LLC has experience across a range of corporate matters including restructurings, reorganisations and re-domiciliation matters.

George Y Yiangou & Co advised a Russian private investment bank on a multibillion-dollar acquisition in the steel industry; it also acted for an acquirer on purchasing a beverages producer. Senior associate Panayiotis Panayides is recommended.

Georgiades & Pelides’ consistency, tenacity, and steady flow of transactions has not gone unnoticed by competitors. The ‘very solid’ Marcos Georgiades has an enviable reputation in capital markets matters.

With the ability to couple legal acumen with ‘an understanding of the business practices and commercial terms of the deals’, Dr K Chrysostomides & Co remains a powerful force in corporate matters. Led by the seasoned Chryso Pitsilli-Dekatris, the team advised on the sale of a Cyprus company for an estimated $137m, and also acted for Volga Telecom on its acquisition of a controlling stake in Teleset Networks, estimated at $133m.

Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC maintains a strong corporate practice which handles transactional matters, and is also active in company formation work. Lambros Soteriou is recognised as ‘the engine running the firm’, and the wider team is ‘excellent on all counts’.

Mouaimis & Mouaimis has ‘an excellent reputation in the market’. The firm’s understated prowess draws top-class clients appreciative of name partners Panayotis Mouaimis’ and Michalis Mouaimis’ ‘courteous and discreet’ manner. The practice frequently advises in collaboration with UK Magic Circle firms, recently seeing a glut of deals involving GDR sales.

The team at Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co LLC is headed by Dimitris Papadopoulos and Doros Lycourgos. Notable work included representing a leading European bank on the sale of its majority stake in its Cyprus subsidiary, and advising the minority shareholders in a €100m wind park project.

Tasos Coucounis and Dimitria Coucouni Andreou at Andreas Coucounis & Co are highly recommended. The team advised private equity firm Lamda Partners Fund on its prospective €4m investment in a Greek company providing integrated security solutions, in collaboration with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP.

Clerides, Anastassiou, Neophytou LLC’s corporate team includes Stavros Clerides, who is noted for his ‘talent advising on novel financial deals’, and Effie Anastassiou, who is praised for her ability to ‘come up with creative and pragmatic solutions’. The firm advised Tiger Global in the acquisition of a 40% stake in online airline ticket site AnywayAnyday.com.

Described as a ‘solid, efficient law firm’, Kinanis LLC ‘utilises a team approach to get the answers needed’. Christos Kinanis and Irene Christodoulou are standout figures in the team, which acted for Uralchem Holding in relation to its IPO, as well as acting with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in advising steel producer Jysk Stalindustri in its acquisition of an 80% interest in Volgo Bolt Transport.

Leandros Papaphilippou’s corporate team at L. Papaphilippou & Co has been active in reorganisations and restructuring matters. The firm’s strong client portfolio includes BP, Meridian Hotels and Kodak.

The three-partner team at Pamboridis LLC advised the Athinodorou Group on the sale of 50% of mining company Skyramont Quarries to a subsidiary of the Iacovou Brothers Group, for €11.4m. Yiota Kythreotou is noted for her IPO work.

‘Modern’ firm Antonis Paschalides & Co has extensive experience in cross-border acquisitions and other transactions. Carlos Paschalides is ‘the face of the firm’ and heads a highly competent corporate team that has made ‘continuous progress’ and is noted for its ‘flawless’ work.

Apostolou & Co. LLC makes its presence felt in IPO work, share sales and purchase agreements. It advised Canadian oil exploration client Kulczyk Oil Ventures in relation to the €170m IPO of its parent company on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

With an ‘evident grasp of commercial needs and realities’, C.D. Messios LLC has seen a steady flow of work. The corporate team, headed by standout figure Constantinos Messios, regularly advises on capital markets matters, and recently advised on the Cypriot law aspects of a $23m cross-border merger.

Christodoulos G. Vassiliades & Co LLC has recently been co-operating with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in relation to asset sale transactions totalling $2bn.

George Z. Georgiou & Associates LLC has seen a marked increase in company registration work, and is proficient in corporate restructuring work.

At Georgiades & Mylonas Advocates & Legal Consultants, the corporate practice benefits from the firm’s proficiency in commercial litigation, having assisted in the case of Giorgos Hadjistillis v Cyprus Stock Exchange and others.

Harris Kyriakides LLC’s corporate team acts for some big names in the energy and telecoms sectors. The firm often collaborates with UK Magic Circle firms on M&A deals.

Ioannides Demetriou LLC’s corporate work includes international transactions and stock exchange listings, restructurings, and registration matters. The team is led by Pambos Ioannides.

Boutique firm N.Pirilides & Associates LLC has seen an increase in restructuring and reorganisation work, from longstanding clients such as Future Hotels and Thomas Cook.

Drawing on the firm’s strong international commercial litigation practice, Scordis, Papapetrou & Co LLC is particularly noted by clients for its work on deals involving cross-border elements. Kyriacos Scordis is recommended.

Stelios Americanos & Co has worked alongside the likes of Clifford Chance, CMS Cameron McKenna LLC and DLA Piper on corporate matters, and has advised on a number of high-value acquisitions and share purchase agreements, frequently in excess of $100m.