The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Bulgaria > TMT

Boyanov & Co. advises major telecoms clients on acquisitions, sales, and mergers. The firm advises clients including Vodafone, and Deutsche Telecom on their activities in Bulgaria. The firm also draws on the strength of its banking and finance practice to co-ordinate syndicated financing for large-scale telecoms mergers. It counts a number of high-profile tech firms among its clients; it  performs ongoing regulatory compliance and licence application work for clients such as  Lenovo, and Microsoft. Damian Simeonov, co-head of the banking practice, leads the team, with Nikolay Zisov and Ralitsa Nedkova playing key roles in transactions.

The TMT practice at CMS draws on the strength of its corporate and commercial expertise to advise on M&A deals in the sector, draft general terms and conditions for media, tech and telecoms companies, and provide ongoing consultancy on regulatory compliance for major companies. The team has expertise in IT and outsourcing law, data protection and privacy regulation, and IP law. Atanas Bangachev, Gentscho Pavlov and Veliko Savov (who has previously worked at a telecoms company) jointly lead the team. The arrival of Anna Tanova has bolstered the firm’s experience – an expert in IT and media law, she is also the executive director of the Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters.

'In a league of its own',  Dimitrov, Petrov & Co has broad strength in this field and acts for market-leading clients. It advises on the regulatory, commercial and IP aspects of acquisitions as well as contentious matters. Prof Dr George Dimitrov, who jointly leads the practice, has extensive regulatory experience, having played a significant role in drafting Bulgaria’s TMT and IT legislation. Desislava Krusteva and Hristo Nihrizov also jointly lead the practice, and are experts in data protection and payment services, respectively. Nikola Stoychev is another name to note.

Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov’s TMT practice spans the full range of expertise – the regulatory aspects of large-scale mergers, licensing and permissions, data privacy and security. It also advises on copyright, content distribution arrangements, and electronic communications. The practice counts global telecoms and media companies among its clients, advising on additional areas such as IP protection, competition and employment law.  Violetta Kunze, who also heads the firm’s corporate and commercial practice, leads the team, while Omourtag Petkov has expertise in the growing business of IT outsourcing. Senior associate Milka Ivanova is another name to note.

The ‘service-oriented and pragmatic team’ at Wolf Theiss  advises on mergers and acquisitions, financing, and commercial agreements in the TMT sector. It has a particular focus on innovative IT companies in fintech, cloud computing software, and automated data visualisation services. The team assists growing international and Bulgarian tech companies on licencing and IP matters, data protection, and outsourcing. Clients include Experian, Software Group, Tencent, and GoDaddy. The team is jointly led by Anna Rizova and Richard Clegg, who also co-head the firm’s corporate/M&A practice. Senior associate Jasmina Uzova has considerable expertise in structuring M&A transactions and commercial contracts in the tech sector. Yanitsa Radeva and Nikoleta Ratcheva are names to note.

Georgiev, Todorov & Co acts for clients in high-value and complex contentious matters, concerning unfair competition, breach of contract, and shareholders’ disputes. The practice also handles non-contentious work; advising  on the merger of two GPS providers and also advising on the regulation of foreign ownership of free-to-air television channels. In other work, it assisted on the structuring of complex subcontracting agreements for a telecoms company with the Bulgarian Air Force. Ivan Todorov and Alexander Pachamanov, whose ‘knowledge and experience are exceptional’, jointly lead the team.

Jordanov, Ignatov, Ivanov Law Firm’s ‘committed and collaborative’ TMT practice has a strong track record in advising tech start-ups and joint ventures at an early stage of their operations. It deals with the setting up their corporate structures, arranging rounds of financing, and ensuring that the operations are compliant with the relevant regulatory framework. The team has expertise in the data protection and IP aspects of online retail, wireless internet provision, and outsourcing. Notably the firm is working with Vivansa to develop customs software to be used across the EU. Practice head Rumen Ignatov is an IP expert, as is senior associate Darina Gospodinova, who is praised by clients for her ‘wide expertise’. The ‘thoroughly knowledgeable’ Nikolay Ignatov is another name to note.

The ‘practical and solution-oriented’ TMT practice at Kambourov & Partners advises major telecoms and tech companies, including Vodafone and Broadcom, on the regulatory and licensing requirements for expansion into Bulgaria. The firm is highly experienced in IP law, in addition to data protection; it advises clients in a wide range of sectors on GDPR and AML compliance, including customer service outsourcing companies on data transfer regulations. The ‘proactive’ Mitko Karushkov heads the practice, which includes newly-promoted senior associate Mario Arabistanov, noted for his ‘diligence’ and ‘proficiency’.

The TMT practice at Penkov, Markov & Partners assists clients at the intersection of IT and software, advising on compliance in an evolving regulatory environment for companies in the SaaS, SAP, fintech, cryptocurrency, and blockchain spaces. Nikolay Cvetanov, the head of the practice, has particular expertise in data protection and GDPR, having assisted in drafting Bulgarian data protection law, and additionally is a leading figure in non-bank lending and fintech. Vladimir Penkov’s practice is more closely focused on telecommunications, having contributed to the drafting of Bulgaria’s Telecommunications Act and Electronic Communications Act. In his career, he has advised clients including Vodafone, Telefonica, Telenor, and Nokia.

Schoenherr (in cooperation with Stoyanov & Tsekova) advises online retailers, streaming and conventional media providers, software and IT companies. Licencing and registration is a core focus; the firm has advised GTS Telecom Romania on registration before the Bulgarian Communications Regulation Commission. Ilko Stoyanov and Stefana Tsekova jointly head up the practice, while Katerina Kaloyanova advises on mergers in the sector, and Radoslav Chemshirov has expertise in telecommunications and media regulation.

Tsvetkova Bebov Komarevski advises clients on the cutting edge of IT and software, counting SaaS companies, IT outsourcing companies and fintech and online payment service providers among its clients. The practice is experienced in telecommunications and media matters, having advised Eastern European Media Holdings on the €185m sale of its stake in the Nova Broadcasting Group. Venelin Dimitrov leads the team, while Dimitar Grozdanov and Iva Georgieva are names to note.

Andrey Delchev and Partners - Eurolex Bulgaria is particularly active in issues relating to radio broadcasting. The firm represents the Communicorp radio group, which operates many of the most popular stations in Bulgaria. The team advises on bidding and registration for broadcast licences, advertising rules and restrictions, competition matters, and general commercial activity. Severina Liubenova, practice head, is the senior legal adviser to the Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters and is an expert in competition law. The firm has also assisted with drafting and amending Bulgaria’s Radio and Television Act. Outside of broadcasting, the firm has assisted software and IT companies with entry into the Bulgarian market.

CERHA HEMPEL Gerginov provides corporate and commercial advice to a number of major IT and tech firms, including Hewlett-Packard, DXC.technology, Samsung, and MicroFocus. The firm has experience in outsourcing and procurement contracts, data protection, distribution agreements, and mergers in the sector. Boyko Gerginov leads the team, which has been bolstered by the arrival of senior attorney Gergana Antonova, an IT specialist.