Gentscho Pavlov > CMS > Sofia, Bulgaria > Lawyer Profile

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.

The ‘exceptionally business-oriented’ team at CMS is well placed to advise on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as well as handling compliance, regulation and corporate governance for clients active within Bulgaria and the wider CEE region. The team is experienced in assisting foreign companies with entering and exiting the Bulgarian market, having advised on Hungarian bank OTP’s purchase of Société Générale’s Bulgarian subsidiaries in 2019. IBM and Cargill are among its other clients. The practice is jointly led by litigation specialist Assen Georgiev, Gentscho Pavlov, Dimitar Zwiatkow and Atanas Bangachev. Counsel Nevena Radlova advises on suppliers’ and distribution contracts, as well as the competition aspects of merger clearance.

CMS employed its ‘well established cross-border practice’ to advice on a number of major regional deals in 2019, including assisting OTP Bank with its €600m acquisition of Société Générale’s subsidiaries across the CEE region. Within Bulgaria, it advises chiefly on large-scale real estate financing, acquisition financing and project financing on for local and regional lenders and borrowers, drawing on the experience of Dimitar Zwiatkow, who jointly heads the team. Gentscho Pavlov and Elitsa Ivanova are the other practice co-heads, and have been active in the sale of NPL portfolios and cross-border financings respectively.