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Published on 31 January 2024CMS legal teams in Belgrade, Podgorica and Sarajevo have advised Actis on all Serbian, Montenegrin and Bosnian aspects of the acquisition of a carved-out tower portfolio from Telekom Srbija, one of the leading tele­com­mu­nic­a­tions operators in the CEE region.   The carved-out portfolio comprises approximately 1,800 macro towers, of which approximately 1,000 are located in Serbia, approximately 700 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and approximately 100 in Montenegro. CMS has provided legal advice on the buy-side due diligence, structuring of the carve-outs, negotiation of the transaction documents, transfer of the towers, regulatory matters (merger clearance, telecoms and energy supply regulations), tax matters and financing of the transaction. This landmark transaction marks Actis’ entry into the Western Balkans and reinforces Actis' commitment to the CEE region following previous investments in the energy sector in Romania and Bulgaria in 2022. The CMS team which advised on the transaction was led by partner Marija Tešić (Serbia, Montenegro) and included partners Radivoje Petrikić, Ivan Gazdić and Milica Popović, counsels Marija Marošan and Srđan Janković, senior associates Sandra Miljanić, Ksenija Boreta, Jovana Bingulac, Ksenija Ivetić Marlović, Tamara Zejak and Tamara Samardžija, associates Mila Drljević, Milica Tomić,  Jelena Đorđević, Teodora Vujošević and Jovan Bećirić (all Serbia, Montenegro), partners Indir Osmić and Andrea Zubović-De­vedžić, counsel Sanja Voloder, senior associate Ana Terzić and Zlatan Balta, associates Zlatko Mašović, Stefan Ćosović and Zerina Spahić (all Bosnia and Herzegovina).  

Published on 2 October 2023

Published on 26 June 2023CMS Belgrade real estate lawyers Ivan Gazdić and Marija Marošan, as well as competition law expert Srđan Janković, have assisted A1 Serbia, the local subsidiary of A1 Telekom Austria Group, in agreeing to acquire a part of the infrastructure of Serbian provider Conexio.A1 Group CEO Thomas Arnoldner: “With this asset deal, we are able to successfully pursue our growth strategy. A1 Serbia positions itself as a serious player in the region, providing strong support for local traffic needed for mobile backhauling and for the provision of other local services. The continuous connectivity is also a great asset for enterprise customers that need overall solutions and long-distance con­nectiv­ity.”A total of approx. 850 kilometers of piping to be acquired will close the gap between the A1 markets in Croatia and Bulgaria, while also providing routes to Hungary and North Macedonia. After the completion of the transaction, A1 Group will be able to lay fiber in the pipes and close the existing network infrastructure gap.“With this deal we take our international connectivity to a new level. A1 Group will be able to offer state-of-the-art technology and with a total of 850 km of connecting pipes across Serbia will be able to offer fiber along this track to our national and international customers”, says Alejandro Plater, COO A1 Group. “We will be able to offer services running on our own managed infrastructure from the Bosporus to Austria”. The completion of the transaction is, inter alia, subject to the applicable merger control clearance. As agreed between the parties, details regarding the transaction will not be released. CMS has been providing legal support to A1 Telekom Austria Group for a number of years, addressing their legal requirements across the countries of their operation. We congratulate our long-standing client on this transaction and look forward to future accomplishments.

The Walt Disney Company, a media and entertainment powerhouse, and Disney DTC EM Limited, have appointed Petrikić & Partners AOD as their data protection representative for their Disney+ streaming service in the Republic of Serbia. Pursuant to Article 44 of the Serbian Law on Personal Data Protection, data controllers that do not have a registered seat in Serbia are required to appoint a representative in Serbia to act as a point of contact for the data protection authority and for data subjects. Since Disney+ streaming service has recently been launched in Serbia, Disney+ customers in Serbia may reach out to Petrikić & Partners AOD for any questions or complaints in relation to the processing of their personal data by the above Walt Disney companies. The appointment of Petrikić & Partners AOD was announced by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection: Disney DTC EM Limited and The Walt Disney Company Limited designate representative for Republic of Serbia in accordance with Law on Personal Data Protection - Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection (poverenik. rs)The contact email address designated for this purpose is datapri­vacy­bel­grade@cms-rrh. com

With NoFacePls, a legal-tech innovative solution enabling real-time face blurring during live video streaming, CMS Belgrade plans to change the face of privacy protection.

We, at CMS Belgrade, appreciate the opportunity to support start-ups with a strong vision, such as retail neobank N26. CMS Belgrade Managing Partner Radivoje Petrikić, early recognised the potential of N26 and with his team of local partners Marija Tešić and Maja Stepanović, and senior tax lawyer Ivana Blagojević, supported them with the acquisition of a Serbian fintech, thus enabling further expansion of N26 operations in global markets.   This fast-growing neobank from Germany has an inspiring motto: to be the first mobile bank the world loves to use! As it seems, they are living up to their motto, since N26 has already welcomed more than 7 million customers in 25 markets for only 6 years, and has just raised a USD 900 million Series E round at a USD 9 billion valuation of the company. In addition to Central Europe operations, they are now eyeing opportunities in East Europe, and opening an office in Serbia is an important step in their plan.   We are looking forward to assisting the innovative mobile bank with achieving their goal of becoming one of the biggest retail banks in Europe. 

When planning business operations in Central and Eastern Europe (‘CEE’), data protection law is as important as any other area of law