News

We are proud to announce that Lakatos, Köves & Partners, a leading team of Budapest-based lawyers, has become the exclusive Hungarian member of Lex Mundi, the world’s largest network of independent law firms.

LKT is pleased to announce the promotion of Péter Berethalmi to Partner within our Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) group.

We are happy to let you know that the latest "Chambers REAL ESTATE 2024 Global Practice Guide" is now available online.

SIPAC is a global network of outstanding professional services firms built to service every facet of the Chinese legal market.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Lakatos, Köves & Partners and one of our woman partners, Viktória Szilágyi were shortlisted in different categories by the Women in Business Law Awards 2024 as follows:

Péter Lakatos, managing partner, said “Péter Köves has been one of the founding and the senior partner of our firm since its establishment, at the time of our separation from Clifford Chance in 2009 and now becomes Partner Emeritus and Honorary Senior Partner and Richard Lock steps up to become Senior Partner.

We are delighted to share that two of LKT’s 2023 deals, namely 4iG and Corvinus's Acquisition of Vodafone Hungary (“Deal of the Year in Hungary”) and Diófa Fund Management's Acquisition of Gordius Private Equity from Indotek Investments (“Deal of the Year in Serbia”)

Dr. Viktória Szilágyi has been promoted to Partner of LKT as of 1 April, 2024. Having 20 years of practice on both local and international transactions on the full range of corporate law issues, including international M&A transactions and general commercial law advice to some of the larger foreign corporates active in Hungary, she also has extensive experience in the renewable energy, real estate and life sciences sectors and participated in several greenfield development projects.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners (“LKT”) is delighted that in the newly published Legal 500 2024 law firm rankings all of our practice areas were highly ranked. In particular, 9 practice areas were “Top ranked” (Banking & Capital markets, Commercial, Corporate / M&A, Competition, Data protection, Dispute Resolution, Employment, Projects & Energy, Real Estate and TMT) and 2 practice areas were “Recommended” (IP and Tax).

We are pleased to announce that Viktor Jéger from Hungarian law firm Nagy & Trócsányi joins LKT’s Dispute Resolution team as of March, 2024.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers and Partners Europe 2024 law firm rankings all of our earlier ranked practice areas achieved Band 1 or Band 2 rating and our Tax Group was ranked for the first time this year, which is a great acknowledgement of our work and place in the legal market in Hungary.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Global 2024 law firm rankings, our practice groups and lawyers are highly ranked in all categories examined by Chambers Global in Hungary (Banking & Finance, Corporate M&A, and Dispute Resolution).

We are pleased to announce that Péter Berethalmi and Zsuzsanna Regina Lukács from Hungarian law firm Nagy & Trócsányi join LKT’s team as of January, 2024. Péter is the former Managing Partner of Nagy & Trócsányi, and Zsuzsanna is a Corporate/M&A lawyer.

Iván Sólyom, Partner and Head of the Corporate & M&A and Co-Head of the Competition Practice Group at Lakatos, Köves & Partners was asked by BBJ - Budapest Business Journal as one of the top 50 Legal Executives in Hungary about his opinion on the changes of legal profession, the effect of AI and digitization, significant legal trends and legal professional supply in Hungary.

Rita Kristófné Gungl, Manager of the LKT LegalTech Lab gave a television interview regarding our university competition concerning „AI in everyday business”, where she spoke about her professional experiences, innovations and effects of AI technology.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) is proud to advise Ukrainian postal and courier company Nova Post in connection with the corporate and regulatory aspects of its Hungarian market entry and the opening of its first Hungarian branch.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners (“LKT”) advised Coats on its sale of its Thread Factory located in Újpest, Hungary.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advised – alongside Clifford Chance London – John Swire & Sons Ltd. as buyer and 60% controlling shareholder on the acquisition of Swire Coca-Cola USA unit of Hong Kong-based conglomerate Swire Pacific Ltd.

We are happy to advise one of our key clients, a leading asset, property and project management company, ConvergenCE on its new tenant, Arago Group, moving into ACADEMIA Office Building, one of Budapest's most beautiful and prestigious buildings.

In recognition of the progress that is being made with the Three Seas Initiative, on the occasion of its Annual General Meeting in Bucharest on 6/7 September 2023, we are pleased to announce that a group of leading law firms from each country in the Initiative have come together to provide legal support to the Initiative and the needs of clients with regard to it.

The ITR World Tax rankings have been unveiled, and Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) is proud to be ranked as one of the finest performing tax firms!

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) is proud to advise SELENA Group, a Polish listed company being a global leader and distributor of construction chemicals and one of the four largest producers of polyurethane foam in the world, on a strategic collaboration with Masterplast Nyrt., a Hungarian listed company being one of the leading insulation material and construction industry product producer-distribution companies in the Central Eastern European region.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners is happy to announce that our tax team was shortlisted for the ITR EMEA Tax Awards 2023 in the „Tax Firm of the Year Hungary” category.

We are extremely pleased to announce that Lakatos, Köves & Partners and one of our leading lawyers were shortlisted in different categories by the Women in Business Law Awards 2023 as follows:

Lakatos, Köves & Partners advised Eximbank Zrt. on its international bond offering of USD1,250 billion 6.125% notes due 2027.

Hungary has a complex FDI screening system, consisting of two parallel and independently functioning regimes, as summarized in the chart below. Transactions caught under either regime require the acknowledgement of the relevant authority as a precondition of implementation.

We are delighted to share that one of our 2022 deals, namely "GIC’s acquisition of 30% Stake in Cetin from PPF" was selected and awarded as the “Deal of the Year in the Czech Republic in 2022” on 25 May, 2023 at the CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year Gala in Istanbul. LKT received the trophy for its work and involvement in the Hungarian aspects of the deal.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Legal 500 2023 law firm rankings all of our practice areas were highly ranked. Namely, eight practice areas (Banking & Capital markets, Commercial, Corporate / M&A, Competition, Data protection, Dispute Resolution, Projects & Energy, Real Estate and TMT) were “Top ranked” and three practice areas (Employment, IP and Tax) were “Recommended”.

On 16 March 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued an interesting judgment (C-449/21), in response to the Paris Court of Appeal’s request for a preliminary ruling, on whether a national competition authority may ex-post investigate as abuse of dominance a transaction which does not meet the established threshold defined in the EU Merger Regulation or national legislation.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Europe 2023 law firm rankings all of our ranked practice areas achieved Band 1 or Band 2 rating...

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Global 2023 law firm rankings, our lawyers were highly ranked....

Lakatos, Köves and Partners won "Best Law Firm of the Year" award at the 16th Hungarian CIJ EUROPE Awards granted at the gala dinner in the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace on 9 February 2023.

We are happy to advise one of our key clients, a leading asset, property and project management company, ConvergenCE on its new tenant, the Singapore based rapidly growing SaaS company, Trax moving into the Kálvin Square Office Building, which was recognised with a BREEAM Excellent rating in last September.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) is proud to advise Japan's Nippon Paper Industries (listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a global presence), regarding a HUF 15 billion (approx. EUR 38,650,140) green field investment including the acquisition and development of an industry site and building a plant in Hungary in Vácrátót, on the outskirts of Budapest, that will supply carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) materials for the production of electric vehicle batteries. CMC is a water-soluble, environmentally-friendly polymer derived from cellulose that is one of the materials used for lithium-ion battery anodes in EVs and a natural raw material that is used as a binder by numerous industries (construction, paper, food, pharmaceuticals, etc.) as a kind of natural adhesive.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advised Vodafone plc on the sale of Vodafone Magyarország Zrt. ("Vodafone Hungary") to 4iG Nyrt. and Corvinus Zrt., a Hungarian state holding company, for a total cash consideration of HUF 660bn (€1.7bn). LKT worked alongside renowned English law firm Slaughter & May.

Balázs Fazakas, Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at Lakatos, Köves & Partners Law Firm ('LKT') has been promoted to Partner as of 1 January, 2023.

Eszter Ritter, Partner and Co-Head of the Competition team at Lakatos, Köves and Partners (“LKT”) receives acknowledgement from Who’s Who Legal (“WWL”): Thought Leaders Competition 2023.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners ('LKT') advised Turkish private investors on the acquisition of the Hungarian subsidiary of Veritas Group, an insolvent German automotive and industrial supplier - in cooperation with Binder Grösswang -, as part of a global deal, including the Austrian subsidiary as well as three German plants and further subsidiaries located in Bosnia, China, and Turkey.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners ('LKT') advised Integrator d.o.o., a Serbian regional HR company regarding the acquisition of Manpower’s HR and workforce business in Hungary from Manpower Group. With this transaction, Integrator may become one of the major HR consulting and recruiting firms in the region.

We are happy to let you know that Lakatos, Köves and Partners' Founding Partner, Richard Lock published an article in Budapest Business Journal's (BBJ) Investing in Hungary magazine about the topic, which is now available.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advised United Petfood, the global private-label pet-food producer, in relation to its acquisition of a petfood factory from the Cargill Group in Hungary in the area of Karcag. The transaction was part of a combined asset deal covering both in Poland and Hungary. LKT provided full scope legal assistance as to the Hungarian aspects of the deal, starting from the due diligence of the target through the negotiation of the transactional documents and the completion of the transaction including corporate, M&A, antitrust, regulatory and real estate advice.

We are very pleased and proud that Attila Ungár, one of our Founding Partners and the Head of Real Estate at Lakatos, Köves and Partners has been ranked within the Top 10 Real Estate Legal Experts in Hungary in the yearly issue of Portfolio "Top 50 Real Estate" Magazine, reflecting our long-term presence on the real estate legal market and our achieved reputation and market recognition throughout the years. Thank you!

We wish you and your family peace, prosperity, and happiness in the coming year.

We are happy to let you know that the new "The Legal 500 (Legalease): Real Estate Country Comparative Guide" is now available online.

We are proud to advise Japan-based Toyo Ink Group with regard to all legal aspects of its market entry and operation in Hungary concerning its new plant that has been raised in Hungary, Újhartyán (Pest County), being Toyo Ink Group’s first European plant, on top of existing production sites in China, Japan and the U.S.

In cooperation with Stevens & Bolton LLP, Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advised Zenitech group, a leading UK based business transformational technology group pursuing information technology consultancy activities on the acquisition of Autsoft Zrt., a pioneer Hungarian company engaged in customized software development (relating to complex systems, E2E solutions according to clients’ unique needs and modern development methodologies) and, innovative software solutions in artificial intelligence, loT Platforms, virtual reality area. Autsoft Zrt. is furthermore also known as one of the largest mobile developers in Hungary, on both iOS and Android platforms. Zenitech’s intention to buy AutSoft was announced in May 2022, and the acquisition has been completed in September 2022, having gone through regulatory approvals.

We are happy to let you know that the new Chambers Aviation Finance & Leasing 2022 Guide, covering 28 jurisdictions, is now available to view online. The Hungarian Chapter was prepared by the LKT team of Nóra Kertai, Viktória Tamás, John Fenemore and Szabolcs Mestyan.

On 16 August 2022, the Hungarian Government issued Government Decree No. 315/2022. (VIII. 16.) on the amendment (“Amendment”) of certain government decrees on building, heritage protection, property management and government administration amending the Government Decree No. 252/2006. (XII.7.) on town planning and architectural-technical design councils (“Government Decree”) affecting building permitting procedure…

CEE Legal Matters’ article about the topic is now available…

We are delighted that 12 talented lawyers from Lakatos, Köves & Partners have been recognised in the IFLR1000 2022 individual rankings - and all of our practice areas are either ranked Tier 1 or Tier 2, which puts us at the top of the Hungarian law firm rankings table! Thank you to all our clients for their continuing trust and kind feedback. Thanks and congratulations to our colleagues for their professional and client-focused work. We remain your „International, Independent, Innovative” law firm in Budapest.

We are happy to let you know that The Legal 500 Aviation Finance & Leasing Country Comparative Guide is now available to view online. With Szabolcs Mestyan and John Fenemore heading the Hungarian Chapter and with the contribution of Balázs Rokob and Nóra Kertai associates, the guide provides the latest legal information on aircraft and engine purchase and sale, aircraft and engine leasing, aircraft debt finance, security, liens, enforcement and current legislative proposals, registration, International conventions, insurance, taxes, and import or export restrictions as well as insight and opinion on challenges and opportunities in the respective country.

Our tax experts, Balázs Kántor and Petra Rózsahegyi answered BBJ in connection with the serious consequences of the termination of the U.S.- Hungary double taxation agreement.

CEE Legal Matters article about the topic is now available...

We are extremely pleased to announce that Lakatos, Köves & Partners and two of our leading lawyers were shortlisted in different categories by the Women in Business Law Awards 2022 as follows...

We are proud to advise one of our key clients, GLP, a leading investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks on a long-term lease agreement with online retailer Alza.hu for a 22,000 sqm warehouse at Sziget Logistics Centre, Hungary. Construction is already in progress, and the building is due to be finalized in Q3 2022.

We are proud to advise our client, Egeria Capital Behar BV, an independent pan-European investment company – alongside Clifford Chance Munich - on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Isoplus, a Germany based leading provider of pre-insulated piping systems, mainly for district heating.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Legal 500 2022 law firm rankings all of our practice areas were ranked in either Tier 1 (Banking & Capital markets, Commercial, Corporate, M&A, Competition, Dispute Resolution, Projects & Energy, Real Estate and TMT) or Tier 2 (Employment, Data protection, IP, Tax).

We are happy to let you know that Chambers Corporate Tax 2022 Global Practice Guide is now available to view online...

We are delighted to share that one of LKT’s 2021 deals, Nomad Foods Acquisition of Fortenova's Frozen Food Business was selected and awarded as (1) the CEE Legal Deal of the Year and (2) the Deal of the year in Bosnia and (3) the Deal of the year in Croatia at the CEE Legal Matters (CEELM) Dealer’s Choice and the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet held on 5 April, 2022 in London, attended by lawyers from across the CEE region and from London.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Global law firm rankings, our lawyers were highly ranked.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Europe 2022 law firm rankings all of our ranked practice areas achieved Band 1 or Band 2 rating...

The Legal 500 is organizing an interesting webinar regarding “Central and Eastern Europe’s elite law firms: managing partners in discussion – challenges in the wake of Covid-19 and beyond”...

We are proud to advise one of our key clients, Indotek Group on the acquisition of 11 office buildings in 5 business parks in Belgrade from Globe Trade Centre S.A. (GTC).

Lakatos, Köves and Partners successfully represented Facebook Ireland before the Hungarian Supreme Court, Kuria.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advised Horizon Development on the sale of the commercial part of its LEED Platinum certified premium mixed-use property Szervita Square Building to Union Investment for one of its institutional real estate funds.

Richard Lock’s article in the topic published by BBJ is now available

On 13 December 2021 a draft bill was presented in the Hungarian Parliament which has significant implications for retail traders of food products. The bill appears to address a genuine and topical issue i.e. waste, in a way which will principally hit the large and mostly foreign owned food retailers.

We wish you and your family peace, prosperity, and happiness in the coming year.

We are happy to let you know that "The Legal 500: Real Estate Country Comparative Guide" is now available online

We are very pleased and proud that Péter Lakatos, our Founding and Managing Partner, received an “Excellent Lawyer” award from the Hungarian Bar on 27 November, reflecting his standing and reputation in and contribution to the legal community in Hungary.

On June 15, 2021, Hungary passed legislation that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change...

CEE Legal Matters article about the topic is now available...

We are proud to advise one of our key real estate clients, VGP, a pan-European provider of high-quality logistics and semi-industrial real estate, on the acquisition of a 38 HA development site in Üllő, a strategic location adjacent to Budapest’s Liszt Ferenc International Airport.

We are happy to let you know that Chambers Aviation Finance & Leasing 2021 Global Practice Guide is now available to view online.

We are proud to advise GLP, a leading global investment manager and business builder in logistics real estate on the lease of 43,000 sqm high quality warehouse space and offices within the Sziget Logistics Center by the German based Fiege Group, one of the leading logistics providers in Europe.

CEE Legal Matters article about the topic is now available...

It is always an uplifting experience to provide support for foreign new entrants to the Hungarian property market...

We have been happy to advise one of our key clients, a leading asset, property and project management company, ConvergenCE on its tenant, Doktor24 more than doubling its leased space in the CityZen office building, managed and operated by ConvergenCE...

LKT has advised Norbit ASA on its acquisition of iData Kft. working together with leading Norwegian law firm Schjodt as lead counsel. iData is a technology company headquartered in Hungary, specializing in services related to vehicle tracking and fleet management…

We are happy to have advised Duna Medical Center full service private hospital with regard to its new high-tech technology hospital building development…

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Legal 500 2021 law firm rankings all of our practice areas were ranked in either Tier 1 or Tier 2.

We are happy to let you know that "Chambers & Partners, Law and Practice, Real Estate 2021" is now available online. Our Real Estate Partner, Attila Ungár and Senior Lawyer, Júlia Várkonyi provided an overview of Real Estate laws and regulations applicable in Hungary to the country-specific Q&A.

We are pleased to announce that Eszter Ritter, Co-head of our Competition team was ranked as acknowledged Competition Lawyer and Iván Sólyom as Competition Future Leader by Who’s Who Legal (WWL): Competition 2021, the Guide to the World’s leading Competition Lawyers and Economists selected by GCR’s independent research with clients and peers.

One of our major real estate clients, CTP Invest was listed on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange. CTP Group is the largest full-service owner-developer of prime industrial and logistics property in the Central & Eastern Europe region...

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Europe 2021 law firm rankings all of our ranked practice areas achieved Band 1 or Band 2 rating...

We are pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for the IFLR Awards in the “Hungary Law Firm of the Year” 2020 category (the only Hungarian one-country law firm on the list) and for EuropaProperty.com annual Hungarian & Balkans Real Estate Awards in the "Law Firm of the Year" for 2020.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Chambers Global law firm rankings, our lawyers were highly ranked.

Budapest Business Journal has launched a new publication in 2021, Top Legal Executives, the most influential legal executives in the Hungarian economy...

We are happy to share that our client, a leading Pan-European logistics and semi-industrial real estate developer VGP has kicked off the construction of the new VGP Park Győr Béta...

Speedread — 2021 brings greater exposure for trade association members for cartel fines imposed on the trade association. The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) has been investigating trade associations on a regular basis – over 50 investigations were closed in the last 25 years - in virtually all areas of the economy (most recently banks, pesticides, IT, manpower). The large number of cases indicate that trade association activity remains a challenge for competition compliance efforts, and will retain the attention of the HCA in the future. This Newsletter explains the new fine enforcement regime, what companies can do to reduce their exposure, and shows recent examples of the HCA’s enforcement practice.

The Budapest Stock exchange issued a draft ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting guide for Consultation. In connection with the draft Guide, the Budapest Stock Exchange invites its clients, partners and everyone having a stake in the market and interested to a public consultation.

We are pleased to announce that experienced Corporate/M&A lawyer Viktória Szilágyi has joined LKT’s Corporate team.

CEE Legal Matters article about the topic is now alive.

Season's greetings from LKT

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) represented Vodafone-UPC in connection with the lease of its new headquarters, which deal won the „Lease Deal of the Year” at the Property Investment Forum, the most prominent real estate event of the year in Hungary organized by Portfolio (this year held for the 11th time and for the first time held online).

As of 1 July 2020, Hungary has implemented the latest amendment to 2011/16/EU Directive (“DAC6”). The purpose of DAC6 is to increase transparency in cross-border transactions to effectively combat tax evasion.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) advises INNObyte on the sale of its majority stakes to listed IT company 4iG - one of the most significant M&A transactions in Hungary in Q 4 2020.

In order to address the difficulties arising from undivided common property of lands preventing landowners from making proper use of their land, the Hungarian Parliament adopted Act LXXII of 2020 (“Law”) to simplify the rules on the division of common property on lands, which shall be effective from 1st January 2021.

Chambers & Partners, Law and Practice, Corporate Governance 2020 with Richard Lock and Pál Rahóty answered corporate governance questions to Chambers and Partners…

LKT advised the Dubai based Al Habtoor Group, one of the MENA region’s most respected conglomerates as seller in connection with the sale of Rumbach Center to GalCap Europe, a real estate asset and investment manager specializing in Austria and Central Europe.

Lakatos, Köves and Partners is delighted that in the newly published Legal 500 law firm rankings for 2020 all of our practice areas were ranked in either Tier 1 or Tier 2.

We are extremely pleased to announce that for the IFLR (International Financial Law Review) Awards we have been shortlisted in the Hungary Law Firm of the Year 2019 category (the only Hungarian one-country law firm on the list) and for the Deal of the Year Hungary 2019 category for the CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year, LKT was involved in two deals out of the three shortlisted...

We are happy to announce that our founding senior partner, Dr. Péter Köves received the “For the Lawyers - Pro Collegio Advocatorum” award by the Presidency of the Hungarian Bar Association. The Bar Association makes this award to lawyers, who show their commitment to the legal community by their exemplary public activities.

LKT’s M&A and Competition Law team, headed by partner Iván Sólyom in cooperation with LKT’s Banking & Finance Team, headed by Szabolcs Mestyán advised Indotek Group, a leading owner and manager of shopping centers in the CEE region, on its acquisition of Miskolc Plaza, Duna Plaza, Győr Plaza and Corvin Plaza Shopping Centers from leading French real estate investor Klépierre, the European leader of shopping mall management company in Europe.

LKT advised the Munich based GLL (part of the Macquarie Group) as seller in connection with the sale of Roosevelt Office Center located on Széchenyi square / Chain Bridge, to OTP Real Estate Fund.

LKT advised Hungarian Real Estate Financing Zrt. (Indotek Group) on the first ever sale of a non-performing loan portfolio by the National Deposit Insurance Fund (NDIF). With this complex and pioneering transaction, Indotek Group acquired a portfolio of NDIF’s claims against 11 credit institutions in a public state tender.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (LKT) won the "Deal of the Year" award for Hungary for 2018 for its work alongside Slaughter & May on the Hungarian aspects of Vodafone’s acquisition of Liberty Global’s operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. LKT won the “Deal of the Year” award for Hungary for 2017 for its work on Waberer’s IPO.

We are extremely pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted in the Central Europe Law Firm of the Year 2018 category for the Lawyer European Awards (the only Hungarian one-country law firm on the list) and for the Deal of the Year Hungary 2018 category for the CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year for the Vodafone acquisition of UPC’s cable business on which LKT, alongside Slaughter & May, represented Vodafone.

Lakatos, Köves & Partners (LKT) won the "Law Firm of the Year" award for 2018, having won the same award for 2017, in the 2nd EuropaProperty.com annual Hungarian & Balkans Real Estate Awards. EuropaProperty.com is a leading Commercial Real Estate publisher and Events organiser in Central Eastern and Southern Eastern Europe.

LKT advised Karlovarské mineralní vodi a.s. (“KMV”) on the acquisition of distribution rights for Pepsi Co products in Hungary and all distribution related assets. The transaction formed a part of the regional (Czech, Slovakia, Hungary) acquisition by KMV of Pepsi Co’s distribution activities.

As in every year, October has been busy, as summer recedes into the past and year end deadlines approach, and it also sees two important events in our “business development” calendar, the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Meeting and Expo Real, the annual gathering of real estate professionals in Munich.

June 6 - a night of celebration for Lakatos, Köves & Partners (“LKT”) being awarded for the „Deal of the year (Hungary)” at the CEE Legal Matters Deal of the Year Awards Banquet in Prague with the Waberer’s IPO matter.

On 9 May, Vodafone announced its agreement to acquire Liberty Global’s operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania for an enterprise value of €18.4 billion...

Lakatos, Köves & Partners („LKT”) advised Europe’s leading transportation mogul, WABERER’s INTERNATIONAL Nyrt. („Waberer’s”) again throughout the buyout of its minority partner in WSZL...

LKT’s Real Estate team, headed by partner Attila Ungár, advised Atrium Properties, a leading owner and manager of shopping centres in the CEE region, on its sale of EuroCenter Óbuda Shopping Center in Budapest to leading Hungarian real estate developer Wing Zrt.

Leading Hungarian business journal HVG HR Plusz published a 4-page interview with Éva Bognár on recent court cases and hints regarding the new Labour Code.