Rankings

Rankings 2019 – Contents

 

Legal 500 EMEA 2019

Commercial, Corporate and M&A – Tier 1

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii acts for domestic companies and entrepreneurs, private equity funds and blue-chip corporations with particular expertise in the IT, pharmaceuticals, retail and agribusiness industries. Florian Nițu and Bogdan C. Stoica lead the team, which advised an investment fund on the sale of four electricity companies to Electrica, an entity owned by the Romanian state. The group is well regarded for healthcare M&A deals and notably assisted Medicover with its purchase of Academica Medical Centre. In addition to M&A transactions, the team handles the full range of corporate and commercial matters; it advised Orange Romania on all corporate governance monitoring.”

Dispute Resolution – Tier 1

“Energy-related litigation is a core strength at Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii. Ciprian Donțu is representing Enel Energie in pursuit of an annulment made by the National Regulatory Authority for Energy, which set the competitive price component that the client is able to charge. Elsewhere, the team acted for Fondul Proprietatea in litigation pertaining to the sale of its shares in Romanian state-owned company Electrica and its four subsidiaries. Additional spheres of expertise include corporate, property, IT, public procurement and capital markets disputes. Ilinca Ștefănescu-Goangă heads the practice jointly with Donțu.”

PPP and Procurement – Tier 1

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii’s strengths lie in national projects pertaining to road rehabilitation and construction, water treatment, waste management facilities and concessions utilities. The team represented Hidroconstrucția in the Court of Appeal, successfully obtaining a re-evaluation of the winning tender for drainage system rehabilitation contracts awarded by a Bucharest municipality. Alexandru Ambrozie and Anca Irena Tudorie head the practice; Ambrozie advised SIVECO on a PPP contract for delivering enterprise resource planning (ERP) to the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture. Managing associate Ramona Pentilescu is highly recommended.”

Real Estate and Construction – Tier 1

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii fields a ‘very responsive’ team whose ‘quality of advice is to the point’. Bogdan C. Stoica assists Immochan with Immochan Coresi Park Brasov, a €700m mixed-use real estate development project and urban regeneration programme. Another instruction in the development space came from Auchan and One United in relation to Bucharest's 125,000sqm One Floreasca City project involving an office tower, residential units and a shopping mall. The practice attracts a diversified caseload and, in addition to developments, regularly handles acquisitions, investments, asset management, and property disputes. Florian Nițu and Valentin Creața are the other names to note.”

Restructuring and Insolvency – Tier 1

“Practice head Ciprian Donțu is the name to note at Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii. The team covers the full range of legal issues arising from restructuring and insolvency, handling both contentious and transactional matters. It has advised Fondul Proprietatea in connection with $65m debt owed by the World Trade Center as part of its insolvency proceedings and Auchan on the insolvency of K&S Electric Power Point.”

Tax – Tier 1

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii's team is praised for its ‘professionalism, very good understanding of industry specifics and efficiency in delivering answers’. It is headed by Alexandru Ambrozie and Mihaela Pohaci and covers the full range of both direct and indirect tax. Pohaci assisted Dedeman with the tax aspects of its acquisition of The Bride from Forte Partners. She also advised an investment fund on the sale of its shares in four electricity supply companies.”

Capital Markets – Tier 2

“Bogdan C. Stoica and Alexandru Ambrozie jointly head the practice at Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii. Fondul Propietatea received advice on a shareholder dispute at Oil Terminal, a company in which the client is a minority shareholder. Other notable clients include Franklin Templeton Investment Management, Oresa Ventures and Immofinanz.”

Employment – Tier 2

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii assisted Leroy Merlin with two collective negotiation agreements and advised US-based Ferro Corporation on a range of industrial relations issues. The team handles a wide variety of instructions spanning from consultancy to litigation and is jointly headed by Vlad Neacșu and managing associate Ioana Dumitru. Other notable clients include UPS Romania, Ipsos Interactive Services and Ameropa.”

Energy and Natural Resources – Tier 2

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii handles regulatory and M&A work and is particularly active in energy-related disputes. Vlad Neacșu and Ciprian Donțu head the practice alongside Ernest-Virgil Popovici and recently advised an investment fund on the €170m sale of its shares in four electricity companies. The matter was made further complicated by Electrica's unsuccessful attempt to register restrictions preventing the client from finding an alternative buyer.”

Intellectual Property – Tier 2

“The ‘effective’ and ‘attentive’ team at Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii handles the full range of IP matters. It has particular software industry knowledge and practice head Cristian Popescu is assisting Credo Ventures with an investment in DCS Plus, advising on due diligence procedures regarding IP rights. It also represented Immofinanz in seeking an annulment of a decision by the Romanian IP Office to reject the registration of two trade mark applications.”

TMT – Tier 2

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii handles the full range of business, competition and regulatory issues for its telecoms clients. Practice head Ernest-Virgil Popovici is assisting Orange Romania with the development of its premium TV service, including negotiation and review of agreements with content providers such as HBO and Netflix as well as full regulatory compliance monitoring and advice. Elsewhere, the team acted for Siveco Romania on drafting its terms and conditions and privacy and cookie policies.”

White-Collar Crime – Tier 2

“Praised for its ‘excellent command’ of the relevant local laws, Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii delivers an ‘excellent combination of experience and willingness to help’. ‘Knowledgeable’ practice head Alexandru Ambrozie is particularly well regarded for money laundering and tax evasion cases. The team acts for both domestic and overseas companies and is noted as an ‘excellent’ choice for ‘multinationals with operations in Romania’. Ambrozie represented an Austrian construction company in a case relating to tax evasion, embezzlement, forgery and money laundering.”

Banking and Finance – Tier 3

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii handles transactional, regulatory and structuring matters and has particular expertise in asset finance, acquisition deals and corporate and retail lending transactions. Recent highlights include advising subsidiaries of Immofinanz Group on term-loan facilities for the development of office buildings in Bucharest, and assisting CLN Group with an increase of its €200m loan facilities. Bogdan Stoica and Alexandru Ambrozie jointly head the team, which acts for household names such as BNP Paribas, KIWI Finance and Deutsche Leasing.”

EU and Competition – Tier 3

“Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii's practice is headed by recently promoted partner Mihaela Ion. Her team hosts a well-regarded antitrust litigation practice and is particularly strong in competition matters in the IT, pharmaceuticals and retail sectors. It assisted Germany-based Xella Ro with the successful merger clearance for its acquisition of Macon Group.”