Eversheds Sutherland expands with Bulgarian connection

Eversheds Sutherland expands with Bulgarian connection

Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, a Sofia-based firm with four partners, has merged with Eversheds Sutherland

As Eversheds Sutherland seeks to expand its client coverage in Central and Eastern European Europe, it has combined with Bulgarian firm Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners (TBP).

With the move, Sofia-based TBP has rebranded into Eversheds Sutherland Bulgaria, adding four partners and 15 lawyers to the global legal team of Eversheds Sutherland.

The Firm has added four partners and 15 lawyers to the firm's international roster.

Irina Tsvetkova - corporate, M&A and commercial lawyer will be appointed as the managing partner of the Bulgaria office.

Capital markets and financial services specialist Nikolay Bebov has been appointed as another partner in the rebranded Eversheds Sutherland Bulgaria.

An executive in Eversheds' Europe department said: "TBP's brand is renowned worldwide for its excellence and diversity, with clients in banking, finance, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and technology. In addition to being stronger locally, our clients will benefit from a greater depth of service across the more comprehensive CEE region.

As part of the team are partners Damyan Leshev and Victoria Tzonkova, who specialized in commercial transactions, litigation and disputes.

In addition to joining forces with Eversheds Sutherland, Tsvetkova said: "We will be able to accelerate expanding our practice within CEE when we join forces with Eversheds Sutherland." This is an important step for us at that time. As our presence in the market becomes more visible, all of our people, clients, and communities will benefit from it."

As Bulgaria is expected to adopt the Euro in early 2024, investment in a range of industries is expected, including energy, tourism, technology, fintech and IT services.

The Bulgaria deal marks Eversheds' second law firm acquisition this month. The company also signed an agreement with Dublin-based boutique Kenny Solicitors to gain a wider range of legal services in the Ireland market.

Aldertree, an independent firm operating under White & Case in the CEE region, spun out the firm's Slovakian business in March. The firm also recently started a physical office in Warsaw, its first office in CEE. The firm hired 30 lawyers from a group of local Polish firms to start the company.

To establish a Zagreb presence, Kinstellar, a CEE-focused firm, joined forces with Croatian firm Zuric i Partneri in January.