Established in 2008 in Sarajevo, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz is a firm that opened its doors on the brink of the recession. Nevertheless, the solid tier two firm has created a healthy presence for itself in the market....
[more]
Established in 2008 in Sarajevo, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz is a firm that opened its doors on the brink of the recession. Nevertheless, the solid tier two firm has created a healthy presence for itself in the market.
Despite its fairly small size, the firm's international ability has enabled it to be proficient in handling or assisting cross-border M&A transactions. "It has an international profile and people with experience around," one peer says. Leading lawyer and department head Nedzida Salihovic-Whalen works on a large number of the firm's important mandates. "I know Nedzida well and she has an international mindset which is uncommon in the area. All other law offices are managed by local people, Nedzida fills in all the gaps. She's a very pleasant lady and well liked," one client says.
The firm acts for international clients such as Astellas, Fresenius Medical Care and Strabag. Recently, clients including OTIS, Herbalife and General Motors chose CMS as their legal advisor in setting up their Bosnian business activities. "We also see them on project finance deals and on M&A transactions. It's a good team," one partner says. "We picked CMS because it's strong in the region and we had them in other regions," one client says.
Deals
CMS continued to work for key client Delhaize and advised it on its new €500 million acquisition of a leading chain store active in Bosnia. It also acted for the same client in post-acquisition work that arose from the previous €933 million retail acquisition in the Balkans. Furthermore, the firm advises the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on several projects regarding loans to local companies. At an aggregate of €30 million, these projects were mainly directed towards the improvement of local financial organisations. The firm has also been advising the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) on several projects worth €40 million aimed at long-term funding instruments to better serve the financial needs of the domestic economy.
[hide]