Kinstellar has successfully advised the Belgian KBC Group on the €610m acquisition of the fourth biggest bank in Bulgaria, United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), and of the third biggest leasing company in Bulgaria, Interlease, from the National Bank of Greece (NBG).

Once completed, the acquisition would make KBC the biggest bank-insurance group in Bulgaria in terms of assets.

Kinstellar acted as the main legal adviser to KBC on the transaction, including the due diligence process and the negotiation of the transaction documents. Linklaters’ offices in Brussels and London advised on EU regulatory matters, and were also involved in the negotiations of the share purchase agreement.

The Kinstellar team was lead by partners Diana Dimova and Anthony O’Connor and comprised Counsel Antonia Mavrova, Of Counsel Desislava Fessenko, Managing Associates Svilen Issaev, Mladen Minev and Nina Tsifudina, and Associates Stiliyana Ivanova, Vanya Shubelieva, Plamena Deliyska and Vladimir Sotirov (among others).