Bulgaria: Schoenherr advises KKCG and Aricoma Group International on acquisition of Musala Soft

KKCG and Aricoma acquired 100 % of the shares in Musala Soft and subsidiaries. The transaction is still subject to approval of the respective anti-monopoly offices and is expected to close in Q4 2022. Musala Soft's management team will stay on board in the long term and will support building Aricoma’s future.

Apart from transactional legal advice (including post-closing arrangements with the current shareholders and management of the target company), Schoenherr advised on the employment, IP, IT and data protection aspects of the deal, following a full scope due diligence in respect of the target company and its subsidiaries.

"The Bulgarian IT sector has been one of the driving forces behind the country's steady growth over the past few years," said Ilko Stoyanov, partner at Schoenherr Bulgaria. "Bulgaria has established itself as an increasingly attractive IT destination, and we are happy that Schoenherr is one of the preferred legal advisors on significant transactions in the sector".

KKCG Group, managed by Karel Komárek, one of the most successful Czech entrepreneurs, is an international investment company with a total value of more than EUR 9bln. KKCG is active in thirty-three countries around the world and its key fields include the entertainment industry, the energy industry, IT technologies, and real estate. It holds shares in many leading companies, including Allwyn (lotteries and gaming), the ARICOMA Group (IT), the MND Group (energy), the KKCG Real Estate Group, and Springtide Ventures (venture capital fund with investments in European and Israeli IT start-ups).

The Karel Komárek Family Foundation supports a diverse range of projects, such as the construction of the REACH – a new building in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, support for the Ukrainian people right after the war broke out and Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic, the restoration of South Moravia, which was damaged by the tornado in 2021, and many Czech cultural heritage projects, including the flagship Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.

Aricoma Group is a leading Central European IT Services provider with a significant Scandinavian presence providing services to 1000+ clients in 15 markets from its eight Europe-based delivery centres. ARICOMA’s focus is to help both private- and public-sector clients navigate the ever-changing demands, risks, and business opportunities. Through its portfolio companies, it provides end-to-end digital transformation solutions, including UX design and consulting, custom software development, IT infrastructure and IT operations management, cloud operations, and cloud security services. Notable members of the ARICOMA Group include Sweden- and CEE-based custom software developer Seavus, Sweden-based software developer Stratiteq, Czechia- and Slovakia-based system integrator AUTOCONT, custom software developers Cleverlance Enterprise Solutions and KOMIX, cybersecurity services specialist AEC, and government digital transformation specialist CESEA.

Musala Soft builds future generation software products and enterprise solutions for impactful organisations around the globe. The company is a provider of high-end software engineering services in AI, Big Data, IoT, Analytics, Cloud, and Integration. Musala Soft professional team covers (with expertise and creativity) all elements of the software life cycle. Musala Soft clients are challenging, innovative and trendsetting enterprises in IT, Telecom, Finance and Automotive devoted to stability and growth, pioneering new ideas and building the future. Among them are IBM, SAP, VMware, Deutsche Telecom, A1, Generali, Canaccord, Experian, Procredit Bank, PTV Group, EDAG, Bosch, KPMG, PerkinElmer, Siemens Energy, and the Financial Times. Musala Soft was founded in 2000 and has its headquarters in Bulgaria with a team of 750 employees from 10+ nationalities located in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Egypt, Albania and Kosovo. Musala Soft is the proud winner of multiple national and international awards and recognitions in Talent Development, Science and Innovation, Quality of Software Solutions, Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Schoenherr team advising KKCG and Aricoma on the transaction was led by Ilko Stoyanov (partner). It further included Stefana Tsekova (partner), Katerina Kaloyanova-Toshkova (attorney at law), Ivelina Vasileva (attorney at law), Ventsislav Tomov (attorney at law) and Gergana Roussinova-Ivanova (associate), who advised on Bulgarian law, and Andrea Radonjanin (partner), Andrea Lazarevska (attorney at law), Magdalena Petreska (associate), Martin Ivanov (associate) and Sofijana Markovska (associate), advising on North Macedonian law.