BULGARIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yordan Naydenov and Hristian Gueorguiev, Boyanov & Co.
The energy sector witnessed one further major development – the green light was given to the addition of two new blocks (Block 7 and Block 8) to the existing Bulgarian nuclear power plant in Kozloduy. These will be built using two West - inghouse AP1000® units, the most advanced Generation III+ nuclear reactor available today. A consortium between Westinghouse Electric Company and Hyundai Engineering & Construc - tion Co. will perform the initial planning under an engineering services contract with Kozloduy NPP. Talking about the high-tech and IT sector, it should be noted that a pessimistic attitude is shifting and giving way to a moderate but steady revival. To some extent, this is due to the fact that local IT companies are awakening to fill in the gaps left by the indecisiveness of foreign investors that was triggered both by geopolitical factors such as the ongoing war in Ukraine and by internal political instability, impeding some necessary reforms and the creation of new busi - ness stimuli. Some of the local companies even managed to “trespass” outside local borders and turn their eyes towards investment in com - panies from neighbouring countries, such as Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia, etc; however, most such investment focuses remain limited to the Balkan region. Still, prospering local compa - nies remain in the sights of foreign investors – an example of this is the acquisition of Dreamix, a custom software development company, by Synechron, Inc., a leading global digital trans - formation consulting firm focused on financial services and technology organisations. Boyanov & Co. is proud of its adviser role in the transac - tion, acting on the side of the acquirer. There are at least three examples of business consolidations – one is the acquisition by the publicly traded Bianor Holding AD (bearing the
name Wiser Technology AD as of 23 Decem - ber 2024) of the Serbia-based fintech company Badin Soft in the autumn of 2024, as well as two Bulgarian software companies – Digital Lights and Prime Holding – earlier in the year. Another examples of consolidations in the banking and insurance sector were the two deals mentioned above - the acquisition of 99% of the capital of Tokuda Bank AD by Bulgarian American Credit Bank and the acquisition of 100% United Health Insurance Fund Doverie, by Generali Holding, which already controlled Generali Insurance AD in Bulgaria. Talking about banks, the largest real estate acquisition in the Bulgarian market in 2024 was the purchase of the new headquarters of First Investment Bank – the fifth largest bank in Bul - garia, with a market share of 8% from its former landlord. The building is located in Sofia Tech Park, which is the first science and technology park in Bulgaria, with a focus on information technology, life sciences and green energy, and a Mecca of the IT industry. Another major real estate deal in 2024 was the acquisition by the Bulgarian-South African group Lion’s Head of three logistics parks from Bulgar - ian Property Developments in Sofia, Varna and Ruse, making Lion’s Head the second largest owner of industrial properties, with its combined portfolio reaching 75,000 sq m. In the mineral resources sector, the highlight of the year was the agreement reached for the transfer of the rights in Canada’s Velocity Miner - als gold exploration projects in Bulgaria to the Turkish company Türkerler İnşaat Turizm Maden - cilik Enerji Üretim Ticaret ve Sanayi. One of the rare examples of Bulgarian invest - ments not just outside Bulgaria but outside the
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