Lakatos, Köves and Partners ("LKT”) is a leading independent internationally focused law firm based in Budapest, Hungary. The firm, with 9 partners and 45 lawyers, is a full service commercial firm with particular strength in Banking & Finance, M&A, Compliance & Regulatory, Real Estate, Competition, Litigation and Tax. The office was for many years the Budapest office of law firm Clifford Chance but since 2009 has been independent and, as such, aims to develop good working relationships with clients and law firms around the world who may have need for advice in relation to Hungarian matters. All of the firm’s work is “cross-border” and a significant majority is for ultimately foreign owned entities in relation to their activity in Hungary.

Hungary has been the recipient of significant FDI since the early 1990s. LKT has advised on many of the significant investments, from privatisations and green field investments in the 1990s to more recent investments in key sectors such as automotive, IT and electronics.

Most of LKTs clients are either based abroad, or are the subsidiaries of foreign companies. The firm has advised investors from many countries including the US, most European countries, the Middle East, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, etc.

Notable transactions in which we have recently been involved include:

advising Vodafone on the Hungarian aspects of the acquisitions of UPC’s cable business;

advising CarVal and Indotek Group on the purchase of NPL portfolios from Hungarian banks;

advising MidEuropa partners and Waberer’s on preparation for and implementation of Waberer’s IPO;

advising GLL Real Estate Partners on acquisitions, property management, disposals and financing of its real estate portfolio;

advising Czech mineral water company Karlovarské Mineralni Vody on 4 acquisitions in Hungary;

advising ING, BNP Paribas, Citi and Deutsche Bank as joint managers of a EUR 1 billion sovereign bond issuance by Hungary.

In addition to all of the firms lawyers being fluent in English, LKT has lawyers that speak German, French, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Russian, Chinese and Japanese (also Japanese qualified).

LKTs aim is to be the obvious choice for anyone needing legal assistance in relation to their activities in Hungary whether an investment, issues arising from the operation of their business, a divestment, or a contractual exposure.