Central and Eastern European firm Kinstellar has hired senior deals lawyer Annamária Csenterics from Dentons to co-head its Hungarian corporate M&A team.

Csenterics joins as a partner in the firm’s Budapest office, bringing with her two decades of experience in private practice and in-house. Her practice focuses on domestic and cross-border M&A, including dispositions, joint ventures and strategic transactions such as spin-offs, split-offs and exits. Her clients include corporations and private clients in Hungary, the rest of Europe and the US.

Kristóf Ferenczi, managing partner of Kinstellar’s Budapest office, said: “Annamária’s outstanding track-record, excellent reputation and finely-honed market knowledge are an excellent fit to our robust corporate and M&A team in Budapest and will further enhance the leadership of this important service line.”

Csenterics arrives after just over five years at Dentons in Budapest, joining from Weil Gotshal and Manges, where she spent seven years. She also previously worked in-house at the InterCom Group and PwC, having also worked as a counsel-for-hire at Hudson Global Resources and as an associate at Hogan & Hartson.

She said: “I believe that the unique platform Kinstellar represents and the breadth of its network will allow me to grow and, together with Kinstellar’s outstanding corporate M&A team in Hungary and throughout the firm, we will further expand our practice in Hungary and the wider CEE/SEE region.”

Csenterics will work alongside local corporate M&A co-head Gábor Gelencsér, who joined the firm in 2019 from CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang Ormai és Társai, where he was senior counsel. The duo will also be supported by M&A partner Anthony O’Connor, who is based in Budapest and co-heads the firm’s Southeast Asia desk.

Earlier this year, Kinstellar joined forces with Croatian firm Žurić i Partneri to establish its presence in Zagreb. Last year the firm also acquired DLA Piper’s Kiev office after the international firm pulled out of Ukraine.

Elsewhere in the region this year, Eversheds Sutherland expanded its CEE coverage through a tie-up with Bulgarian firm Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners in June. Meantime, White & Case exited its Slovakian business in March, with the firm’s Bratislava office spinning out as independent firm Aldertree.