Doru Epure is a Counsel and heads the Tax Group in the Bucharest office. He is a lawyer qualified in Romanian law and has over 14 years of experience, three of which in the United States. Doru has advised public, private, and state-owned companies on large-scale M&A, corporate finance, tax and debt restructuring transactions, as well as complex commercial litigation and judicial reorganizations.

The list of companies he has advised during the course of his career includes: AMCI Capital, Anglo-Romanian Bank, Astrazeneca, BRD Société Générale, China Development Bank, Cord SA, Dresdner Bank, the Dunărea Fund, ECE Energy Consulting, the European Investment Bank, Intabex, Landesbank Baden Wurttemberg, CN Loteria Română, Macquarie Bank, PPF, Radix SA, R/J Import AG, Romania-Moldova Direct Fund, Tango Group Intl., Wells Fargo Bank.

Since the opening of the Bucharest office of White & Case in January 2008, Doru has been part of the team advising China Development Bank in a €220 million secured financing of the acquisition of 3G telecommunication equipment by Telemobil from Chinese manufacturer ZTE. He also advised Dresdner Bank on the security package for a €190 million secured financing of EDS.

Doru also provided extensive advice on corporate matters, such as to PPF Group NV in its joint venture with the Generali Group, which led to the creation of one of the biggest insurance companies in Central and Eastern Europe. He was further part of the team representing the Generali PPF holding in its indirect acquisition of insurance companies ARDAF and RAI. Doru also advised the Swiss major international group ECE Energy Consulting in the acquisition of a minority stake in Romanian port operations.

Doru's other experience includes:

• Advised Cord SA, one of the major Romanian cord and wire manufacturers, on certain issues related to the company's reporting obligations to the National Securities Commission 
• Advised SN Nuclearelectrica SA, a Romanian state-owned nuclear energy producer, on the drafting, negotiation of (and, subsequently, compliance with certain aspects of) buyer, commercial credit agreements with both export credit agencies and independent or syndicated lenders and the Romanian Ministry of Public Finance.

Tax

• Advised SN Nuclearelectrica SA on VAT issues concerning cross-border transfer of know-how and technology; also advised on tax issues concerning a purported lease of heavy water 
• Advised Tango Group International and represented its parent company and Romanian subsidiary during pre-trial proceedings and the various rounds of litigation against the Romanian Customs Authorities – a dispute relating to international operational leasing and tax regime issues, with an amount in controversy of cca €500,000 in value; also advised on taxation issues in connection with lease and temporary import of industrial equipment 
• Advised NameDrive LLC on tax issues that might occur during the existence and operation of its newly established Romanian subsidiary 
• Advised a multinational tobacco group on taxation issues concerning the termination of its business in Romania via a voluntary liquidation 
• Advised Vertaria on various taxation aspects in relation with the acquisition and subsequent re-sale of real estate 
• Advised CN Loteria Română on tax implications of various aspects of joint-venture, supply and construction contracts; the issues verified and the opinions rendered relate to facts that may lead to a multimillion € tax exposure by the client and also possibly more than €50 million in contract damages that the client may be able to assert against various other parties; also advised and represented the client on an €35 million litigation against tax authorities concerning alleged breach of obligation to withhold VAT and income tax for monies paid to foreign contracting partner over several years

Bankruptcy 

• Advised a Dutch company in collecting a cca €5 million debt from a local group of debtors (a bankruptcy-related procedure) 
• Advised of Wells Fargo Bank in its recovery of a large amount of money from a Romanian bank 
• Advised R/J Import AG, a Swiss corporation active in agricultural projects in Romania, on various corporate, tax, merger, and bankruptcy issues 
• Advised one of the Romanian subsidiaries of a multinational group active in tobacco business on multiple rounds of an attempted out-of-court settlement of contract and financial dispute with a former local supplier of tobacco and tobacco processing services, and subsequently in the litigation of the aforementioned dispute and during the enforcement of the resulting €1.1 million judicial order against the debtor

Mergers & Acquisitions 

• Advised AMCI Capital, a Swiss investment group, in a $21 million acquisition of a significant stake in a company listed on the Bucharest stock exchange 
• Advised EP Commerce OOD, a Bulgarian holding company, on the acquisition (through privatization) of a majority stake in CORD SA, including various follow-on matters related to its shareholding interests in the company; subsequently, he advised the same client in the sale of such interests to a third party 
• Advised Tango Group Intl., a multinational clothes manufacturer, in connection with the €1.8 million sale of substantially all the assets of the Romanian subsidiary to a Turkish venture, followed by the termination of the remaining Romanian shell through a bankruptcy-related procedure 
• Advised Nova Coal AG, a Swiss corporation active in imports and exports of minerals, on the acquisition (through privatization) of the conveyer belts manufacturing company ARTECA SA in Bucharest, from the Romanian State 
• Advised Paprika Group, a group of companies of UK-Hungarian ownership, active in the media business, on splitting the group's local operations in legally independent business organisations focused on specific media and other activities 
• Advised a multinational tobacco group on the merger of all of its Romanian operations into one legal entity.