Category: Poland

CK Legal Chabasiewicz Kowalska has advised PragmaGO on its issuance of four-year secured bonds of series D2.

PragmaGO is a non-bank financial institution in Poland.

According to CK Legal, the investor interest was “so high that the company decided to increase the number of offered bonds and their total nominal value from PLN 30 million to PLN 35 million.”

Earlier in 2024, CK Legal advised PragmaGO on its D1EUR bonds issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 12, 2024), its PLN 30 million series C6 bonds issue (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 11, 2024), its PLN 35 million series C5 bonds issue (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 1, 2024), its PLN 30 million series C4 bonds issue (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 10, 2024), a EUR 3.5 million bonds issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 28, 2024), its PLN 25 million C3 bonds issuance (reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 2, 2024), its PLN 25 million issuance of series C2 bonds (reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 1, 2024), and its acquisition of single invoice financing market company Monevia (reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 13, 2024).

The CK Legal team included Partner Wojciech Chabasiewicz and Head of Capital Markets Anita Gwozdz.

Schoenherr has advised Assa Abloy on its acquisition of Roger. Krassowski advised Roger and its founders.

Assa Abloy Group is an access solutions company, operating with 61,000 employees and annual sales of SEK 141 billion. 

Established in 1991, Roger is a Polish manufacturer of on-premise electronic access control systems and related hardware.

The Schoenherr team included Partners Pawel Halwa and Krzysztof Pawlak, Counsel Krzysztof Wawrzyniak, and Attorney at Law Klaudia Szatan.

The Krassowski team included Partners Natalia Grzedzinska and Bartosz Krassowski and Associate Julian Kwiatkowski.

CMS has advised Stock Polska on leasing 57,000 square meters of warehouse space at 7R Park Lublin East I. Norton Rose Fulbright advised 7R.

7R Park Lublin East I is located 4 kilometers from the center of Lublin. According to CMS, the lease is part of the 111,000-square-meter industrial park, with the new facility expected to be operational in the second half of 2025 and customized to Stock Polska’s operational needs, including enhanced fire safety features.

The CMS team included Counsel Anna Wisniewska, Associate Maciej Liberacki, and Lawyer Marika Brokos.

The Norton Rose team included Senior Associate Jakub Kowalczyk.

CK Legal Chabasiewicz Kowalska has advised Genesis Capital Equity’s Genesis Private Equity Fund IV on PFX Group’s acquisition of the Televisor Group. MJH Moskwa, Jarmul, Haladyj i Partnerzy advised the Televisor Group.

PFX Group, backed by Genesis Capital Equity, is a visual effects and post-production studio based in the Czech Republic, operating in Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Austria, and Italy. It specializes in visual effects, commercials, animation, and post-production. 

Genesis Capital is a private equity group that offers growth and development financing to small and medium-sized companies in Central Europe.

Televisor Group is a post-production studio dealing with animation and computer graphics. 

The MJH team included Partner Zuzanna Grochowska.

Linklaters has advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on mBank’s PLN 1.5 billion additional tier 1 bond issuance. Clifford Chance reportedly advised mBank.

According to Linklaters, this transaction marks the first introduction of AT1 bond instruments to the Polish capital market. AT1 bonds, commonly used by banks to strengthen their capital base, represent an important development in Poland’s financial sector.

The Linklaters team included Counsels Mikolaj Bieniasz and Andrew Chaplin, Managing Associates Szymon Renkiewicz, Wojciech Kobylinski, and Michal Nocon, and Senior Associate Jan Jurga.

Penteris has advised Summus Capital on the acquisition of the Lakeside office building in Warsaw from real estate developer Atenor. Schoenherr advised Erste Group Bank as the financing institution. Baker McKenzie reportedly advised Atenor.

According to Penteris, the transaction, valued at EUR 69.1 million, marks Summus Capital’s continued expansion into the Polish market following the recent signing of a conditional purchase agreement for the React office building in Lodz earlier this year. Lakeside is a newly constructed A-class office building offering 24,622 square meters of workspace.

The Penteris team included Managing Partner Agnieszka Pytlas, Partner Katarzyna Sawa-Rybaczek, Head of Tax Piotr Prokocki, and Associates Ewa Olszewska and Justyna Jozwiak.

The Schoenherr team included Partners Ilona Fedurek, Katarzyna Sulimierska, and Marco Thorbauer, Senior Attorneys at Law Piotr Bartos and Karolina Samocik, Attorney at Law Sarah Draexler, and Associate Gabriela Chrzanowska.

Former Hogan Lovells Partners Beata Balas-Noszczyk, Tomasz Grygorczuk, and Bartosz Romanowski have joined DWF.

The three are joined by Counsels Karol Ruszkowski and Aleksandra Kuc-Makulska and several Associates.  

Former Office Managing Partner of Hogan Lovells in Poland Beata Balas-Noszczyk focuses primarily on insurance and financial services. Before the move, she spent 25 years with Hogan Lovells, joining the firm in 2000.

Former Hogan Lovells Head of Commercial Practice Tomasz Grygorczuk’s primary focus is financial and insurance sectors, capital market matters, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, civil and commercial law, as well as corporate governance issues. Before the move, he was a Counsel with Hogan Lovells between 2008 and 2018, and a Partner between 2018 and 2024.

Bartosz Romanowski is Hogan Lovells’ former Head of Financial Institutions and Insurance Practice. Before the move, he spent 17 years with Hogan Lovells, joining as a Junior Associate in 2007 and becoming an Associate in 2009, a Senior Associate in 2015, and finally a Counsel in 2018.

“We are thrilled to join DWF, a firm that shares our commitment to excellence and client service,” said Balas-Noszczyk. “This partnership will not only enhance our capabilities but with the added benefits of DWF’s depth, specialist support, and international reach, will also provide exciting opportunities for our clients in the insurance and financial services sectors.”

The move follows Hogan Lovells announcement it will shut down its Warsaw Office (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 20, 2024).

KWKR has advised Digital Ocean Ventures Starter on the formation of a venture capital investment fund under PFR Ventures’ PFR Starter 2.0 program.

PFR Ventures is the development finance institution of Poland dedicated to fund investments. According to PFR Ventures, the aim of the PFR Starter program is to develop an ecosystem of innovations and start-ups by creating professional teams managing VC funds.

According to KWKR the fund, which “raised funding of PLN 45 million after the second closing, will invest in early-stage companies. The fund’s main areas of investment interest include digital transformation supported by technologies such as AI and fintech.”

The KWKR team included Partner Paulina Opielka, Associates Pawel Machowski and Katarzyna Jakubowska-Kaleta, and Junior Associate Maciej Ziemianski.

MFW Fialek has advised Enterprise Investors on the acquisition of the Srodmiescie-Bialy Kamien private healthcare facility in Poland.

Enterprise Investors is a private equity firm focused on mid-market buyout transactions and expansion financing.

Srodmiescie-Bialy Kamien is a healthcare facility operating since 2000, offering medical services including internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology, dentistry, rehabilitation, diagnostics, and laboratory testing.

The MFW Fialek team included Partner Miroslaw Fialek, Associate Partner Rafal Siemieniec, Senior Associates Pawel Siwiec, Krzysztof Drzymala, Marcin Gutkowski, and Michal Kret, Associates Wojciech Lichterowicz, Kacper Rydz, and Jakub Wilk, Junior Associates Franciszek Furmaniak and Maksymilian Gnat, and Intern Robert Szumilowski.

MFW Fialek did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

DWF has advised EDF Renewables on the acquisition and development of a 120-megawatt battery energy Storage project from Huffington Invest Group. Sole practitioner Artur Skiba reportedly advised the seller.

EDF Renewables is an international energy company specializing in the development, construction, and operation of renewable power generation plants.

The DWF team included Partners Karol Lasocki and Rafal Wozniak, Local Partner Malgorzata Lesiak-Cwikowska, Counsel Agnieszka Chylinska, Senior Associate Katarzyna Stefaniak, Associates Joanna Derlikiewicz and Przemyslaw Bugnacki, and Junior Associates Andrzej Lenart, Iga Sukiennik, and Marek Jazwinski.