Category: Poland

Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland has advised EEC Magenta on funding provided to the Wroclaw-based startup ChallengeRocket.com, a platform linking specialists from the IT sector with employers.

According to Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland, ChallengeRocket.com will use the funding obtained from the EEC Magenta fund for further commercial development of the platform, sales support, entry onto the British and American markets, and further R&D work.

EEC Magenta is a Polish CVC fund created by EEC Ventures together with PFR Ventures, NCBR, and Tauron Polska Energia as part of the PFR NCBR CVC program. The EEC Ventures group manages venture capital funds with a combined capitalization of PLN 210 million. EEC Magenta specializes in funding digitalization of the energy sector, industry, and the circular economy.

“Despite its relatively short presence on the market, ChallengeRocket.com stands out for its efficient organizational structure, enabling the founders to focus on strategic issues,” said Rafal Malecki, a partner at EEC Ventures.

The Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland team included Partner Michal Karwacki, Senior Associate Natalia Burchardt, and and Lawyers Malgorzata Derus and Kamil Ciodyk.

SMM Legal has helped the MPT Group, a Polish trade fair organizer, implement IP Friendly – a project aimed at streamlining IP-related disputes involving exhibitors.

“IP Friendly is a complete novelty in the Polish trade fair sector,“ said Tomasz Kobierski, Vice-President of the MTP Group. “We are the first ones in Poland to implement tools that go beyond the protection of intellectual property during trade fairs, but also respond to business needs of our exhibitors.”

According to SMM Legal, “the key assumption behind the IP Friendly project is to enable prompt and effective response on the part of exhibitors should any disputes arise, without resorting to lengthy litigation. The wronged party may submit a request for dispute resolution, which takes place while the fair event is still in process. The controversy is settled by an independent and impartial arbitrator, a specialist in intellectual property law. For the purposes of the procedure, a special list of seasoned experts rotationally appointed to resolve disputes is being developed.”

‘In collaboration with our client, we have designed a flexible, fast and transparent dispute resolution procedure, reducing formalities to the absolute minimum,” explained SMM Legal Partner Rafal Sikorski, who heads the IP Department at SMM Legal, and who led his firm’s team on the deal. “As a result, an expert will decide whether intellectual property rights have been infringed and will be able to order, for instance, a specific item to be removed from a stand.”

In addition to Sikorski, the SMM Legal team included Managing Partner Przemyslaw Maciak, Senior Associate Piotr Ruchala, and Associates Ksenia Poczobut and Lukasz Dutkowski.

Baker McKenzie has advised Scandinavia’s Flugger group A/S on its acquisition of a 60% shareholding in Unicell, a paint manufacturer based in Poland. Flugger also acquired the rights to purchase an additional 14% of the shares at a later date.

Flugger, itself a paint manufacturer, has been active in Poland since 2004, with production facilities and offices in Gdansk and a network of 57 shops.

According to Baker McKenzie, ”Flugger’s existing network, volume, and brand will strengthen Unicell’s possibilities for creating further growth within its own products and services as well as develop new products and services.”

Unicell exports to 32 countries, but most of its sales are to the Polish market, where approximately 85% of its revenue is generated.

Baker McKenzie’s team consisted of Partner Weronika Achramowicz and Associate Ewa Marcisz.

Baker McKenzie did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.

Gessel has advised BNP Paribas Bank on its investment in Asprod, a bakery and baked goods retail chain in Western Pomerania that was reportedly advised by KPMG Legal.

According to Gessel, “Asprod plans to apply the funds accrued from this transaction towards the construction of a new bakery, doubling its output.”

The Gessel team included Partner Malgorzata Badowska, Managing Associate Michal Boryczka, Senior Associate Krzystof Jasinski, and Associate Mateusz Bak.

Mrowiec Fialek and Partners has advised the Clovin Group and its shareholders on the acquisition of a majority stake in Clovin S.A. and the subsidiaries and affiliates of the Clovin Group by Poland’s Avallon private equity fund.

According to Mrowiec Fialek & Partners, its team provided “comprehensive support for Clovin Group’s reorganization and transaction structuring, followed by the drawing up and negotiating the transaction documentation.”

Mrowiec Fialek describes Clovin S.A. as “a Polish manufacturer of cleaning products, building its reputation as one of the leaders in the FMCG industry for almost a quarter of a century. The company also operates in Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine, offering its products to customers in almost 30 countries around the world.”

The Mrowiec Fialek and Partners team led by Partner Miroslaw Fialek and included of Counsel Grzegorz Barszcz, Senior Associates Rafal Siemieniec and Malgorzata Banaszkiewicz, and Associates Martyna Marczewska, Pawel Siwiec, and Julia Pycka.

Mrowiec Fialek declined to provide further information about the deal.

Gessel has advised the Lux Med Group on the acquisition of Optimum Head and Neck Clinic in Warsaw.

Gessel describes the Lux Med Group as “a leader in the Polish private healthcare market and a member of Bupa, the global insurer and healthcare provider.” According to the firm, “Lux Med offers a full range of outpatient, diagnostic, rehabilitation, hospital, and long-term medical care services.”

Gessel describes the Optimum Head and Neck Clinic as “a state-of-the-art medical facility specializing in laryngology and in treatment of upper respiratory tract, head, and neck conditions in children and adults.” According to the firm, “its diagnostic and preventative offering is augmented by modern surgical treatments,” and “[its] staff comprises almost 70 persons, among them 50 physicians specializing in laryngology, head and neck surgery, audiology and phoniatrics, allergies, endocrinology, ultrasound diagnosis, dermatology, and plastic and aesthetic surgery of the face.”

The Gessel team included Managing Associate Michal Boryczka and Associates Erazm Dutkiewicz and Piotr Tracz.

Gessel declined to identify the sellers and their counsel.

Noerr had advised Papierfabrik Adolf Jass GmbH & Co. KG on the acquisition of 100% of shares in the share capital of Convert PL sp. z o.o., owned by Ostoja I Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamknięty Aktywow Niepublicznych, a closed-end investment fund backed by the Giermaziak family. Convert PL was advised by Deloitte Legal on the transaction, which closed on December 5, 2019.

Papierfabrik Adolf Jass is a German family-run company that manufactures ecologically friendly papers for corrugated board packaging. Convert PL, which is located in Gostyn, Poland, manufactures and distributes corrugated and solid board sheets. 

The Noerr team included Munich-based Partner Florian Becker and Warsaw-based Associated Partner Jakub Lerner and Associates Mateusz Slodczyk, Joanna Szacinska, and Piotr Zabkiewicz.

The Deloitte Legal team included Partners Pawel Moskwa and Lukasz Blazejczyk, Managing Associate Piotr Rysiak, and Associate Aleksandra Ziemnicka.

CMS has advised the Local Government Investment Fund, managed by the Polish Development Fund, on its approximately PLN 100 million acquisition of a 25% stake in the Wodociagi I Kanalizacja water utility company from the city of Opole in Poland. Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka advised the city of Opole.

According to CMS, “the aim of the Local Government Investment Fund is to support local government in relation to their investments. The fund injects its capital into municipal companies active in water waste management, public transport, heating, and healthcare sectors.”

CMS’s team included Partner Marcin Bejm, Senior Associate Mikolaj Markiewicz, and Lawyers Magdalena Kahan, Piotr Galazka, Patrycja Styczynska, and Karol Jaworecki.

The DZP team included Partner Tomasz Darowski and Senior Associate Michal Przychoda.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised Boryszew S.A on the sale of 100% of the shares of its Impexmetal S.A. subsidiary to Sweden’s Granges AB, a manufacturer of aluminum products. Wardynski & Partners advised Granges on the transaction, which was valued at almost PLN 1 billion.

Impexmetal specializes in the production of rolled aluminum products and has been distributing these metals and semi-finished products for over 50 years.

The SSW Pragmatic Solutions team included Partners Szymon Okon, Katarzyna Solarz, and Tomasz Wickel, Counsel Jakub Jedrzejewski, Senior Associate Tomasz Kwasniewski, and Associates Dawid Brudzisz and Przemyslaw Szabat.

The Wardynski & Partners team included Partners Izabela Zielinska-Barlozek and Michal Nowacki, Senior Associates Maciej Szewczy, Andrzej Madala, Sabina Famirska, and Marcin Pietkiewicz, and Associate Julia Dolna.