Category: Poland

A&O Shearman has advised Bank Millennium on its issuance of EUR 500 million 5.308% green senior non-preferred callable fixed to floating interest rate notes due 2029. Clifford Chance reportedly advised joint lead managers BNP Paribas, Erste, Millennium BCP, Morgan Stanley, and UniCredit.

According to A&O Shearman, “this is the first issuance of green bonds by Bank Millennium. The notes are listed on the regulated market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, including its green segment, LGX.”

Earlier in 2024, A&O Shearman advised Millennium Bank Hipoteczny on its PLN 300 million bond issuance (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on June 24, 2024).

The A&O Shearman team included Partner Arkadiusz Pedzich, Counsel Lukasz Walczyna, and Associate Alicja Urbanska as well as further team members in the UK.

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Clifford Chance confirmed its involvement to CEE Legal Matters. The firm’s team included Warsaw-based Of Counsel Grzegorz Namiotkiewicz and Counsel Aleksandra Rudzinska as well as further team members in London.

Legal Kraft has advised Vastint Poland on leasing 6,000 square meters of office space in the B10 office and hotel building in Business Garden Wroclaw to Kruk.

Vastint Poland is a real estate company.

Kruk is a Polish receivables management company operating in Poland and Europe.

B10 is an office and hotel complex located on Bolkowska Street in the western business district of Wroclaw. The complex, completed a few months ago by Vastint Poland, offers 20,000 square meters of space, and consists of a modern six-story office building and a hotel with 115 rooms, connected by a common green area providing space for relaxation and recreation (as reported by CEE Real Estate Matters on October 10, 2024).

“Our decision to change office space was driven by the need to optimize and improve workplace standards,” said Kruk General Director Tomasz Ignaczak. “We wanted the space with a thoughtful functional layout, to support team cooperation and integration while also providing comfortable conditions for working with clients and business partners. We chose B10 due to its location, the high standard of the offered space, technological solutions, and services. Another important factor for us was the building’s certification, which meets ESG requirements and is accessible to people with disabilities.”

The Legal Kraft team included Counsel Pawel Piechocinski and Associate Dorota Buczek.

Legal Kraft could not provide further information on the matter.

Wolf Theiss has advised Stage Capital on the sale of the Galardia shopping center in Poland to Future Estate.

Stage Capital is a European financial investor focused on commercial real estate in the CEE region.

According to Wolf Theiss, “Galardia is a shopping and entertainment center in Starachowice offering approximately 18,000 square meters of gross leasable area. Opened in October 2014, it features 50 shops and service points from Polish and international brands as well as a multi-screen cinema.”

The Wolf Theiss team included Partner Tomasz Stasiak, Senior Associate Michal Zajaczkowski, and Associates Anna Herbetko and Maria Markowska.

Wolf Theiss could not provide additional information on the matter.

B2RLaw has advised Kodano on a PLN 40 million investment from the Vinci Da Gama ASI fund. Destrier advised Vinci.

The Kodano Group sells optical products in Poland.

Vinci Da Gama fund is managed by Vinci, from the Polish Development Fund group. 

According to B2RLaw, “the capital raised, will be used to intensify expansion in European markets and develop the laboratory where eyeglass lenses are manufactured.”

“We decided to invest in a company in the optical market because of the attractiveness of the business plan presented by Kodano,” commented Vinci CEO Piotr Wolinski. “We see Kodano as a growth company and one that is ready to further scale its business by expanding its network of stationary stores and expanding its online sales in European markets. Kodano’s mix of sales channels allows it to further optimize its sales activities and benefit from economies of scale, which in the long term should positively impact the company’s profitability. We expect that the invested capital will allow Kodano to grow at a rate faster than the market.”

The B2RLaw team included Partner Agnieszka Hajos-Iwanska and Associates Magdalena Borychowska and Konrad Czernecki.

The Destrier team included Partners Michal Zoltowski and Mateusz Zreda, Senior Associates Kinga Wasowska and Oliwia Kosmowska, and Trainee Attorney Maciej Plaugo

Wolf Theiss has advised Rewe Digital on a joint venture with Amb Software to establish an IT center in Zielona Gora, Poland. DZP advised Amb Software.

According to Wolf Theiss, “the new entity will be responsible for providing technological expertise to the German Rewe group, the retail and tourism group that owns the Rewe, Billa, and Penny market chains, throughout European markets. The IT center is expected to begin operations late in the fourth quarter of 2024.”

Amb Software was founded by Juanita and Mariusz Goniewicz and operates as an IT services provider focused mainly on the German market.

In 2020, Wolf Theiss advised Rewe Group on the sale of a property in Vienna (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 17, 2020).

The Wolf Theiss team included Partner Maciej Szewczyk, Counsel Marcin Rudnik, and Associates Oliwia Kruczynska and Marika Grzybowska.

The DZP team included Partners Jakub Wieszczeczynski, Joanna Wierzejska, and Jaroslaw Lukawski, Senior Associates Klaudia Bartoszynska-Kwiatkowska and Lukasz Gorzny, and Associate Michal Kostka.

Former Kuke CFO Jan Sarnowski has joined B2RLaw as the new Head of Tax Practice.

Before joining B2RLaw, Sarnowski was Kuke’s CFO between 2022 and 2023. Earlier, he was with the Ministry of Finance of Poland, first as an Advisor to the Minister between 2016 and 2018, then as the Head of Legal Comparatistics Division and the Deputy Director, Income Tax Department between 2018 and 2019, and finally as the Undersecretary of State and Plenipotentiary for International VAT Cooperation between 2019 and 2022.

According to B2RLaw, Sarnowski is “an experienced expert with many years of experience in legal and tax handling of investment processes and cross-border transactions. As Deputy Minister of Finance in charge of the tax legislation division, he was responsible for the implementation of a number of preferences for entrepreneurs operating in the manufacturing industry and new technologies. As Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Finance for International Cooperation on VAT, he was responsible for the development of technological cooperation with the administrations of developing countries. The result of his work was that Poland signed the first agreements on automatic exchange of information in the field of VAT.”

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised Santander Bank Polska on the consolidation and extension of its financing of a portfolio of seven real properties owned by Adgar Poland.

According to Eversheds Sutherland, the financing involves increasing energy efficiency and pursuing ESG targets in compliance with the current strategy.

The Eversheds Sutherland team Partner Mateusz Dereszynski, Of Counsels Adrian Ziolkowski and Kamil Lenczewski, and Lawyer Rafal Piasecki. 

Eversheds Sutherland did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

DWF has advised PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Orsted on a lease agreement with Istrana for the future T5 terminal in the Port of Gdansk. Clifford Chance Advised Istrana.

PGE is a state-owned public power company and the largest power-producing company in Poland. 

Orsted is a Danish multinational energy company headquartered in Fredericia. It is the largest energy company in Denmark. 

Istrana, based in Poland, operates in the support activities for the water transportation industry. It will be building the new terminal.

According to DWF, the T5 terminal will be “used for the storage, pre-assembly, and offshore installation of turbine components for the Baltica 2 project. The agreement will enable the construction of one of the most important and modern installation terminals in the Baltic Sea.”

The DWF team included Local Partner Malgorzata Lesiak-Cwikowska, Counsel Lukasz Gorek, Junior Associate Marek Jazwinski, and Staff Lawyer Aleksander Kurpias.

The Clifford Chance team included Partner Daniel Kopania, Counsel Piotr Bogdanowicz, and Senior Associates Adrian Krol and Agata Parys.

Former Mars Wrigley Head of Legal for Poland Magdalena Dedynska has become the company’s new Senior Counsel for Central Europe.

Mars Wrigley manufactures confectionery products.

Dedynska has been with the company since 2020 when she joined as Senior Legal Counsel and Head of Legal for Poland. Before that, she was with Schneider Electric – first as Legal Counsel between 2017 and 2020 and then as a Senior Legal Counsel CEEI in 2020. Earlier, she was a Senior Legal Counsel with Orange between 2011 and 2017.

Before moving in-house, Dedynska worked for Linklaters as a Lawyer between 2010 and 2011.

Originally reported by CEE In-House Matters.

Clifford Chance has advised the Eiffel Investment Group on establishing a joint venture – Galia Green Power – with an unspecified management team as the counterparty. RJ & Partners reportedly advised the JV partner.

Eiffel Investment Group is an independent asset manager.

According to Clifford Chance, Galia Green Power is a platform focused on developing large-scale biogas and biomethane infrastructure to accelerate Poland’s transition to a low-carbon economy. “Set up by Eiffel Investment Group and an experienced management team with significant know-how and background, [Galia Green Power] aims to become a leading player in the biomethane industry, contributing to the decarbonization of key industrial sectors and fostering energy independence in the region.”

The Clifford Chance team included Partner Pawel Puacz, Counsel Aleksandra Rudzinska, Senior Associates Aleksandra Rzegocka and Aleksandra Ulatowska, and Associates Grzegorz Serafin and Marcin Waszynski.