Category: Poland

Wolf Theiss has advised Berlin Hyp as the lender on a EUR 166 million loan to companies controlled by a joint venture between EPP and pan-European private equity real estate platform Henderson Park. EPP and Henderson Park were advised by Linklaters and Dentons.

The loan was obtained in order to refinance office assets in three regional centers. The three office centers are Symetris Business Park in Lodz (with a gross lettable area of 19,000 square meters); the Malta Office Park, a six-building complex in Poznan covering 28,000 square meters; and the O3 Business Campus, a class-A complex of 38,000 square meters in Krakow. The loan will also finance the joint venture’s buyout of Echo Investment’s stake in O3.

The Wolf Theiss team was led by Partners Przemek Kozdoj and Grzegorz Skowronski and Senior Associate Michal Kulig. 

The Linklaters team included Managing Associate Joanna Gawlicka and Associate Agata Brzozek.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions acted as legal advisor to WDB Brokerzy Ubezpieczeniowi on its delisting from NewConnect. Prior to delisting, the company’s key shareholders performed a squeeze-out of minority shareholders.

NewConnect is an alternative trading system maintained by Gielda Papierow Wartosciowych w Warszawie.

WDB Brokerzy Ubezpieczeniowi is a licensed insurance broker. The company’s shares had been listed on NewConnect since 2010.

The SSW Pragmatic Solutions team was led by Partner Szymon Okon and included Senior Associate Tomasz Kwasniewski and Associate Dawid Brudzisz.

Magnusson has advised Vastint Poland on the sale of the first stage of the Business Garden Poznan office buildings to Singapore’s Cromwell European REIT fund. Wardynski & Partners advised Cromwell European on the deal.

The four office buildings located at Kolorowa Street in Poznan offer a total of 42,000 square meters of modern office space. 

Vastint Poland is a developer of commercial projects and manages a portfolio of real estate properties.

The Magnusson team was led by Partners Artur Swirtun and Dawid Demianiuk.

The Wardynski & Partners team included Partner Michal Wons, Attorneys Jakub Baranowski and Barbara Majewska, Advocate Mateusz Rydzewski, and Specialist Iwona Kasperek.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised the CC83 Closed Investment Fund of Private Assets on the acquisition of an office building in Warsaw from the Griffin Real Estate Group. The BCLA law firm reportedly advised the Griffin Real Estate Group on the deal.

The transaction included the acquisition of 100% of the company’s shares in a special purpose vehicle that owns the property, the restructuring of its intra-group debt, and the takeover of existing bank financing by the fund.

The SSW Pragmatic Solutions team included Partners Maciej Duch, Tomasz Wickel, and Katarzyna Solarz, Counsel Anita Palukiewicz, and Associates Karol Lewandowski, Rafal Lapinski, Robert Wodzynski, Pawel Sliwka, and Edyta Rekawek.

The BCLA team included Partner Michal Bisiorek and Senior Associates Agata Mackowiak, Anna Zawadzka Grzesiak, and Agata Wysoczynska.

Aleksandra Rutkowska, who until recently co-managed the tax controversy team as Associate Partner at EY, has joined Dentons’ Poland as Head of Tax Litigation.

Rutkowska has 15 years of professional experience in tax controversy and litigation matters. According to Dentons, she “assists clients during tax, customs and fiscal inspections and tax proceedings before the National Revenue Administration and the administrative courts” and “has represented Polish government and clients before the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Polish Constitutional Court on multiple occasions.” 

“Aleksandra Rutkowska joins our team in a bid to meet increased client demand for professional support in, e.g., tax proceedings and MDR issues, “ said Dentons Partner Cezary Przygodzki, which he described as “among the most dynamically growing areas of tax advisory, mainly due to the changing tax laws and the state’s aggressive fiscal policy.” 

Rutkowska received her Master’s in Law from the University of Bialystok in 2004.

Former Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak Senior Counsel Pawel Sawicki has joined NGL Legal as a partner, assuming responsibility for the development of the Commercial Criminal Law and Investigations and Cyber Security and Cybercrime practices.

Sawicki has over 15 years of experience, primarily in Criminal Law and White Collar Criminal Law and specializes in court proceedings and internal investigation proceedings.

According to NGL Legal, Sawicki has led internal investigations into corruption, fraud, abuse of power, and acts to the detriment of companies. The firm reports that “he acts as a defender in criminal proceedings and represents the victims (mainly companies – victims of abuse). He advises clients on strategies for implementing compliance and cyber-security policies.”

Sawicki joined Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak in October of 2009 after spending two years in-house with both CI Games and Altkom Akademia.

In addition to Sawicki, Jan Kieszczynski joined the NGL Legal as Counsel and Head of Scandinavian Desk..

Former Dentons Counsel Ryszard Manteuffel has joined Deloitte Legal in Warsaw as a Partner.

Manteuffel specializes in corporate and capital markets law, with, according to Deloitte, particular emphasis on “acquisitions of listed companies and regulated entities (brokerage houses, TFI), securities offers (IPO, SPO, ABB) and regulatory matters (establishing investment companies).”

Manteuffel graduated from the Kobenhavns University with a degree in law in 2007 and holds a Master’s Degree in law from the University of Warsaw. He joined Dentons in 2016 after spending almost nine years with Baker McKenzie.

Coming with Manteufell is former Dentons Associate Mikolaj Chodkiewicz, who joins Deloitte Legal as a Senior Associate.

Act Legal Poland has advised Moderna Holding sp. z o.o. on its acquisition of 100% shares in Przedsiebiorstwo Budowlane Kokoszki S.A., a Gdansk-based developer company.

Following the transaction, Moderna’s portfolio features a usable residential area of 150 thousand square meters. The company pursues investments in multi-family and office buildings segment of the Tri-City and Warsaw market.

Moderna and Kokoszki will continue to operate as separate entities under the umbrella of Moderna Holding.

“Both companies have a similar organizational chart and operate within the same multi-family and office building segment, but have different target groups,” said President of Moderna Holding Management Board Adam Malaczek. “We have gained immense potential to increase stability and liquidity of project implementation which, in light of complex administrative and civil regulations, will facilitate flexible process management and give us an edge over our competition. In the end, it is the buyers of standard and high-end apartments who will benefit the most from the transaction.”

Kokoszki was founded in 1969. Its portfolio includes over dozens of residential, special-use, and commercial buildings, with the Baltic Philharmonic and Opera among them.

The Act BSWW team was led by Managing Partner Piotr Smoluch, supported by Partner Jakub Salwa and Senior Associate Michal Pawlak.

Act BSWW did not reply to our inquiries about the deal. 

Act Legal Poland has advised Finland’s YIT Development on the purchase of a land lot in Gdansk.

The 1.55 hectare lot, with a construction permit, is located close to the historical center of Gdansk. YIT plans a mixed-use project with a total area of 40,000 square meters. The estimated project value is over EUR 100 million.

“During YIT’s four years of operations in Poland, we have extended the existing residential projects (that we acquired) and purchased land lots in appealing locations across Warsaw for new projects,” said Tomasz Konarsk, President of the Management Board at YIT Poland. “Finally, the time has come for some territorial expansion, as part of which we will enter a new market,” he added. “We have set our sights on Gdansk due to its impressive growth pace and vast potential for further actions.”

YIT has been operating in Poland since July 2015. Before the Gdansk-based transaction, all its projects had been located in Warsaw. YIT’s portfolio includes approximately 3,000 apartments, of which 300 have been completed. The compan also operates in Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Earlier Act BSWW advised YIT on its acquisition on land lot in Sadyba, Warsaw (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on August 30, 2019) and YIT’s purchase of six-hectare property in the Warsaw district of Bemowo (as reported on April 2, 2019)

The Act BSWW team on the Gdansk transaction was led by Managing Partner Michal Wielhorski, supported by Partners Michal Soltyszewski and Malgorzata Wasowska and Senior Associates Mateusz Prokopiuk and Michal Brzozowicz.

Act BSWW did not reply to our inquiries about the deal.

Kochanski & Partners has advised Ringier Axel Springer Polska, the publisher of Newsweek, Forbes, Onet, Business Insider, Politico, Fakt24, Przegląd Sportowy, Auto Swiat and other publications, throughout RUCH S.A.’s restructuring, including in proceedings before the Restructuring Court and at meetings of the Creditors’ Committee.

Kochanski & Partners describes RUCH as “one of the largest distributors delivering press to kiosks and stores across Poland.”

According to Kochanski & Partners, “on August 30, 2019, the Regional Court in Warsaw, acting as a court of the second instance, amended the decision of the Restructuring Court and, consequently, approved RUCH’s partial reorganization concluded at the Creditors’ Meeting.”

The Kochanski & Partners team included Partner Mateusz Ostrowski and Senior Associate Jacek Salata.