Category: Poland

SPCG has advised Termo Organika, its minority shareholders, and its financial partner NPN II on the sale of a majority stake in Termo Organika to Holding Soprema S.A. Drzewiecki & Tomaszek advised Soprema on the deal.

The Termo Organika management board will remain unchanged, and the existing managers will continue to be its partners and will continue to be responsible for business development. 

Termo-Organika was founded in 1997 in Mielec, Poland, and is the largest producer of polystyrene boards in the country. Soprema, founded in Strasbourg in 1908, specializes in waterproofing and insulation of buildings and civil engineering.

The SPCG team included Partners Jakub Gorski and Lukasz Ziecina, Senior Associate Lukasz Przyborowski, Associate Jakub Puciato, and Junior Associate Jakub Zielinski.

The Drzewiecki & Tomaszek team included Partners Dariusz Oleszczuk, Julian Bielecki, and Sabina Kubsik.

Mrowiec Fialek and Partners has advised Ceramika Nowa Gala S.A. on an unspecified investment agreement with Cerrad sp. z o.o.

Ceramika Nowa Gala is a public company with its registered office in Konskie, Poland. The company, which is listed on the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of Gres porcelain tiles for outdoor and indoor use in residential and public utility buildings.

Cerrad, registered in Starachowice, Poland, creates stoneware and clinker tiles.

The Mrowiec Fialek and Partners team consisted of Partner Miroslaw Fialek and Zbigniew Mrowiec, Of Counsel Grzegorz Barszcz, and Senior Associate Juditha Majcher.

Mrowiec Fialek did not reply to our inquiries about the deal.

Dentons Warsaw has advised Skanska on the EUR 214 million sale of two buildings in the High5ive office complex in Krakow and the Nowy Targ office building in Wroclaw to the fund managed by Credit Suisse Asset Management Global Real Estate. Baker McKenzie advised Skanska on tax matters, and Greenberg Traurig advised Credit Suisse on the transaction, which is expected to be finalized by the end of 2019.

According to Dentons, the High5ive investment will consist of five modern office buildings with a total gross leasable area of 70,000 square meters. Last year Dentons advised Skanska on a sale of two other buildings in the complex as well, to Niam (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 7, 2018).

The Nowy Targ office building offers nearly 20,000 square meters of office space and 1,600 square meters of service space. 

The Dentons team consisted of Partners Piotr Szafarz, Ewa Rutkowska-Subocz, Counsel Marek Trojnarski, Senior Associate Hanna Zarska, and Associates Maciej Roman, Jacek Korcz , Adrianna Konczak, Sylwia Chrostowska, Dawid Krakowiak, and Bartosz Dobkowski.

The Baker McKenzie team consisted of Partner Katarzyna Kopczewska and Associate Michal Nocon. 

Editor’s Note: The article was updated to reflect the full Dentons team. 

Image Source: officefinder.pl

Former Baker McKenzie Counsel Tomasz Kaczmarek has joined DWF Warsaw as Local Partner and head of Transactional Banking.

According to DWF, Kaczmarek, who spent over 13 years with Baker McKenzie, “has strong expertise in project finance, property finance and acquisition finance, advising Polish and international banks, mezzanine funds, financial and industry lenders and sponsors. His focus is on financing of real estate (office, retail, hotel, warehouse and residential), renewables (wind farms and PVs) and innovation. He is also an expert in restructuring and insolvency, frequently advising on financial restructuring.”

His arrival to DWF comes just days after the firm announced that Pawel Stykowski had joined from Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland to lead the firm’s Insurance practice (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 19, 2019).

“Tomasz is a talented legal counsel with experience across sectors such as real estate, energy, infrastructure and innovation, which aligns perfectly to many of the sectors in which DWF has deep expertise,” said Michal Pawlowski, DWF’s Managing Partner in Poland. “We are delighted to welcome him as a local partner heading the transactional banking team in Warsaw.”

“The chance to join DWF at such an early stage in its progression into the Polish market is an exciting opportunity given the business has such a strong reputation as a fast-growing, innovative legal services provider,” commented Kaczmarek. “I look forward to contributing to the future success of DWF in Poland through the sustainable growth of the banking and finance transactional team in Warsaw.”

Former Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland Counsel Pawel Stykowski has joined DWF in Warsaw as Local Partner and Head of Insurance.

Stykowski headed the financial services and compliance practice at Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland. He has 13 years of experience providing legal advice to the insurance and banking industry, including four years as head of legal/compliance officer at the InterRisk insurance company (during which time he was interviewed in the CEE Legal Matters magazine). He also spent five years with CMS and two and a half years in-house with the AXA Group. According to DWF, “he regularly acts for clients in proceedings before the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, the General Inspector of Financial Information, the Financial Ombudsman and the courts.”

DWF Poland Managing Partner Michał Pawlowski said: “We are delighted to welcome Pawel to the expanding DWF team in Poland. His vast expertise in the insurance sector will provide us with the ideal platform from which to strengthen our insurance offering in Warsaw.”

“It is an exciting time to join the business given DWF’s expansion into Poland earlier this year,” commented Stykowski. “Insurance is one of DWF’s primary business sectors and the business enjoys an international reputation for its innovative approach to legal services in the insurance sphere. I am therefore looking forward to playing an important role in developing our global capabilities further for the benefit of our Polish clients.”

Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland has advised EEC Magenta, the largest corporate venture capital fund on the Polish market, on its investment in the TakeTask platform. The Porebski i Wspolnicy law firm reportedly advised TakeTask on the series A financing round.

The EEC Ventures Group manages venture capital funds with a total capitalization of PLN 210 million. EEC Magenta specializes in funding the digitalization of energy, industry, and the circular economy. The fund is managed by Michał Ruminski, Rafal Małecki, Voytek Siewierski, and Konrad Sitnik.

According to Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland, “TakeTask specializes in automation of processes in corporations, supporting large retail chains and expanding its offer for industrial clients, the service industry, and restaurants. Using artificial intelligence, it assists clients in increasing their working efficiency and cutting costs. The company will use some of the funds raised from EEC Magenta for expanding the teams of software developers and project managers working on the development of the first platform of such complexity in Poland.”

“The capital from the investment will be devoted among other things to TakeTask’s entry into other countries,” said Michał Ruminski, Managing Partner of EEC Magenta. “We operate in line with the model adopted at EEC Magenta for supporting innovative Polish tech firms in expanding onto foreign markets.” EEC Magenta will support TakeTask in the expansion process not only with capital, but also with knowhow and its network of business relationships.

Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland reports that it “also supported EEC Magenta in negotiations with the founders and Simpact, a Bridge Alfa fund which funded the company in 2018, as well as other key persons. Among other sources, TakeTask previously raised financing through the crowdfunding platform Beesfund.”

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

Greenberg Traurig has advised Credit Suisse Asset Management Global Real Estate on the acquisition of the Astoria Premium Offices in Warsaw from Strabag, and on the financing of the acquisition. Act BSWW reportedly advised Strabag on the deal.

According to Greenberg Traurig, “Astoria Premium Offices offers more than 18,000 square meters of office space, 900 square meters of retail commercial space, and underground parking for tenants. Its architecture directly invokes the surrounding historical buildings.”

The Greenberg Traurig team was led by Partner Agnieszka Stankiewicz and included Senior Associates Gabriela Socha and Karolina Kuzniak and Associates Michal Niecko, Samanta Wenda-Uszynska, Maja Gawrysiuk, Katarzyna Goljan, and Iga Czerniak. In addition, Local Partner Magdalena Zyczkowska-Jozwiak and Associates Jakub Gajzler, Maxymilian Rybczynski, and Oliwia Hutnik provided support during the due diligence process.

^{Image source: sztuka-architektury.pl}

White & Case Warsaw has advised Kenbourne Invest S.A. on the accelerated book-building process announced by Kenbourne Invest and Tollerton Investments Ltd. for the sale of shares in Play Communications S.A.

The accelerated book-building process was carried out on September 4, 2019. Kenbourne Invest and Tollerton Investments, which respectively held 30.04 percent and 29.14 percent of Play’s shares, sold 23,086,237 ordinary Play shares, constituting 9.08% of its total shares, for around PLN 704 million.

The offer was directed exclusively at specific, qualified institutional investors in the US and Europe. UBS Europe SE and Santander Bank Polska S.A. acted as global coordinators and joint book-runners. 

The White & Case team was led by Local Partner Rafał Kaminski with support from Associate Monika Duzynska, both working under the supervision of Partner Marcin Studniarek.

Act BSWW has advised the Kliny Hospital in Krakow, Poland, on its purchase of an online training simulator from Intuitive Surgical for surgeons performing procedures with the da Vinci robot. The SimNow simulator is the first online training tool of its kind in Poland.

Intuitive Surgical manufactures the da Vinci surgical system — an advanced medical technology that helps tackle many treatment challenges by, for example, mitigating the risk of postoperative complications and reducing patient recovery periods.

Over 5000 da Vinci surgical systems have been installed worldwide. They are used for approximately 170 types of surgical procedures, especially uterine surgeries, prostatectomy, and large bowel resection, but also bladder and kidney surgeries. So far, six million da Vinci robot-assisted operations have been conducted worldwide.

Act BSWW didn’t reply to our inquiry on the matter.

WKB has advised the CEZ capital group on Polish aspects of its acquisition of a majority of shares in Euroklimat, a provider of building installation services, from its founders and shareholders. The Czech Republic’s Skils law firm was lead counsel to CEZ, and Grant Thornton advised Euroklimat and its shareholders on the deal.

The transaction closed on August 30.

Euroklimat provides its services across Poland. Its portfolio includes sanitation, air-conditioning, cooling, and ventilation systems, as well as electrical, technical, and IT installations.

Euroklimat’s new majority stakeholder, the Czech Republic-based CEZ capital group, is engaged in the generation, distribution, trade, and sale of electricity and heat, as well as the trade and sale of natural gas, and coal extraction. It is present in Turkey and other countries in South-Eastern Europe.

The WKB team included Partners Jakub Jedrzejak, Ben Davey, Marta Midloch, and Aleksander Stawicki, Senior Associates Magdalena Piszewska and Wojciech Kulczyk, and Associate Aneta Citko.

The Grant Thornton team was lead by Partner Rafal Smigorski.