Category: Poland

Czabanski & Galuszynski has advised Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski SA and Credit Agricole Bank Polska SA. on syndicated financing for the Pamapol Group companies.

The Pamapol Group operates in the meat and vegetable processing industry, operating primarily in the ready-made meals segment, including canned meat, pates, ready-made soups, and canned vegetables, sold, according to Czabanski & Galuszynski, “both in the traditional channel via wholesalers as well as in large retail chains.” 

Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski was loan agent, security agent, and loan organizer on the financing, which was designed to refinance existing Pamapol debt and finance current operations related to the purchase, delivery and installation, assembly and commissioning of machinery and equipment, serving in particular to improve production processes and reduce the consumption of energy in each group company.

On May 15, 2019, the Pamapol Group signed an annex to the syndicated loan agreement of September 21, 2017. The annex increases the amount of the loan granted in September 2017, and also guarantees an additional investment loan in the amount of PLN 21 million. The total amount of credit granted to the Pamapol Group is PLN 131 million.

The Czabanski & Galuszynski team was led by Attorney Karolina Turko and included Associates Krzysztof Szulc and Jakub Lasz.

Tax and Disputes specialist Anna Peczyk-Tofel and Transfer Pricing expert Michal Szwed have been promoted to partner at Crido.

“At Crido, we promote people who put particularly great effort into the development of the organization,” stated Managing Partner Andrzej Puncewicz. “We appreciate people who, through their professionalism, experience, and work, contribute to building lasting relationships with clients. Ania and Michał are a perfect example of such attitudes.”

According to a Crido press release, Peczyk-Tofel is “a tax advisor and legal counsel specializing in tax and court proceedings.” According to the firm, “she [has] represented clients in proceedings before tax authorities and administrative courts in the field of income tax, VAT, excise, PCC, and local taxes. She has extensive experience in recovering withholding tax for many foreign investors.” Before joining Crido in 2016, Peczyk-Tofel worked with EY in its tax litigation department. She graduated from the University of Warsaw.

Michal Szwed specializes in transfer pricing. Per Crido, “his experience includes assistance to domestic and international clients in structuring and implementing inter-company settlement models, developing transfer pricing policies, and internal transfer pricing procedures. “ He graduated from the Warsaw School of Economics and worked with PwC and Accreo before joining Crido in 2015.

The Crido Tax team now has over 110 people, including ten partners.

Czabanski & Galuszynski has advised Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo SA on a PLN 10 billion credit agreement with a consortium of banks consisting of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Bank Pekao, BNP Paribas Bank Polska, Caixa Bank Oddzial w Polsce, ING Bank Slaski, Intesa Sanpaolo Oddzial w Polsce, PKO Bank Polski, Santander Bank Polska, and Societe Generale. The banks were advised by Linklaters.

PGNiG is engaged in the extraction of natural gas and oil in Poland, import of natural gas into Poland, storage of gas in underground storage, distribution of gaseous fuels, developing natural gas and oil deposits, and providing geological, geophysical, and exploration services in Poland and abroad. The group has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2005. 

The term of the loan is five years. The fund is intended to finance energy security projects in Poland, involving the PGNiG Capital Group, such as investments in the national extraction of hydrocarbons, expansion of the distribution network in Poland, investments in the manufacturing sector, development of activities in the Norwegian continental shelf, and other areas where PGNiG operates. 

The C&G team consisted of Partner Piotr Galuszynski and Associates Krzysztof Szulc, Jakub Lach, and Katarzyna Sotyn. 

The Linklaters team consisted of Managing Associate Marta Domino and Associate Maciej Checinski.

BSWW Act Legal has advised Polish developer Echo Investment on its acquisition of Elektrownia RE sp. z o.o in Lodz, Poland.

Elektrownia RE owns what BSWW Act Legal describes as the Fuzja “investment property,” which Echo Investment plans to rebuild. According to the firm, “the project will include the development of residential, commercial, and urban spaces. The investment area covers 7.7 hectares and the mixed-use project will offer approximately 90,000 square meters. The project will be made up of 20 buildings serving different functions, 14 of which will be restored historical buildings. The project also includes urban squares, common areas, and green zones.”

The BSWW team included Managing Partner Michal Wielhorski, Partner Katarzyna Marzec, and Senior Associate Mateusz Prokopiuk.

BSWW did not reply to our inquiries on the matter.  

RS Legal has advised PKN Orlen S.A. on a project involving a retrofit of the TG1 turbine generator set at the CHP Plock thermal power plant.

The retrofit of the TG1 turbine generator set includes dismantling the existing machinery and replacing it with new machinery built on a turn-key basis. Its capacity will increase from the current 55 MWe to 65 MWe. The company that will be responsible for construction and maintenance is GE Power Sp. z o.o.

The RS Legal team included Partners Joanna Nowak-Paradowska and Przemyslaw Kalek.

 RS legal did not reply to our inquiry on the matter. 

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised investment groups related to the 4fi and Origami groups on their take-over of a portfolio of five commercial facilities in several Polish cities from Tesco. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.

The SSW team included Partners Maciej Duch, Tomasz Wickel, and Michal Badowski, Counsel Jakub Jedrzejewski, and Associates Pawel Sliwka, Karol Lewandowski, Robert Wodzynski, Iwona Domanska, and Magdalena Klimczyk.

Editor’s note: Since this article was published, Wolf Theiss has confirmed its representation of Tesco on the deal. The firm’s team included Partner Grzegorz Skowronski and Associates Anna Mikolajewska-Jelitto, Aleksander Duma, and Bartosz Kopik. Wolf Theiss declined to provide any additional information on the deal.

Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak has advised Polish businessman Piotr Morkowski on his sale of shares in WiseBase sp. z o.o. to Syndigo Polska sp. z o.o.

WiseBase is an online data exchange platform that operates in Poland, Romania, and Germany. The platform helps in data exchange between suppliers and retailers.

Syndigo Polska is a company belonging to the Jordan Company, which manages funds and has over 36-years experience in investments and support of companies across a wide range of industries.

The SK&S team was led by Senior Partner Janusz Siekanski and consisted of Partner Piotr Andrzejak, Senior Associate Leszek Malecki and Wojciech Wegrzyn, and Associate Anna Bartosiewicz. 

Editor’s Note: Wardynski & Partners advised Syndigo on the acquisition. The firm’s team consisted of Partner Krzysztof Libiszewski and Attorneys-at-Law Katarzyna Wojcik and Katarzyna Jaroszynska.

SMM Legal has helped Energa-Obrot S.A. settle a dispute with an unnamed wind farm it sued in September 2017 over the validity of a framework agreement for the sale of green certificates.

According to SMM Legal, the parties solved the dispute amicably and terminated their cooperation. 

Energa SA is a corporate group which deals in the generation, distribution, and supply of electricity to approximately 2.7 million people in Northern Poland.

The SMM Legal team included Partner Pawel Lacki and Senior Associate Patrycja Starczewska. 

Kochanski & Partners is legal partner to a working group preparing a standard for cloud computing implementation in banks established by the Polish Bank Association and the Banking Technology Forum.

According to Kochanski & Partners, the objective of the group is to promote the use of cloud computing technology in the Polish banking sector through the development of a cloud computing implementation standard based on the existing PolishAPI. The first meeting of the group was held in mid-July and was attended by “representatives of the largest banks in Poland and leading technology companies.” 

The project will be managed by Accenture and led by Grzegorz Pedzisz, CEO of Idea Bank.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Grupa Lotos SA on the USD 500 million refinancing of loan facilities contracted by the company in connection with its “Program 10+” financing. Clifford Chance advised a consortium of domestic and international banks on the deal.

The consortium of banks consisted of Bank Polska Kasa Opieki S.A., Caixabank S.A., Erste Group Bank AG, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Europe) S.A. ING Bank Slaski S.A., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A, Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Bank EU AG. Credit Agricole, CIB, and BNP Paribas SA served as agents in the deal.

Under the agreement, the banks granted the Lotos Group a term facility of USD 400 million and a revolving facility of USD 100 million.

According to Clifford Chance, the main purpose of the transaction was to refinance the Lotos Group debt connected with the implementation of the 10+ Program – a comprehensive upgrade investment project – as well as the optimization of the structure and period of repayment of the financial obligations and a release on the security interests established on the assets of the Lotos S.A. Group in connection with the previous facility agreement.

Grupa Lotos, supported by the Polish Government, is the Poland-based parent company of the capital group involved in exploration, production, and processing of crude oil and distribution of petroleum products.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Partner Grzegorz Dyczkowski and included Senior Associate Marta Kawecka and Associate Igor Kondratowicz.

The Clifford Chance team was led by Partner Andrzej Stosio, supported by Senior Associate Maksymilian Jarzabek and Associate Wojciech Wator. 

Grupa Lotus is in the process of merging with PKN Orlen (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 23, 2018 and July 5, 2019).