Category: Poland

Clifford Chance Warsaw has advised Work Service S.A. on its successful debt restructuring.

Clifford Chance describes Work Service as “the largest HR firm in Central and Eastern Europe, specializing in personnel consulting, recruitment and employee outsourcing.” According to the firm, the debt restructuring was “one of the most complex due to its many legal aspects and complex inter-creditor relations), and one of the fastest (completed in less than 45 days).”

The Clifford Chance team was led by Partner Milosz Golab and included Counsels Jaroslaw Lorenc and Piotr Bogdanowicz, Senior Associate Antoni Wandzilak, and Associates Anna Miernik, Mateusz Chmura, and Artur Gladysz.

Dentons Warsaw has advised GLL Real Estate Partners on the acquisition of the Cedet building in Warsaw from Immobel Poland. Greenberg Traurig reportedly advised Immobel Poland on the sale.

The transaction value was EUR 129.5 million. The property was acquired on behalf of a Korean fund managed by GLL Real Estate Partners.

Cedet is a historic building of Polish post-war architecture, built in the 1950s. It is located in the central business district of Warsaw. The building has recently undergone a restoration and expansion process. According to Dentons, today it consists of a restored department store and an office building at the junction of Bracka and Krucza Streets. The building offers a total leasable area of 22 thousands square meters to tenants, such as WeWork, the Polish Development Fund, and children’s department store Smyk.

The Dentons team consisted of Partners Pawel Debowski and Monika Sitowicz, Counsel Piotr Nerwinski Associates Paulina Czostek, Magdalena Kalinska, and Andrzej Wloch, and Junior Associate Karolina Ostrowska.

Greenberg Traurig is representing CCC S.A. in the announced tender offer for 100% of shares in Gino Rossi S.A.

According to GT, the offer is based on the execution of a conditional agreement on the sale of Gino Rossi receivables with Bank PKO BP S.A. and the signing of agreements with certain minority shareholders of Gino Rossi regarding their participation in the tender offer process.

The tender offer is subject to customary anti-trust approval and certain other conditions, including a 66% acceptance threshold, the execution between CCC and Gino Rossi of an organizational agreement concerning the commencement of strategic cooperation and financial support to Gino Rossi and the execution of agreements with creditors of Gino Rossi regarding reduction of its liabilities.

The CCC Group is one of the largest footwear manufacturers and sellers in Europe. It  operates nearly 1,000 stores and since 2004 it has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

The Gino Rossi Capital Group gathers leading brands on the Polish fashion market. The group’s portfolio of brands includes Gino Rossi and SIMPLE. The range of products includes footwear, bags and leather goods and women’s clothes.

According to Greenberg Traurig, the conditional sale agreement with PKO BP states that CCC S.A. shall acquire all cash receivables (whether due now or in future) existing as of the date of the transfer from Gino Rossi under the loan agreements between PKO BP and Gino Rossi in the total amount of PLN 70 million.

The Greenberg Traurig team was led by Local Partner Daniel Kaczorowski and included Partners Andrzej Wysokinski and Aleksander Janiszewski, Senior Associate Pawel Jaskiewicz, and Associates Agata Izyk and Majka Rucinska.

Dentons has advised Jones Lang LaSalle on its acquisition of REAS. The Ozog Tomczykowski law firm advised REAS on the merger.

REAS is a Polish advisory company that specializes in issues related to the residential market for more than 20 years.

Jones Lang LaSalle is a professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. It has operations in over 80 countries.

According to Dentons, “the transaction means that the portfolio of services offered by JLL will now include residential sector advisory. Thus, JLL will become the first advisory company on the Polish market to service all real estate market sectors.”

The Dentons team was led by Counsel Marcin Paliwoda, assisted by Lawyer Monika Wilczak. Partner Piotr Dulewicz supervised the transaction.

Ozog Tomczykowski’s team was led by Attorney Karol Sowa and included Of Counsel Wojciech Kotowski, Managing Associates Pawel Stanczyk and Joanna Stolarek, Senior Associates Bartosz Mroczkowski and Sylwia Stalenczyk-Janc, and Associates Roksana Barysz and Mateusz Slowik.

Czabanski & Galuszynski has advised Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. on the sale of an NPL portfolio to two investment funds, acting through securitization funds.

The portfolio, worth over PLN 76.5 million, consisted of unsecured and secured claims against individuals, including entrepreneurs, as well as civil law partnerships and commercial companies.

According to a Czabanski & Galuszynski press release, its team prepared tender documents, including tender procedure, as well as a set of transaction documents for Bank Handlowy, and also participated in the work of Bank Handlowy’s tender committee established for the purpose of carrying out this transaction.

The Czabanski & Galuszynski team consisted of Attorney at Law Karolina Turko and Associate Krzysztof Szulc.

Czabanski & Galuszynski did not reply to our inquires about the deal.

Czabanski & Galuszynski has advised Yawal S.A. and Final S.A. on a syndicated loan of over PLN 90 million by Santander Bank Polska S.A. and mBank S.A.

The Yawal Group is a supplier of architectural aluminum profile systems in Europe. The group’s products are used in the automotive, transport, interior decoration, advertising, and construction industries.

Yawal S.A. offers architectural aluminum profile systems for construction, while Final S.A. specializes in comprehensive aluminum extrusion services for the above-mentioned industries, along with anodizing, painting, and prefabrication services. Yawal S.A. also provides technical consultancy in creating modern solutions on the aluminum profiles market, including preparation of technical documentation. The company also delivers training services at the Yawal Academy on aluminum design training, customer service, and assembly.

The Czabanski & Galuszynski team was led by Partner Piotr Galuszynski, supported by Attorney at Law Karolina Turko and Associate Krzysztof Szulc.

Czabanski & Galuszynski did not reply to our inquires about the deal.

Gessel has advised Polish Enterprise Fund VIII, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, on the acquisition of a minority stake in Anwim SA, an independent operator of fuel stations in Poland, trading under the Moya brand.

The value of the transaction is PLN 100 million.

Enterprise Investors is a private equity firm in Central and Eastern Europe, which has been active since 1990 and has nine funds and 143 companies across a range of sectors.

Anwim was founded by two entrepreneurs in 1992 and was initially focused on wholesale fuel trading. In 2009, the company launched retail operations, which currently generate half its revenues. Anwim’s chain of Moya fuel stations includes over 180 stations.

The Gessel team was led by Managing Partner Marcin Macieszczak and Senior Associate Bartlomiej Wozniak, supported by Partner Bernadeta Kasztelan-Swietlik, Attorneys at Law Artur Kruszewski and Malgorzata Wilczynska, Legal Consultant Iwona Gielo-Benza, Managing Associate Michal Boryczka, Lawyer Karolina Krzal, and Trainee Attorneys Katarzyna Olszak and Piotr Tracz.

Editor’s Note: Afters this article was published Kijewski Gras informed CEE Legal Matters that it advised Anwim on the deal. The firm’s team consisted of Partner Bartosz Gras, Attorneys Maksymilian Gras, Marcin Zawistowski, and Kamil Dabrowski, Lawyer Michal Sowinski, Junior Associate Malwina Kawecka, and Advocate Trainee Michal Szymankiewicz.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised BoomBit S.A. on a transaction which included the indirect acquisition of shares in Cellense s.r.o.

Cellense s.r.o. is a company operating in the gaming industry. It specializes in aiding user acquisition and live ops services.

The SSW team was led by Partner Szymon Okon, supported by Associate Dawid Brudzisz.

Bird & Bird’s Sports teams from London and Warsaw have helped PKN Orlen negotiate a sponsorship agreement with the Williams Formula 1 team.

According to Bird & Bird, “while the commercial terms remain undisclosed, the deal is believed to be one of the largest sponsorship projects in the history of Polish companies.”

Former Magnusson Partner and Head of Energy and Infrastructure Magdalena Mitas has joined DLA Piper Warsaw as Counsel and Head of Energy.

Mitas specializes in energy law and environmental law in projects related to renewable energy sources and electro-mobility for the gas, electricity, heating, fuel, and automotive industries, with particular emphasis on regulatory and transaction aspects, investment implementation, commercial contracts, and public aid.

She has specific expertise in advising on international regulations affecting the implementation of energy projects, including those relating to the mining and transportation of raw materials.

Krzysztof Kycia, DLA Piper Co-Managing Partner in Poland, said, “Magdalena Mitas brings to the firm a valuable and in-depth knowledge of the energy sector in Poland as well as in the international context, which our current and new clients will be able to benefit from. This includes not only legal issues, but also business knowledge.”

“The energy sector is a strategic area of development for us in which we see potential, of course bearing in mind our clients’ current needs that we are trying to address. We firmly believe that Magdalena will help us to comprehensively service this sector,” added fellow Co-Managing Partner Jacek Gizinski.

Mitas joined Magnusson two year ago (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 1, 2016). Previously she worked with Kochanski Zieba & Partners, where she also led energy practice. She has previous stints with the DeBenedetti Majewski Szczesniak, Andrzej Sikora law office and the Sobolewski Szuwara law firm.

She studied Public Economy Law at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Business Law at Middlesex University in London, and International Law at the University of Westminster in London.