Category: Poland

Former Maruta Wachta Partner Lukasz Wegrzyn has joined SSW Pragmatic Solutions as a Partner and Head of the Digital Transformation practice.

At SSW Wegrzyn will develop the digital transformation team, focusing on comprehensive solutions within the area of new technologies, IT contracts, copyrights, intellectual property, and cloud solutions.

Wegrzyn has spent the past five years at Maruta Wachta, where he made partner last July. Before that he spent six months at Bird & Bird, 15 months in house with netPR.pl, a year and a half at MTV Networks, and two and a half years at Grupa Radiowa Agory. He is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Mechanics at the University of Warsaw. 

Wegrzyn studied law at the Jagiellonian University and the University of Warsaw. 

SMM Legal has advised the Polish National Centre for Science and Research on the first project designed to boost the development of the electric transportation sector in Poland. The total value of the project is PLN 2 billion.

The NCRD, together with local authorities from 26 Polish cities, including Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Lublin, Rzeszow, and Wroclaw, announced a call for bids to develop and deliver emission-free public transportation vehicles within an innovative partnership procedure.

On April 4, 2018, the National Centre for Research and Development (NCRD) reported that nine contractors had submitted their bids in response to a call announced in the emission-free Public Transportation Program. The placement of bids closed the first stage of NCRD activity. 

According to SMM Legal, the bidders awarded the contract will launch research and development exercises to find a specific solution to a practical problem. On the basis of a multi-step selection procedure, the best solution will be selected and subsequently applied in the vehicles delivered to local authorities and municipal companies.

SMM Legal reports that the purpose of the emission-free public transportation program is to intensify the implementation of state-of-the-art solutions in urban transportation. Its goal is to contribute to the attainment of the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Sustainable Development Strategy, both of which list low-emission economy, transport modernization, and the promotion of energy effectiveness among their top priorities. The program marks the launch of the NCRD’s new approach to innovative policy and public contracts. The authority ceases to be a passive client in order to actively engage with businesses and exert its influence on the market with the aim of pursuing its strategic objectives. The ultimate goal of the program is to create a flywheel for innovative activity in the public transportation sector.

The SMM Legal team consisted of Partner Monika Adamczak, Senior Associates Mateusz Stanczyk, Malgorzata Golynska-Minkiewicz, and Associate Magdalena Cisowska.

CMS has advised Maxima Grupe UAB on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Emperia Holding S.A., the owner of the Stokrotka supermarket chain. Greenberg Traurig advised Emperia Holding on the sale. 

The investment agreement was signed in November 2017, and on November 24, 2017 a tender offer for 100% of the company’s shares was announced. Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection approved the acquisition on April 5, 2018. By April 12, 2018, shareholders subscribed for shares with a total value of approximately PLN 1.15 billion. According to CMS, “the tender offer was met with significant interest from shareholders and within five days Maxima obtained subscriptions for over 93% of shares in the company.” The settlement of the transaction is planned for April 18, 2018.

Maxima Grupe is the owner of the Maxima network of grocery stores in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and owns a network of Aldik and Sano supermarkets in Poland.

The CMS transaction team was led by Partner Jakub Marcinkowski, with support from Senior Associates Olga Czyzycka and Rafal Kluziak. Competition aspects were managed by Partner Małgorzata Urbanska, supported by Senior Associate Agnieszka Starzynska and Associate Krzysztof Sikora.

Greenberg Traurig did not reply to an inquiry about the deal.   

Magnusson has advised Immobel Poland on its entrance into a contract with Warbud S.A. for the first stage of construction of an office building located in the center of Warsaw.

The 21-storey Central Point building will be located atop the only intersection of metro lines in Warsaw, at Marszalkowska and Swietokrzyska streets. The first stage of construction is expected to be completed by August 31, 2018.

“The location atop the only intersection of metro lines in Poland requires us to carry out a number of industry consultations with numerous parties,” said Immobel Poland CEO Jacek Wachowicz. “A key part in the dialogue is obviously played by the Warsaw metro, but in order to ensure that the project proceeds efficiently, we have also brought in scientists from the Krakow University of Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, and ITB, as well as BWL and Metroprojekt – some of the best design studios in Poland. Also, the contractor of the first part of the facility was not selected randomly. Warbud SA has demonstrated the knowledge of technology and know-how vital for such a demanding project.”

The Magnusson team was represented by Warsaw-based Partner Przemyslaw Kastyak.  

Polish lawyer Magdalena Sulik has joined Panattoni Europe as BTS Contract Director and Legal Counsel.

Sulik joins from HB Reavis, where she had been since 2012, having worked with Strabag for the five years before that. According to her, “I have been in the real estate business throughout my career, and the need to keep expanding my competencies led me to take on the newly created position of BTS Contract Director, Legal Counsel at Panattoni Europe. My core responsibilities include supporting the Panattoni team in identifying and providing the best legal solutions for the projects dedicated to our Clients and Business Partners, as well as optimizing legal instruments in all contracts made across the BTS department.”

“It is a steep challenge,” Sulik admitted. “Especially as any single Panattoni build-to-suit project involves a number of entities, depending on the structure: the investor, the tenant or the buyer, local government, subcontractors and service providers. Such a wide range of activity and the great number of BTS projects we have requires coordination skills and a broader view of Panattoni Europe’s build-to-suit model. That is why I am of the opinion that my presence in the organization with my ability to understand real estate business and the wide legal experience gained over several years of my work as an in-house lawyer with real estate and construction companies will constitute added value for Panattoni Europe, but primarily in the eyes of our business partners, which is really exciting.”

Sulik graduated from the University of Warsaw in 2004.

Wozniak Legal has announced the launch of a full service dispute resolution practice in Poland.

Wozniak Legal Managing Partner Grzegorz Wozniak commented that: “We already have a team of excellent litigators and arbitration specialists (including Partner Filip Kowalczyk and Senior Associates Adrian Andrychowski and Grzegorz Dudek) ranking among the best in the Polish market. With our new 2020 strategy, we will be even better placed in the future to pitch successfully for the largest and most demanding mandates in the market. We actively pursue all avenues of dispute resolution available and advise clients on choosing the method most appropriate to them and for a particular matter. Our main priority is to resolve disputes quickly and effectively with as little disruption to business as possible – recognition of this is central to how we approach any matter.”

Tobiasz Adam Kowalczyk, the Head of Legal & Public Policy at Volkswagen Poznan, has been appointed board member at the company’s new division, Volkswagen Group Real Estate Polska.

Kowalczyk joined Volkswagen Poznan in the spring of 2017 (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 4, 2017). Previously, he served as the Head of the Legal Department and Compliance Officer at Samsung Electronics Poland Manufacturing.  

According to Kowalczyk, “real estate and mobility are becoming one, thus, actively shaping future issues from a real estate perspective and bringing all relevant project partners together is both a challenge and an essential ingredient. It’s again time to roll up sleeves and get down to business.” He added that as a board member his responsibilities will touch legal, compliance, and public affair matters, “to represent the relevance and potential of the Polish market, and to drive the organization’s strategic direction in the region.”

Volkswagen Group Real Estate Polska will, according to Kowalczyk, support Volkswagen AG as “a stable partner, a service provider, and an investor with a 360-degree perspective.”

Act BSWW has advised the CPI Property Group, a European investor with a retail properties portfolio in the Czech Republic, on its acquisition of five Polish retail parks from Polish developer Katharsis Development. The Michalowski Stefanski law firm advised Katharsis Development on the sale.

The five retail parks operate under the common name HopStop, and have a total area of 19,000 square meters. Four of the parks — one in Radom, two in Zamosc, and one in Warsaw Rembertow — are already built, with the fifth to be built in Siedlce.

The Act BSWW team was led by Managing Partner Marek Wojnar and Partner Marta Kosiedowska, supported by Associates Katarzyna Gora and Marlena Suchonos.

The Michalowski Stefanski team was led by Attorney Martyna Banajska.

Dentons has advised Skanska on the sale of the Wroclaw Green2Day office building to Niam. The buyers were advised by Linklaters. 

Green2Day, which was completed at the end of last year, is an office property with 18,000 square meters of gross leasable area. The building also offers co-working and short-term lease solutions. Dentons reports that, “the building is eligible for the LEED Gold certification, and will also be certified as a ‘Building without Barriers’ for its accessibility for individuals with disabilities.”

Dentons team was led by Partner Bartlomiej Kordeczka, supported by Senior Associate Martyna Racz-Suchocka.

Editor’s note: After this article was published, Linklaters informed CEE Legal Matters that its team was led by Managing Partner Artur Kulawski, alongside Managing Associate Adriana Andrzejewska and Senior Associate Monika Lerka, and included Associates Piotr Borzynski and Mateusz Cieslak. Of Counsel and Head of the Warsaw tax department Mikolaj Bieniasz has advised on relevant tax matters.

The Warsaw office of Noerr has advised PFR Life Science, a subsidiary of the Polish Development Fund, which supports infrastructure and advanced technology projects, on its PLN 38.3 million investment in Mabion S.A., a biotechnology company in Poland. Mabion was represented by White & Case.

The EBRD also invested PLN 61.4 million. 

The transaction consisted of a private placement through a sale of shares by Mabion’s majority shareholder, Twiti Investments Ltd., directed at institutional investors specializing in the health and biotechnology sector. All of the proceeds will be immediately lent to Mabion and repaid through the issuance of new shares to Twiti subject to the approval of a capital increase at Mabion’s extraordinary general meeting, which will be held in April 2018.

Noerr’s team included Pertners Ludomir Biedecki and Jakub Lerner and Associates Wojciech Nowosad and Marek Solarski.

White & Case lawyers from Warsaw, London, and New York advised Mabion.