Category: Poland

Dentons has represented Indykpol S.A. on the approximately EUR 45 million sale of a chicken abattoir in Lublin and a chicken hatchery in Turka to SuperDrob. The buyer was advised by EY.

The Indykpol Capital Group − Poland’s largest poultry company − specializes in the sale of raw and processed turkey meat. In 2016, it posted revenue in excess of EUR 300 million. Indykpol S.A., the group’s flagship company, is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This company ships its products throughout Poland and is also a reputable exporter of poultry meat and poultry products. 

The Dentons team was led by Partners Piotr Dulewicz and Pawel Grabowski, aided by Senior Associate Michal Wasiak and Associate Sebastian Wieczorek.

EY’s team advising SuperDrob included Partner Zuzanna Zakrzewska and Legal Adviser Jakub Organ.

Ewa Mazurkiewicz, formerly Of Counsel in the Warsaw office of SPCG, has joined the firm’s partnership.

Mazurkiewicz began working with SPCG in 2012, and in October 2016 assumed responsibility for the management of the firm’s regulatory capital market practice. SPCG describes her as “a recognized and appreciated specialist in regulatory issues related to, among others, MIFID II, ZAFI, UCITS V, MAD and MAR.”

Linklaters has advised SDIC Zhonglu Fruit Juice on the acquisition of Polish juice producer Appol Group from its Polish shareholders, marking SDIC’s first investment in the Polish FMCG sector. 

Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed SDIC Zhonglu Fruit Juice forms part of the Chinese SDIC State Development & Investment Corporation, the largest Chinese state-owned investment holding company. 

Appol Group has been present on the Polish and European markets for over 30 years, and Linklaters describes it as “recognized as among the leading apple juice producers in Europe.” It owns and operates three production plants in Poland.

The transaction is subject to several conditions precedent, with completion expected in the first half of 2018.

Linklaters’ Warsaw team was managed by Partner Tomasz Zorawski and Managing Associate Klaudia Krolak, supported by Associate Magdalena Szewczyk, Junior Associate Maciej Ficinski, and other lawyers from the firm’s corporate, competition, employment, projects and IP practices, as well as lawyers in Linklaters’ Beijing office.

Polish lawyer Tomasz Pyrkowski has become the new Head of Legal and Compliance Eastern Europe for Philips Lighting.

According to Philips Lighting, the company is “the world leader in lighting products, systems and services, delivers innovations that unlock business value, providing rich user experiences that help improve lives.” In addition, according to the company, “with 2016 sales of EUR 7.1 billion, we have approximately 34,000 employees in over 70 countries.”

Pyrkowski has been Head of Legal and Compliance CEE at Philips Lighting since July 2016, and his new role adds Russia and Central Asia to his areas of responsibility. He was a Senior Associate at Gide Loyrette Nouel from October 2014 through June 2016, and most of the ten years before that at CMS. He obtained his law degree from Lund University in 2002 and then a Master’s from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in 2003. He obtained an LL.M. from the Stanford Law School in 2010. 

Weil has advised Echo Investment on the EUR 49 million sale of the O3 Business Campus II office building in Krakow to Echo Polska Properties N.V. Kochanski Zieba & Partners advised the buyers on the transaction, which was part of a greater transaction in 2016 involving a portfolio of real estate assets in Poland.

According to a KZP press release, the O3 Business Campus investment consists of three office buildings located in Krakow, each of which offers 19 thousand square meters of lease space. The first of these was bought by EPP in December 2016, and the construction of O3 Business Campus II was completed in the third quarter of 2017. Most of the space is leased by HCL Poland and HedgeServ. The third building of the complex is still under construction, with completion scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

Weil’s transaction team included Partner Filip Uzieblo and Corporate Senior Associate Agnieszka Koniewicz.

The Kochanski Zieba & Partners team was headed by Partner Kamil Osinski and Associate Malwina Stajniak, assisted by Senior Associates Marcin Rzysko, Marcin Huczkowski, Klaudia Szymanska, Agnieszka Serzysko, Katarzyna Cybulska, and Joanna Kosmider, and Associates Piotr Zabkiewicz, Aneta Serowik, and Kamil Wroblewski.

Image Source: o3businesscampus.com.pl

Act Legal Poland, BSWW, has advised Rank Progress S.A. on a joint venture agreement and subsequent investment contract with Vantage Development S.A. covering the implementation of a development project on a 14-hectare land plot in Wroclaw.

The parties have announced a plan to build approximately 2,400 apartments and commercial units (in two phases), as well as roughly 14,500 square meters of office space.

“Following two large transactions carried out by our law firm for Rank Progress S.A. — i.e., the sale of Galeria Aviator to an entity from Leclerc capital group for over PLN 67 million net, and the sale of Galeria Swidnicka to a company belonging to Catalyst Capital fund (transaction value: over EUR 26 million) — this is yet another big and complex deal which Rank Progress asked us to handle,” says Managing Partner Michal Wielhorski, who led the team, with the assistance of Partner Marcin Kroll and Trainee Attorney at Law Mateusz Prokopiuk. 

Editor’s note: After this article was published Deloitte Legal confirmed that it had advised Vantage Development on the deal. The firm’s team included Partners Justyna Milewska and Katarzyna Karasiewicz, Managing Associate Anna Dobosz, and Associate Maciej Liberacki.

Subsequently, on May 14, 2018, Act BSWW announced that it had advised Rank Progress on amendments to its investment agreement with Vantage Development for the development project, now named “Port Popowice.” According to Managing Partner Michal Wielhorski, “the amending annex prepared by act BSWW introduces changes on the basis of which the deadline for Vantage Development S.A.’s statement of intent to implement the second part of the investment project was extended. Additionally, the shareholding structure in the company’s share capital is going to undergo some modifications. Execution of this amendment marks another step in the Port Popowice construction process.” 

CDZ has advised 24/7 Communication — a Polish branch of the Reputation Institute and the only Polish PR agency in the PROI Worldwide partnership of public relations agencies — on a merger with Poland’s Headlines-Porter Novelli PR agency. 

On January 1, 2018, the two agencies began joint operations under the 24/7 Communication brand.

The CDZ team was led by Partner Szymon Skiendzielewski, supported by Partner Piotr Kryczek and Legal Advisor Eliza Szulc-Sieranska.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has provided legal consulting services during bond issuance procedures by GetBack S.A. with a nominal value of about EUR 7 million.

According to SSW, it provided assistance “in the process of preparing the documents connected with bonds issuance, [such as] meeting the terms and conditions of issue and of the acquisition offer.”

SSW’s team was led by Partner Szymon Okon, supported by Junior Associate Dawid Brudzisz.

Jara Drapala & Partners has successfully represented ILF Consulting Engineers Polska in an international commercial arbitration conducted under the ICC Rules in London.

According to JDP, “the case was related to a large infrastructure project performed in Libya for a construction concern from Asia, and the client of JD&P, ILF Consulting Engineers Polska, was an international design and engineering company. The contract was governed by English law therefore common law regulations were crucial for issues such as limitation period and proper performance of the contract. The dispute was of highly complicated character. The dispute on facts was covered by as many as four different jurisdictions from three different continents. The Arbitral Tribunal allowed pursued claims in full and agreed with the arguments brought forth by JD&P lawyers as to full reimbursement of actual costs of the proceedings borne by the client.”

The JD&P team was led by Partner Marcin Chomiuk and Attorney Wojciech Bazan.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has provided legal assistance to Capital Park S.A. on its approximately EUR 15 million bonds issuance.

Capital Park S.A. — the Warsaw-based subsidiary of CP Holdings S. a r. l. — invests in and develops real estate properties in Poland. The company develops projects through the acquisition of real estate properties, including developing or obtaining a building permit, constructing of new or reconstructing existing facilities, or enhancing the management of existing buildings. It primarily develops office, commercial, residential, and multifunctional projects. The company was founded in 2003. 

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