KKLW has advised ZA Polna SA in its delisting from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
According to KKLW, the firm “advised ZA Polna SA on the call for shares announced by the majority shareholders, and represented ZA Polna SA before the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, [and] the National Deposit of Securities.” The final delisting took place on November 29th, 2017.
The leaders of KKLW’s advisory team were Partner Krzysztof Lyszyk and Senior Associate Mariusz Domagala.
Act BSWW has advised a consortium made up of General Aviation Services Sp. z o.o. and Heli Holland Air Service B.V. on its entrance into a three-year air transport services agreement with Lotos Petrobaltic S.A.
Lawyers from act BSWW advised the consortium not only on bid preparation and other related matters, but also during the three different appeal proceedings, including, the firm reports “one initiated as a consequence of an appeal lodged by the consortium, which led to the revocation of the decision on the cancellation of the procurement process, and reinstatement of the consortium’s tender, as well as two resulting from the actions of another contractor (that also submitted its offer in the procurement process) which challenged the selection of the consortium’s bid.”
Act BSWW Associate Marcelina Daszkiewicz represented the consortium in the appeal proceedings, and Managing Partner Marek Wojnar and Associate Magdalena Piotrowska were involved as well.
CMS has advised Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Jedwabny & Brzozowska Legal has advised Polish family company Polcom Group on financing provided by the former to the latter for the construction of a Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Edinburgh. The value of the project is GBP 14 million.
The hotel in Edinburgh, which is co-owned by Polcom Group, officially opened on November 22, 2017. Ultimately it will be financed by three entities: Polcom Group, Fundusz Ekspansji Zagranicznej, and BGK, which provided 60 percent of the financing (GBP 8.5 million). Polcom and FEZ, managed by PFR TFI, will take up 51 percent and 49 percent of shares respectively. Polcom has announced a further investment that may exceed the value of GBP 120 million, meaning it will be the largest Polish investment in the UK.
The CMS Warsaw team advising BGK on the provision of financing for the project was headed by Counsel Tomasz Zwolinski and consisted of Senior Associate Jakub Rachwol and Trainee Advocate Maciej Dobrzelak, working in cooperation with the CMS Banking and Finance Team in Edinburgh.
The Jedwabny & Brzozowska Legal team advising the Polcom Group consisted of Partners Tomasz Jedwabny and Magdalena Brzozowska. Pinsent Mason Edinburgh was also involved for the Polcom Group with respect to security documents governed by English/Scottish law.
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Mrowiec Fialek and Partners has advised private equity fund ESO Capital on its divestment of Tempo Finanse Sp. z o.o. to Everest Finanse S.A.
Tempo Finanse, which operates under the Finan brand, offers cash loans to individual clients.
The Mrowiec Fialek team was led by Partner Miroslaw Fialek and included Senior Associates Michal Faderski and Anna Paszek and Associates Malgorzata Banaszkiewicz and Michal Nowodworski.
KKLW is advising Lootena in a PPP project involving the construction of multi-story car parks that is a part of a revitalization plan in Lodz.
According to KKLW, “we appealed to Poland’s National Chamber of Appeal, as some of the actions undertaken by the City of Lodz were, in our opinion, questionable. During the arbitrage proceedings the City of Lodz accepted our claims. This means the next step of the project can begin – negotiations on economic, legal, and technical matters.”
The KKLW team is led by Senior Partner Jacek Kosinski.
CMS is advising Maxima Grupe UAB, owner of the Maxima network of grocery stores in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and a network of Aldik supermarkets in Poland, on an investment agreement signed with Emperia Holding S.A., an owner of the leading Stokrotka supermarket chain in Poland, which then became the basis for a tender offer. Greenberg Traurig advised Emperia on the matter.
Founded in 1990, Emperia is a prominent independent chain of supermarkets operating under the Stokrotka banner. According to CMS, “having helped shape the Polish retail industry in Poland for the past 27 years, it operates in the retail and FMCG sector, with 410 stores located in residential areas, as well as small and large shopping centers.”
CMS reports that the firm’s scope of work on this transaction “included a due diligence investigation, negotiations of an investment agreement, and preparation of documentation related to a tender offer for Emperia shares. Signing of the investment agreement marks the end of Emperia’s selection of a strategic investor, which started in May 2017.”
The CMS transaction team was led by Partner Jakub Marcinkowski, with support from Senior Associates Olga Czyzycka and Rafał Kluziak.
The Greenberg Traurig team was led by Partner Ireneusz Matusielanski and included Local Partner Tomasz Kacymirow, Senior Associate Adam Puchalski, and Associates Magdalena Zmysłowska and Marek Kłeczek.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges has announced that Warsaw-based lawyers Marcin Iwaniszyn and Filip Uzieblo were among the ten new Partners promoted worldwide, effective January 1, 2018.
Iwaniszyn practices in the Corporate Department and is Co-Head of the Banking & Finance practice. He joined Weil in 2005 and graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw in 2006. he qualified as a legal advisor in 2010. According to the firm, he is “a specialist in domestic and international offerings of debt securities, banking and finance law and capital markets transactions, [and he] has considerable experience advising both issuers and offerers on issuances of bonds, including secured and convertible bonds.” According to Weil, “he also has broad experience in advising financial institutions and lenders on project finance and working capital funding and complex refinancing deals [and] has led several finance projects related to tender offers for the sale of shares.”
Filip Uzieblo is also in the Corporate Department of the Warsaw office of Weil and is Head of Real Estate. He joined Weil in 1999 and graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw in 2000. Uzieblo specializes, according to Weil, “in corporate law, M&A deals, private equity, privatization and restructuring transactions,” and the firm says that “he has advised shareholders, sellers, targets, industry investors, private equity funds and institutional financial investors with regard to a wide range of transactions, [as well as representing] many leading international real estate investors in complex M&A transactions.”
“It is with great pleasure that I introduce our new partners and counsel,” said Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf, talking about all the lawyers included in the firm’s global promotion round. “They embody the Weil hallmarks of passion, creativity and business acumen and will further strengthen our ability to effectively partner with clients to tackle complex, challenging matters. They are based in nearly half of our offices worldwide and practice across our Corporate, Litigation, and Business Finance & Restructuring departments.”
Dentons has advised Bounty Brands, part of the South African Coast2Coast fund, in connection with its acquisition of the Unitop group, a Polish manufacturer of sesame snaps, halva, and other confectionary products and snacks. SSW advised the Unitop Group on the deal.
Unitop employs 450 people. It exports to many European countries as well as to North America, Australia and Asia.
“We are honored to have had this opportunity to work with Coast2Coast, a dynamic player in Poland’s private equity market. This is the second transaction we have handled for the client this year, on the back of our work on the acquisition financing of the Krosno glassworks,” said Partner Piotr Dulewicz, Head of Dentons’ Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions teams in Poland, referring to the October 2016 acquisition of the Krosno S.A. in liquidation bankruptcy (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 10, 2016).
The deal is part of a recent flurry of acquisitions by Coast2Coast in Poland, including its acquisition of the Wielkopolska Wytwornia Zywnosci Profi manufacturer of pâtés and soups (reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 30, 2017), its acquisition of the Stella Pack household products producer (reported by CEE Legal Matters on November 17, 2017), and its acquisition of Polish gluten-free manufacturer Bezgluten (also reported on November 17, 2017).
The Dentons team on the Unitop acquisition included Partners Piotr Dulewicz and Pawel Grabowski and Senior Associate Michal Wasiak from the Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions teams in Warsaw, as well as Partner Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Baranska and Senior Associate Anna Gulinska from the Competition and Antitrust team.
The SSW team was led by Partner Pawel Chyb, working with Senior Associate Katarzyna Slarz, Partner Maciej Duch, and Associates Roza Warszawik and Pawel Czyzewski. The firm’s Tax team was led by Partner Patrycja Gozdziowska and Przemek Szabat and Associate Przemek Szabat.
Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland has advised Biomed-Lublin WSiS S.A. on the sale of rights to the Lakcid, Lakcid Forte, and Lakcid L brands to Polpharma. The net value of the transaction is PLN 17 million.
According to Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland, “the buyer has received full registration documentation of these products and also acquired trademark rights and all intellectual property rights associated with them. But this does not mean that the seller, a serum and vaccine manufacturer based in Lublin, Poland, will stop making these products. Biomed-Lublin will continue producing Lakcid and delivering it to Polpharma for at least the next five years.”
Polish pharmaceutical firm Biomed-Lublin Wytwornia Surowic i Szczepionek S.A. has been operating since 1944. According to Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland, “the firm’s main categories of products are (1) medicinal products – prescription drugs, (2) medicinal products – OTC, (3) dietary supplements – preparations for enriching the diet with probiotic bacteria, (4) medical devices and laboratory reagents, and (5) blood products. The company has been listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange since January 26, 2015.”
The coordinator of the project for Wierzbowski Eversheds Sutherland was Partner Marta Gadomska-Goląb, head of the firm’s Consumer Product Compliance & Life Sciences practice. The team also included Counsel Renata Patoka, Partner Pawel Lipski, and Of Counsel Daria Gesicka, as well as Lawyers Blazej Grochowski and Karolina Redlin and Associate Zofia Piekarczyk from the firm’s Consumer Product Compliance & Life Sciences practice.
Crido Legal has advised the Hungarian Investment Fund on its approximately EUR 70 million acquisition of the Torun Plaza shopping center in Poland from Plaza Centers N.V. CMS advised the sellers on the deal. The transaction closed on November 20, 2017.
Crido Legal describes Torun Plaza, which has been in operation since 2011, as “one of the largest shopping centers in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship.” According to the, “with 40,000 square meters of retail and service space, 120 shops offer goods and services of many well-known brands, such as, among others, TK Maxx, H&M, Zara, SportsDirect.com, Sinsay, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Monnari, Carry, Tous, Pandora, Douglas, Rossmann, Hebe, New Yorker, Reserved, Cropp Town, House, Home&You, Orsay, Sizeer, and Toys’R’Us. Customers can also use its 1,133 parking spaces.”
The Crido Legal team included Counsel Joanna Winter-Szymanska and Trainee Lawyer Pawel Sliwka, who the firm reports “were responsible for the legal aspects of the transaction,” and Filip Badziak and Magdalena Szkudlarek, “who handled all financing issues.” Tax support was provided by Crido Taxand’s tax advisers Mateusz Stanczyk and Monika Lewandowska.
CMS’s team was led by Counsel Katarzyna Debinska-Pietrzyk and included Associate Jagoda Guzik and Trainee Advocate Justyna Tokarzewska.