Category: Poland

Mrowiec Fialek and Partners has advised private equity fund Argus Capital and GTX Hanex Plastic sp. z o.o. on Argu’s divestment of GTX Hanex to Marpol S.A. The BIL Law Firm advised the buyers on the deal, which remains contingent on approval by the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection. 

According to Mrowiec Fialek and Partners, the firm “provided comprehensive advice on the transaction, including preparing the company for divestment, carrying out a competitive auction process, as well as negotiating and executing the transaction documents.”

The Mrowiec Fialek and Partners team consisted of Partner Miroslaw Fialek, Senior Associates Anna Paszek, Pawel Cyganik, and Anna Pawluk-Grau, and Associate Malgorzata Banaszkiewicz.

Tomasz Bil reportedly led the BIL Law Firm team. He did not reply to our inquiries.

WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr has promoted Competition specialist Bartosz Turno to Partner.

Turno specializes in Polish and EU competition law, state aid law, and matters related to administrative proceedings and administrative court proceedings. He advises clients on competition law matters including issues regarding cartels, leniency programs, distribution agreements, practices constituting abuse of a dominant position (especially within regulated sectors), merger control filings, and consumer protection law. He also works on cases concerning the combat of unfair competition and European law.

According to WKB, “in recent years, he has worked on significant projects for British American Tobacco (representing it before the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in respect of its successful merger control filing with respect to the acquisition of the Chic Group), DOSSCHE MILS (during proceedings before the President of the OCCP concerning authorization for a concentration that consisted of the sale of one of its Polish subsidiaries to Cargill), Raben Group (with respect to the development of a compliance program and its implementation in 10 jurisdictions across Europe) and PZU (with respect to a decision of the President of the OCCP, which is still non-final, that obliged the insurance company to pay a record fine for allegedly being part of a cartel (PLN 56 million). 

Bartosz was a Senior Expert at the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection in Poznan from 2004-2006, and an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Belgium in 2007. At the end of that year he joined WKB. He received his Master’s of Law from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan in 2003 and followed that up with an LL.M. from King’s College London in 2010 and a Ph.D. in Legal Sciences from the Adam Mickiewicz University in 2012.

WKB also announced that lawyers Marta Midloch, Anna Wyrzykowska, and Jan Wszolek had been promoted to Counsel at the firm. According to a WKB’s announcement on the four promotions: “these well-deserved elevations strengthen some of WKB’s leading and most rapidly developing practices, and will help both fulfill our clients’ growing needs in these areas, as well as further establish our firm’s strong position on the legal services market.”

BSWW Legal & Tax has advised Rank Progress on the EUR 26.7 million sale of Galeria Swidnicka to the Catalyst Capital Fund (an SPV of Calioppe Investments). The Solivan firm advised the seller on the deal.

Galeria Swidnicka is located in Swidnica, Poland, in the place of a former electrotechnical facility. According to BSWW, “in terms of its design, the investment is consistent with the industrial city district where it is located. Red clinker bricks pay a tribute to Lower Silesia tradition and soft lines balance out the austerity of the project.” The shopping center covers a total area of 24,000 square meters, claims floor space of 15,600 square meters, and has 400 parking places for customers. Major tenants include Apart, CCC, Cropptown, Diverse, Esotiq & Henderson, House, Sinsay, Mohito, Monnari, Orsay, Reserved, Giacomo Conti, Wojas, Big Star, Empik, Intermarche, Kolporter, Media Expert, Pepco, JYSK, Rossman, and ITAKA.

“It is not the first project of this type handled by us for Rank Progress in 2016,” said BSWW Managing Partner Michal Wielhorski, who led the firm’s team on the deal. “We are glad that once more the leader in the construction of large-format buildings trusted us and appreciated out knowledge, experience and skills in terms of major real estate transactions.”

Wielhorski was supported by BSWW lawyers Mateusz Prokopiuk, Marcelina Daszkiewicz, and Izabela Zmijewska.

The Solivan team was led by Partners Bartosz Miszkurka and Dariusz Zboch, supported by Partner Kamil Zurek and Justyna Chabocka.

Image Source: Swidnica24.pl

Gessel has advised Bank BGZ BNP Paribas S.A., cooperating with Biuro Inwestycji Kapitalowych, on its investment in CCIG Group Sp. z o.o.

According to Gessel, “as a result of this transaction, Bank BGZ BNP Paribas S.A. became a minority shareholder of CCIG Group, and the parties shall cooperate with a view to further growth of the group – also by way of issue of CCIG Group convertible bonds which shall be acquired by the Bank.”

The CCIG Group is a prominent provider of call center services in Central and Eastern Europe, operating over 3,000 work stations. 

The Gessel team was supervised by Partner Malgorzata Badowska and included Advocate Karol Sokoł, Attorney Inarda Bielinska, and Trainee Attorney Krzysztof Jasinski, working under the leadership of Advocate Michal Bochowicz. 

FKA Furtek Komosa Aleksandrowicz has advised mBank SA on the sale of a portfolio of non-performing receivables towards corporate clients (and related receivables owed to a government financial institution) with a face value of over PLN 125 million. FKA describes the unidentified buyer of the portfolio as “a securitization closed-end investment fund belonging to one of the leading groups in the debt management market.”

FKA reports that its advice to mBank “included all stages of the process initiated in the third quarter of 2016, from the preparation of the transaction legal framework and timetable, correspondence to potential buyers, the receivable sale process letters and other transaction documentation, through assistance to the special sale committee of the Bank when reviewing the submitted bids in particular stages and selection of the buyer, to negotiation of the receivables sale agreement and the transaction finalization in December 2016.”

The FKA Financial Institutions and Restructuring team was led by Partner Leszek Rydzewski, assisted by Senior Associate Bartlomiej Bronisz and Tax Partner Mariusz Aleksandrowicz.

FKA informed CEE Legal Matters that it was not allowed to identify the buyer on the deal, or its counsel, “due to strict information policies of the buyer organization.” 

Gessel has advised Good Food Products on a credit agreement with Bank BGZ BNP Paribas signed on December 19, 2016. 

Founded in 1991, Good Food Products is, according to Gessel, one of the largest producers of rice bread in the world and “one of the pioneers of the trend of healthy eating habits in Poland.”

The Gessel team was supervised by Partner Margaret Badowska and led by Partner Carolina Turko.

Gessel did not reply to an inquiry about counsel for BNP Paribas.

Image Source: goodfood.pl

The Warsaw office of Greenberg Traurig has advised Galeria Warminska spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia sp.k. on the sale of the Galeria Warminska shopping center to a Polish SPV controlled by Rockastle. Hogan Lovells reportedly advised the buyers on the deal. 

Galeria Warminska has a commercial area of approximately 42.7 thousand square meters and is home to 170 shops, as well as a cinema, cafes, restaurants, a fitness club, and a recreation area for children.  

The Greenberg Traurig team was led by Partner Radomil Charzynski, supported by Associate Kamil Majewski.

Hogan Lovells did not reply to an inquiry about its work on the matter.   

Image Source: galeria-warminska.pl

SSW Spaczynski, Szczepaniak & Partners has advised Waimea Holding SA on the sale of warehouse and production center in the North-West Logistic Park in Szczecin to the Exeter Property Group. Dentons advised the buyer on the deal. The transaction value amounts to approximately PLN 180 million (approximately EUR 41.2 million).

Waimea Holding is a developer specializing in building and renting modern warehouse, production, and office space. Exeter Property Group is a US fund specialized in acquisitions, leasing, and property management of logistics and industry.

The transaction includes four warehouses with a total area of 64,000 square meters, all 100% leased. 

The SSW team was led by Partners Maciej Duch and Sebastian Ponikowski.

The Dentons team was led by Partner Krzysztof Sajewski, supported by Counsel Marcin Swierzewski and Senior Associate Michal Prochwicz.   

DZP has acted for Enea Wytwarzanie in negotiating a five month extension to a contract to build a 1075 MW energy unit in Kozienice with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe and Polimex-Mostostal. As a result, the deadline for completion of the energy unit has been extended to December 19, 2017. Dentons advised Polimex-Mostostal on the deal.

The parties signed the annex on December 23, 2016, stating that the extension was “for objective reasons beyond the control of the contract parties.” The value of the Kozienice unit construction has not changed at PLN 5.1 billion.

DZP’s Infrastructure & Energy Practice team was led by Partner Marcin Krakowiak and included Partner Tomasz Darowski, Counsel Wojciech Hartung, and Senior Associate Jerzy Sawicki.

The Dentons team was led by Partner Tomasz Janas. 

Editor’s Note: After this article was published, Dentons announced that Tomasz Janas had been supported by Counsel Michal Drozdowicz and Senior Associate Malgorzata Bluszcz-Riccardi.

SSW Spaczynski, Szczepaniak & Partners has advised Vantage Development S.A. on its issuance of O-series bonds with face value of PLN 50 million.

According to SSW, Vantage Development S.A. focuses its operations primarily on the Wroclaw market, “where it is carrying out a number of projects, including housing (e.g. Centauris, Promenady Wroclawskie), office and commercial developments. The projects are located in attractive districts of Wroclaw. Owing to ingenious architecture design and convenient infrastructure, they shape and develop the public space by creating a unique, comfortable places to live and work in while creating the future communities of the city.”

The SSW team was coordinated by Partner Szymon Okon.