Category: Poland

Gessel has advised the Avallon MBO fund on its acquisition of sports and branded apparel retailer SAT.

The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.

Avallon is an independent Polish private equity manager that describes itself as “a pioneer of the management buyout market in Poland,” having participated in over 100 such transactions to date.

SAT, registered in Poznan, is a multi-brand retailer of sports and fashion apparel developing the S’portofino brand. With over 120 brands in its portfolio, it operates an online store in eight languages and showrooms in Warsaw, Poznan, Katowice, Wroclaw, Gdynia, and Polanica Zdroj.

Back in 2021, Gessel also advised Avallon MBO on the sale of MPS International (as reported by  CEE Legal Matters on November 30, 2021).

The Gessel team included Partners Maciej Kozuchowski and Bernadeta Kasztelan-Swietlik, Senior Associates Katarzyna Olszak and Majka Rucinska, and Associate Karolina Olszewska.

Gessel did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

On June 29, 2023, Greenberg Traurig announced that KI Chemistry’s acquisition of Ciech shares in a voluntary tender offer (reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 3, 2023) had closed.

According to the firm, “as a result of the transaction, KI Chemistry acquired shares in Ciech S.A., representing 11.78% of the company’s share capital, thereby increasing its stake in the chemical company from the previous 58.22% to around 70%. The value of the transaction and the acquired shares amounted to nearly PLN 337 million.”

As previously reported, Greenberg Traurig had advised KI Chemistry on the acquisition of Ciech shares, while Gide advised KI Chemistry on the financing for the transaction.

KI Chemistry is part of the Kulczyk Investments group, an international investment company.

Ciech is an international chemical group with factories in Poland, Germany, and Romania. It employs over 3,000 people throughout the EU.

“The acquisition of shares under the tender offer is part of a long-term strategic financial investment by KI Chemistry,” Greenberg Traurig announced back in May. “It is KI Chemistry’s intention to continue to support Ciech in its current and planned business activities, and to take steps to strengthen its market and financial position by way of establishing uniform and efficient corporate governance in processes related to the implementation of strategic decisions.”

Greenberg Traurig’s updated team included Partner Rafal Sienski, Senior Associates Grzegorz Socha and Michal Baldowski, Associate Lukasz Chmura, and Junior Associate Szymon Swierszcz.

Gide’s team included Partner Dariusz Tokarczuk, Of Counsel Marta Karminska, Counsel Dawid Van Kedzierski, and Associate Pawel Wasiel.

Sobczynski and Partners has advised Tar Heel Capital on the acquisition – on behalf of its Dentity dental chain – of a 70% stake in Warsaw’s Dental Medicenter. Michaliszyn Koska Saluda advised the Dental Medicenter shareholders.

According to Sobczynski and Partners, through the acquisition, the Dentity dental chain run by THC will gain two new facilities in Warsaw. “The decision to invest the Dentity group in Warsaw is part of the long-term strategy of the THC fund, which has been developing regional dental networks since 2020. The group already includes 16 dental centers located in six provinces in Poland.”

Back in 2022, Sobczynski and Partners had advised Pozdental on the sale of the enterprise to Tar Heel Capital’s Dentity Group (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on July 18, 2022). 

The Sobczynski and Partners team included Managing Partner Michal Sobczynski, Attorney-at-Law Kamil Misiak, and Trainee Attorney-at-Law Jakub Krzywon.

The MKS Partners team included Partners Arkadiusz Michaliszyn, Emanuel Koska, and Agnieszka Saluda.

Balicki Czekanski Gryglewski Lewczuk has advised Play subsidiary Redge Technologies on its acquisition of MediaTool from its founders, including Wladyslaw Prazmowski.

Redge Technologies is a provider of linear and on-demand TV systems to media and telecommunications businesses. 

MediaTool is an IT company that specializes in cloud-based TV channel management solutions.

The BCGL team included Partner Jacek Balicki and Senior Associate Karolina Bressa.

Gessel has advised Wroclaw-based biopharmaceutical company Pure Biologics on receiving a PLN 12 million investment from ACRX Investments Limited.

ACRX is a European-based distribution and acquisition company.

According to Gessel, “the transaction was executed on the basis of an investment agreement and a loan agreement.”

Earlier in 2023, Gessel advised Pure Biologics on its public offering of shares (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 5, 2023).

The Gessel team included Partner Krzysztof Marczuk, Managing Associate Michal Wielinski and Magdalena Szeplik, and Associates Dawid Marciniak and Michal Dunikowski.

Gessel did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Joanna Krakowiak, Jakub Macek, Wojciech Marszalkowski, Adam Pawlisz, Lukasz Sliwinski, and Maciej Zych make Contract Partner at Wardynski & Partners in Poland.

Krakowiak coordinates the work of the Life Sciences & Healthcare practice at Wardynski & Partners. According to the firm, “she has significant experience in the regulatory aspects of M&A, including healthcare regulations.” She has been with Wardynski & Partners since 2002.

Macek is a tax law expert. According to the firm, “he provides legal support for transactions in shares, enterprises, organized parts of enterprises, and real estate.” He has been with the firm since 2017.

According to Wardynski & Partners, Marszalkowski handles “tax disputes, fiscal criminal matters, and international tax law.” He has been with the firm since 2013, bar a four-month stint with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 2018.

Pawlisz, a former Counsel, is an M&A expert focusing on “share deals and asset deals, joint-venture projects, and other forms of restructuring and financing of enterprises,” according to Wardynski & Partners. He has been with the firm since 2021. Before that, he spent over two years with SSW Pragmatic Solutions as a Senior Associate. He started his career in 2014 with DZP, where he spent five years.

Sliwinski is a corporate law expert. He has been with Wardynski & Partners since 2005. Before that, he spent two years in-house with Hotele Warszawskie Syrena.

Finally, Zych, a former Senior Associate, is a commercial disputes expert. According to the firm, “he is particularly involved in complex litigation related to real estate construction projects.” He has been with Wardynski & Partners since 2012.

Crido has advised safety training company RelyOn Nutec on its investment in GoRopes.

GoRopes is a Gdansk training center specializing in courses for the wind energy sector.

According to Crido, the investment is “RelyOn Nutec’s first project in the Baltic region and another step in expanding the group’s offer in the rapidly growing offshore wind power sector. Launching the training center in Poland is a step forward in the growth of RelyOn Nutec which has built a strong position in the North Sea. The global group has 13 training centers in Europe, including the UK, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.”

The Crido team included Partner Przemyslaw Furmaga, Senior Associates Andrzej Dunikowski and Karolina Kalinowska, Associate Filip Sobocinski, and Junior Associates Iga Klukowska, Michal Tokarz, and Monika Walczak.

Crido did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

DWF has successfully represented Mostostal Warszawa before the Regional Court in Warsaw in a dispute with one of its contractors regarding a contract for the construction of a specialized installation.

Mostostal Warszawa is a WSE-listed construction company in Poland, part of the Acciona Capital Group. Acting as a general contractor, it carries out investments in all key sectors of the construction market in Poland and abroad.

According to DWF, the Regional Court in Warsaw, in first-instance proceedings, “ruled in favor of Mostostal Warszawa S.A. by dismissing the claim against its client in its entirety […] In particular, the court approved [of the firm’s arguments] regarding the statute of limitations of the claim covered by the statement of claim and the impossibility of interrupting the course of the statute of limitations by means of a sham, i.e., not containing settlement proposals, [or a] motion for conciliation.”

The DWF team was led by Counsel Michal Szumbarski and included Associate Przemyslaw Budny, among others.

Greenberg Traurig has advised the PCF Group on its public offering of newly issued shares. 

The PCF Group owns the People Can Fly game studio which was founded in 2002. People Can Fly has developed such games as Painkiller, Bulletstorm, Gears of War: Judgment, and Outriders.

According to Greenberg Traurig, “the newly issued shares were almost entirely subscribed for by Krafton, a South Korean video game developer, pursuant to the investment agreement concluded in March this year. The value of the transaction amounted to almost PLN 135 million.”

Greenberg Traurig had also advised PCF on the Krafton investment agreement earlier this year (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on April 11, 2023).

The Greenberg Traurig team included Partner Rafal Sienski, Senior Associate Grzegorz Socha, and Junior Associates Kamil Nagawski and Szymon Swierszcz.

Greenberg Traurig did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

On June 21, 2023, Poland’s Ro Radwan-Roehrenschef Petruczenko announced the opening of its new office in Rzeszow – the firm’s second after its Warsaw headquarters.

Ro has been operating in the Polish market since 2010, initially focusing on dispute resolution. Since then, the firm developed an interdisciplinary team operating in the areas of construction law, white-collar crime, insurance, and corporate and M&A, among others.

“Ro’s construction practice, which has become one of our flagships, is now attracting interest from clients all over Poland. The increasing range of our projects and the need for our permanent presence in the Podkarpackie region led to the opening of a branch in Rzeszow,” the firm announced.

Rzeszow is the largest city in southeastern Poland. “The city has been strengthening its economic position for more than 30 years, including through the creation of Special Economic Zones in the Podkarpackie voivodeship,” Ro Managing Partner Marcin Radwan-Roehrenschef commented. “Currently, Rzeszow’s role has increased further – the city has become a link between Ukraine and the countries of the European Union.”