Category: Poland

Partners Piotr Nerwinski and Bartosz Nojek have been appointed the Co-Heads of Dentons’ Banking and Finance team in Warsaw, taking over from Mateusz Toczyski who will continue as Global Co-Chair of the Dentons Banking and Finance practice.

Specializing in banking and finance, Nerwinski first joined Dentons in 2014 as a Senior Associate. He was promoted to Counsel, Managing Counsel, and Partner in 2018, 2020, and 2021, respectively. In 2015 and between 2016 and 2017, Nerwinski also served as a Counsel with the EBRD Office of the General Counsel, through a secondment. Earlier, he was a Managing Associate with Deloitte Legal in 2014, and a Lawyer with Wardynski & Partners, from 2010 to 2013. Between 2008 and 2010, Nerwinski was a Lawyer with Rakowski & Partners.

Nojek also focuses on banking and finance as well as corporate and M&A and real estate. He has been with Dentons since 2008, having joined the Dentons legacy firm Salans team as a Paralegal. He was an Associate with the firm between 2009 and 2013, was promoted to Senior Associate in 2014, Counsel in 2016, and made Partner in 2020. In 2016, Nojek was also a Counsel on secondment to the EBRD.

“It is a great honor that Piotr and I are taking over the reins of our team from such an experienced and distinguished partner as Mateusz,” Nojek commented. “For many years, we have worked together on the transactions we have carried out and on strengthening our team. We will continue in the direction we have chosen while pursuing a strategy based on our best experiences.”

“I would like to thank Mateusz for the trust he has placed in us throughout the process of this generational change,” Nerwinski added. “We are taking over the management of a very large team of more than 40 excellent lawyers, which is perceived on the market as a leading advisor in many areas of financing in Poland and the CEE region. Together with Bartosz, we intend to further develop our practice, responding to new client expectations in these dynamic times.”

On May 24, 2023, JDP Drapala & Partners announced that Laumann Group’s acquisition of a majority stake in Ponzio Polska (reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 22, 2022) had closed.

According to JDP, “a closing condition of the transaction was the obtaining of an antimonopoly clearance in relevant markets, especially in Poland.”

The Laumann Group is s family-owned German business. With Veka AG and Gealan being part of the group, the Laumann Group specializes in PVC profile extrusion for windows and doors, PVC facade solutions, and surface technology with over 6,500 employees that operate in 40 locations on four continents.

Italian Ponzio Group company Ponzio Polska is an aluminum systems supplier that employs more than 300 people.

As previously reported, JDP advised the Laumann Group on its acquisition of Ponzio Polska. Andersen and, reportedly, Pomorski Tax Legal Finance and Rapisardi Intellectual Property advised the Ponizio Group.

JDP’s updated team included Partners Marcin Chomiuk and Maciej Chrzan, Counsels Barbara Kaczala, Wiktor Rainka, and Joanna Ostojska-Kolodziej, Senior Associate Anna Nowodworska, Associates Paulina Kucharska, Daria Gromotka, and Amelia Prawda, and Tax Advisor Magdalena Zasiewska.

Andersen’s team included Managing Partner Marcin Matyka, Partner Rafal Ciolek, Senior Associate Bartlomiej Wietrzychowski, and Director Konrad Kleszczewski.

On May 24, 2023, JDP Drapala & Partners announced that Laumann Group’s acquisition of a majority stake in Ponzio Polska (reported by CEE Legal Matters on December 22, 2022) had closed.

According to JDP, “a closing condition of the transaction was the obtaining of an antimonopoly clearance in relevant markets, especially in Poland.”

The Laumann Group is s family-owned German business. With Veka AG and Gealan being part of the group, the Laumann Group specializes in PVC profile extrusion for windows and doors, PVC facade solutions, and surface technology with over 6,500 employees that operate in 40 locations on four continents.

Italian Ponzio Group company Ponzio Polska is an aluminum systems supplier that employs more than 300 people.

As previously reported, JDP advised the Laumann Group on its acquisition of Ponzio Polska. Andersen and, reportedly, Pomorski Tax Legal Finance and Rapisardi Intellectual Property advised the Ponizio Group.

JDP’s updated team included Partners Marcin Chomiuk and Maciej Chrzan, Counsels Barbara Kaczala, Wiktor Rainka, and Joanna Ostojska-Kolodziej, Senior Associate Anna Nowodworska, Associates Paulina Kucharska, Daria Gromotka, and Amelia Prawda, and Tax Advisor Magdalena Zasiewska.

Andersen’s team included Managing Partner Marcin Matyka, Partner Rafal Ciolek, Senior Associate Bartlomiej Wietrzychowski, and Director Konrad Kleszczewski.

Dariusz Dobkowski has joined Kochanski & Partners as an Equity Partner, while Marek Krol joined the firm as a Partner. Markiyan Malskyy and Karol Polosak have been elevated to Equity Partners and Monika Mackowska-Morytz was appointed a Partner, while Managing Partner Piotr Kochanski will Head the firm’s Technology practice.

Joining from KPMG, Dobkowski and Krol will also Head the firm’s Global Commercial practice and Banking & Finance practice, respectively. Dobkowski is a co-founder of KPMG Law in Poland and has been at its helm for over twenty years, before joining Kochanski and Partners. 

Prior to joining Kochanski & Partners, Krol spent four years with KPMG as Partner Associate. Earlier, he spent three years as a Partner with Magnusson and almost six years as a Partner with Chadbourne & Parke. Before that, Krol spent three and a half years with CMS and almost nine years as a Partner with White & Case, between 1998 and 2007. He started his career as a Senior Lawyer with KPMG in 1996.

Malskyy has been with Kochanski & Partners since 2022. Before that, he spent almost 14 years with Arzinger, two of which as a Partner. Earlier, Malskyy spent a year with J&L Consulting and six months with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Paris office. He is Kochanski’s Head of the International Commercial Arbitration practice and the firm’s Ukrainian Desk.

Polosak, a Corporate and M&A specialist, has been with Kochanski & Partners for his entire career, starting in 2010 as a Legal Assistant and becoming a Junior Associate in 2013. In 2014, he became an Associate and, in 2017, a Senior Associate before being promoted to Counsel in 2019 and to Partner in 2021. He leads the firm’s Corporate Transformation and Consolidation practice.

Former Counsel Mackowska-Morytz, an expert in data protection law, compliance, new technologies, and cyber security, has been with Kochanski & Partners since 2019. Prior to that, she spent over a year with Kaczmarczyk Orzechowski Legal Services, two and a half years as a solo practitioner, and over a year with KJP Kurcman Jedrzejewski. She began her career as a Lawyer with Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne, where she spent two years starting in 2011.

“For many years I have been impressed by the visionary development plan that Piotr Kochanski has drawn up for the firm,” Dobkowski commented. “I, therefore, had no hesitation in accepting the offer to join this ambitious project. I see it as a personal challenge, but at the same time I have no doubt about the result in terms of added value for the market, clients, and the firm itself that will come from combining our potential and experience.”

“The firm’s international cooperation and its focus on leading the projects of its global clients provide an ideal environment for implementing client projects around the world,” Krol said. “The current global situation, changes in capital flows, Poland’s changing role in the international arena, and challenges related to environmental protection and sustainable development in the broadest sense pose challenges for lawyers, who also bear a great responsibility for their success.”

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has advised Enterprise Investors on its investment in temperature-controlled logistics provider Goodspeed. Gide advised Goodspeed.

Enterprise Investors is a private equity firm in Central and Eastern Europe, active since 1990.

Goodspeed, established in 2009, is a provider of temperature-controlled logistics services for ready-to-eat meal producers.

According to Gide, Enterprise Investors, acting via the Polish Enterprise Fund VIII, will “acquire 49.8% of the shares in the company. Goodspeed’s founders – Sylwester and Pawel Rypina – will remain its majority shareholders.”

The SSW Pragmatic Solutions team included Partner Marcin Czaprowski and Senior Associate Lukasz Targonski.

Gide’s team included Partner Pawel Grzeskowiak, Senior Associate Wojciech Czyzewski, and Associate Magdalena Zawislak.

Despite a potential recession and high-interest rates, the overall outlook for the Polish market remains optimistic, with robust M&A activity in sectors such as IT, infrastructure, renewable energy, and gaming, according to Clifford Chance Office Managing Partner Agnieszka Janicka.

“M&A activity is a frequent subject of discussion among lawyers in Poland. There is a concern over the question of whether it will maintain its current level or experience a slowdown,” Janicka begins. “There are multiple aspects to consider: the potential impact of a recession, worries over how higher interest rates may affect financing for these transactions, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”

Despite those concerns, it would seem the overall outlook in Poland is positive. “Compared to some other European markets, we have a fairly optimistic outlook on the Polish market,” Janicka continues. “Despite experiencing a decrease in private equity activity this year, Poland has demonstrated some resilience,” she highlights. “Overall, M&A activity remains robust, and financing options for transactions remain accessible. The market is busy and highly transactional, with M&A activity maintaining its strength in comparison to other markets,” she sums up. 

And Janicka highlights that certain sectors show exceptional resilience. “The IT sector and companies, in general, which rely more on technology and intellectual property than physical assets, are among the most active sectors,” she notes. “Additionally, infrastructure, including the plans for the development of a large central airport in Poland, and energy, particularly nuclear and renewable, are areas of significant activity. And other sectors such as gaming are also currently popular.”

Considering those sectors that are doing less well, Janicka believes the country is still well positioned, with its banking sector being relatively secure and restructurings still a way off. “While some sectors are not performing satisfactorily, we have yet to see any signs of significant restructuring,” Janicka says. “Despite the banking sector experiencing a lot of turbulence, it does not necessarily mean that our banking sector is at risk. Although no one can be certain after the Credit Suisse case, overall, our banking sector remains relatively secure,” she notes.

“We are fairly optimistic about the development of the market, and there is a general expectation that the transactional activity will increase towards the end of this year,” Janicka concludes.

DeBenedetti Majewski Szczesniak has advised Fidera Group company Regera Sarl on its EUR 43 million financing for real estate development companies belonging to Cavatina and Resi Capital.

According to DMS, the borrowers run property development activities in Wroclaw and Katowice, Poland.

Fidera Limited is a London-headquartered investment management company.

Resi Capital is a Krakow-headquartered company with three ongoing residential investments in Katowice, Wroclaw, and Lodz.

Cavatina Holding is a Polish office space developer. The group has headquarters in Krakow and operates in other Polish cities, including Warsaw, Lodz, Wroclaw, Gdansk, and Katowice.

The DMS team was led by Partner Wojciech Baranski and included Counsel Magdalena Malocha, Senior Associates Karolina Galwiaczek and Krzysztof Sowinski, and Associate Nadia Herbus.

Dentons has advised GoldenPeaks Capital on obtaining financing from BayernLB for two new portfolios of solar farms in Poland. 

According to Dentons, the projects, Delta and Echo, will have a total capacity of 157 megawatts. “This is another financing for GoldenPeaks Capital, where the revenues of the project companies are based on commercial power purchase agreements, and not an auction-based support system.”

GoldenPeaks Capital, an independent producer of green energy in Europe, has operated in Poland since 2016. Its portfolios in Eastern Europe have a combined capacity of over 2.3 gigawatts of photovoltaic assets.

Dentons’ team included Partners Agnieszka Kulinska and Piotr Nerwinski, Counsel Justyna Jamrozy, Senior Associates Lena Boczkaja and Mikolaj Kepas, and Associates Katarzyna Kaptur, Weronika Lakoma, Julia Krynska, Witold Szpek, Marcin Ratajczak, and Katarzyna Stochnialek.

Dentons did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Clifford Chance has advised lenders Santander Bank Polska, Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Bank Polska Kasa Opieki, and the EBRD on their financing for Gemini Polska. E+H advised Santander Bank Polska. CMS reportedly advised Gemini Polska. 

“The financing included an [export credit agency]-backed facility with the purpose of financing, among other things, the development of an automatic warehouse,” Clifford Chance informed. “The financing was provided by Santander Bank Polska, where OeKB acted as an ECA cover provider and Banco Santander acted as ECA Agent. The revolving financing was granted in the form of a revolving loan from the commercial banks and reverse factoring provided by Santander Factoring, Pekao Faktoring, and Bank Millennium.”

Gemini Polska is a pharmaceutical retailer in Poland operating around 250 pharmacies and a pharmacy e-commerce platform in the country.

The Clifford Chance team included Partners Andrzej Stosio and Grzegorz Namiotkiewicz, Counsels Mateusz Chrusciak and Anna Biala, Senior Associate Wojciech Wator, Junior Associates Aleksandra Bialyszewska and Maria Halasa, and Trainees Joanna Korycinska and Mateusz Leleno, as well as lawyers from the firm’s German offices.

The E+H team was led by Partner Laurenz Liedermann and included Partners Marcus Benes and Ulrike Sehrschoen and Associates Jakob Haider and Niklas Nigl.

Norton Rose Fulbright and Stratulat Albulescu have advised the European Investment Bank on a EUR 104 million financing granted to the Maspex Group.

The Maspex Group is a food industry company in Poland with significant Central and Eastern Europe operations, including in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Latvia.

According to Norton Rose, “the new financing supports the continuation of the sustainable development program and implementation of strategic investments in technologically advanced solutions in the field of energy and raw material efficiency, as well as increasing the efficiency of production and logistics. It will also cover investments in photovoltaic panels and heat pumps. The investments will be made in factories located in Poland (Wadowice, Lowicz, Lublin, Tymbark, Tychy, Wasosz Dolny) and Romania (Valenii de Munte).”

“The planned projects will be implemented in regions covered by the EU’s cohesion policy, support climate protection measures, and decisively strengthen the group’s competitiveness,” Norton Rose announced.

The Norton Rose team included Partner Grzegorz Dyczkowski, Counsel Jacek Smardzewski, and Associate Patryk Gelar.

Stratulat Albulescu’s team included Partner Cristian Vlaicu.