On January 13th, 2017, CEELM reported that Skanska had handed over its Nordic Light office complex in Budapest to Erste Alapkezelo Zrt. We invited Gabriella Delcsev, the Legal Manager at Skanska Hungary, to describe her team's work on the divestment.
CEELM: What were the main aspects you and your in-house legal team dealt with during the sale of the Nordic Light office complex in Budapest? Was this specific transaction different in any way from others you have worked on?
G.D: Skanska has its own CEE divestment standard, created based on its entire experience related to transactions, and this was followed closely. For each divestment Skanska sets up transaction teams, with dedicated members. In case of Nordic Light the team was coordinated by Mr. Adrian Karczewicz, Skanska CDE Transactions Director, and me.
CEELM: What was Dentons' mandate in this sale?
G.D: Dentons represented Skanska from the seller’s legal perspective, from signing the Letter of Intent, through legal Due Diligence, until signing of the Sales and Purchase Agreement, advising on legal aspects of the transaction and drafting the documents.
CEELM: We have reported on several Skanska deals in the past and different law firms were involved in each of them. Does the company have a panel of preferred firms to work with or do you select firms on a one-off basis for each deal?
G.D: Dentons was chosen to advise us in Nordic Light’s divestment process after the tendering that we did with this scope.
CEELM: Why did you opt to use Dentons on this specific matter?
G.D: We are eager to collaborate with companies from all over the world, always having in mind our values. It is important for us to find partners that share the same values, have high-professional experience in the field that they are acting in and support us in delivering the best value in our projects.
CEELM: Did this transaction involve law elements from other jurisdictions or was it purely based on Hungarian law? Did Skanska offices in other jurisdictions assist or consult with you on this transaction in any way?
G.D: The transaction was made under Hungarian law, therefore legally speaking, Skanska offices in other jurisdiction were not involved in the divestment. What we do have, as mentioned also previously, is a mixed and dedicated team for this kind of projects.
