CMS has advised Work Service S.A. on the sale of IT Kontrakt sp. z o.o. to Oaktree Capital Management (UK) LLP, a private equity fund acting together with Cornerstone Partners sp. z o.o. The value of the transaction was just under PLN 147 million and Work Service S.A. intends to use the proceeds to finance further development of its core business and strengthen its presence in CEE.
A preliminary purchase agreement was executed on March 31, but the deal required Polish antimonopoly clearance and the fulfilment of other conditions precedent. Those were met in June 2017, allowing the deal to close on June 30.
IT Kontrakt, a company dealing with the outsourcing of IT professionals, had been part of the Work Service Group – the largest provider of comprehensive HR services in CEE – since 2012. Present in 16 markets outside Poland, Work Service Group specializes in personnel consultancy services, HR restructuring, recruitment, and staff outsourcing. It is listed on the Warsaw and London Stock Exchanges.
The scope of CMS’s assignment in the transaction included advising on the sale of IT Kontrakt, the deal structure, and the fulfilment of conditions precedent. The firm's Warsaw-based team included Partner Ireneusz Piecuch, Senior Associate Rafal Kluziak, Associates Jakub Szczygiel and Karolina Stepaniuk, and Counsel Beata Barwinska.
CMS did not reply to an inquiry about counsel for Oaktree on the deal.
