Greenberg Traurig has advised BNP Paribas Group on its acquisition of the core banking operations of Raiffeisen Bank Polska from Raiffeisen Bank International. RBI was reportedly advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges on the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to the execution of the final documentation and various regulatory approvals. The price for the core banking business plus certain digitalization projects was set at PLN 3.25 billion.
The newly acquired operations will be combined with those of Bank BGZ BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas's Polish subsidiary. The transaction will be implemented through a demerger of Raiffeisen Bank Polska by spin-off of its core business to Bank BGZ BNP Paribas. The core business excludes the foreign currency retail mortgage loan portfolio and a limited amount of other assets.
According to Greenberg Traurig, "the completion of the transaction will further strengthen Bank BGZ BNP Paribas’ position as the sixth largest bank operating on the Polish market."
Greenberg Traurig has advised BNP Paribas Group in structuring and negotiating the transaction, and will continue to assist BNP Paribas and Bank BGZ BNP Paribas in the regulatory approvals and demerger process. The firm's team was supervised by Warsaw-based Senior Partner Lejb Fogelman and led by London-based Partner Stephen Horvath and Warsaw-based Partner Lukasz Pawlak. The team also included Partners Michal Fereniec, Ireneusz Matusielanski, Robert Gago and Marek Kozaczuk, Local Partners Karolina Dunin-Wilczynska, Anna Halas-Krawczyk and Tomasz Kacymirow, Senior Associates Malgorzata Pasnik, Maciej Pietrzak, Magdalena Zmysłowska, Wojciech Ostapowicz, Maciej Kacymirow, Ewa Tabor-Maciejewska, Radoslaw Pawluk, and Piotr Smolarczyk, and Associates Mateusz Slizewski, Grzegorz Socha, Natalia Wołkowycka and Karolina Woronko.
Editor's Note: After this article was published Weil, Gotshal & Manges confirmed that it had advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG on the sale. The firm's team included Partners Lukasz Gasinski, Robert Krasnodebski, and Marcin Iwaniszyn, Legal Advisors Jacek Zawadzki, Michal Bobrzynski, and Bartosz Gryglewski, Advocate Katarzyna Lukaszewicz, Associate Marzena Iskierka, and Tax Advisor Marek Kanczew.
