DLA Piper has advised Mid Europa Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in GWD Concept Displate from its founders, Credo Ventures, and Miton Capital. Baker McKenzie advised the sellers on the transaction, which is expected to close before the end of the year.
According to DLA Piper, “Displate, founded in 2013 by Karol Banaszkiewicz, Edward Ruszczyc, and Jacek Swigost (who remain significant minority shareholders of the business), is a leading global online metal prints marketplace that connects more than 40,000 visual creators and more than 30 licensed brands to a customer base of enthusiasts in more than 50 countries. The company is active in a number of verticals including gaming, movies, anime, music, travel, and sport.”
Mid Europa Partners is a private equity firm focused on the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Operating from London, Warsaw, Bucharest, Budapest, and Istanbul, Mid Europa Partners has raised and managed funds of approximately EUR 5.3 billion.
DLA Piper’s team in Warsaw included Partners Jakub Marcinkowski and Ewa Kurowska-Tober, Counsel Rafal Kluziak, Senior Associates Michal Gintowt and Olga Lesniewska, and Associate Jakub Szczygiel.
Baker McKenzie's team in Warsaw included Partners Tomasz Krzyzowski, Piotr Wysocki, and Rafal Zakrzewski, Senior Associates Radzym Wojcik and Monika Gebel, Associates Pawel Jaros, Piotr Maksymiuk, and Michal Nocon, Lawyers Chrystian Poszwinski and Bartlomiej Boguszewski, and Junior Associate Jakub Zebrowski. Its team also included, in Prague, Partner Tomas Skoumal, Tax Specialist Eliska Kominkova, and Lawyer Michal Simcina, and in Luxembourg, Partner Jean-Francois Findling and Associates Marine Descroix and Julien Schraub.
Editor's note: After this article was published, DLA Piper informed CEE Legal Matters that it had also advised Mid Europa Partners on a loan facility agreement with Bank Pekao to finance the acquisition. The firm's team included Partner Mariusz Hyla, Senior Associate Jakub Zienkiewicz, and Associate Marta Piotrkowicz.
Subsequently, on December 14, Clifford Chance announced that it had advised Bank Pekao on a bilateral facility financing the acquisition. The firm's team included Partners Andrzej Stosio and Jared Grubb, Counsel Irena Floras-Goode, Senior Associate Aleksandra Rudzinska, and Associates Natalia Karasiewicz, Mateusz Ciechomski, and Piotr Weclawowicz.