On November 30, 2022, the BLS-CEE Law Firm announced that Wirtualna Polska’s acquisition of the Szallas Group from Portfolion Capital Partners and private individuals (reported by CEE Legal Matters on September 16, 2022) had closed.
According to BLS-CEE, "one of the most substantial digital acquisitions of recent years in the Central European tourist sector has been finalized: Wirtualna Polska, registered on the Polish stock exchange, has purchased the Szallas Group, which operates Szallas.hu, among others. The accommodation booking site plays a major role in the Hungarian market and has now been purchased for EUR 82 million. Plans include adapting the successful Hungarian model to regional players to allow them to compete with global platforms in the tourism sector."
As previously reported, DLA Piper advised Wirtualna Polska on the acquisition of the Szallas Group from Portfolion Capital Partners and private individuals. Baker McKenzie advised Portfolion. BLS-CEE advised the Szallas Group.
The Szallas Group owns travel platforms for booking accommodation in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, and Croatia. The group also operates services offering spa packages, hotel discount coupons, tour operator services, and vouchers for tourist attractions.
The Wirtualna Polska Holding is a Warsaw-based public e-commerce company.
Portfolion is a Hungarian venture capital firm.
The BLS-CEE team was led by Partner Erzsebet Szalay.
The DLA Piper team was led by Poland-based Partner Jakub Domalik-Plakwicz and Counsel Marek Kleczek and included Associates Emilia Kalecka, Arkadiusz Karwala, and Kamila Mozdzen, and Junior Associates Dominik Mizerski and Agnieszka Tarasiuk; Hungary-based Partners Andras Posztl, Gabor Molnar, Gabor Fejes, Helga Feher, and Gabor Borbely, Local Partner Zoltan Kozma, Counsel Attila Sari, Senior Associates Gabor Spitz, Blanka Borzsonyi, Daniel Necz, and Imre Beres, Associates Kristof Szeredi and Bettina Bonczok, and Junior Associates Gergo Korodi, Mark Rozsavolgyi, Andor Boros, Fanni Oroszi, Bettina Ujfalusi, Krisztina Varkonyi, and Reka Reisz; Czech Republic-based Partner Miroslav Dubovsky, Senior Associates Petr Samec, Jan Zidek, and Ondrej Chlada, and Associates Jan Metelka and Petr Varvarovsky; Romania-based Counsels Ana-Maria Andronic and Monica Preotescu, Managing Associates Bogdan Buta and Corina Badiceanu, and Associate Diana Nacuta; as well as a team from the firm’s London office.
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Senior Counsel Pal Takacs and included Senior Associate Daniel Orosz.
