SMM Legal has assisted PKN Orlen prepare for and make its July 3, 2019 notification to the European Commission in Brussels of its intent to acquire Grupa Lotos S.A., which the firm reports is "believed to be the biggest merger deal in the entire history of the Polish economy."
In the notification process SMM Legal worked in a consortium with the Brussels offices of the EUCLID and Gide law firms.
CEE Legal Matters first reported on the deal on May 23, 2018 According to SMM Legal, the deal is designed to "build a strong, consolidated corporation capable of competing against international players." The firm reports that "the merger requires a green light from the European Commission, which will examine the risk of potential distortions to competition arising from the deal. This is the key moment for the transaction, and was preceded by a number of pre-notification activities carried out over the last year and a half."
"PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos share a number of markets," said SMM Legal Managing Partner Maciej Mataczynski, who leads the firm's concentration-dedicated team. "Our goal is to convince the European Commission that the proposed transaction model ensures the compliance of the merger with competition law."
Editor's Note: In July, 2020, SMM Legal announced that on July 14, 2020 the European Commission granted its consent to PKN Orlen's conditional concentration with Grupa Lotos. According to the firm, "this is the first decision of this kind in Poland and probably the largest M&A transaction in the history of the Polish economy as such. The procedure lasted for over one year, and the project team was managed by Maciej Mataczynski." According to SMM Legal, it worked "in collaboration with lawyers from Gide, Euclid Law, and Geradin Partners."
