On July 4, DLA Piper announced that Echo Investment’s EUR 56 million sale of three office buildings within its mixed-use Fuzja revitalization project in Lodz to German investment manager KGAL Group (reported by CEE Legal Matters on January 28, 2022) had closed.
Linklaters Advises InfraVia on Acquisition of 50% Stake in Play Group Subsidiary FiberForce
Linklaters has advised InfraVia Capital Partners on the PLN 1.775 billion acquisition of a 50% stake in Play Group subsidiary FiberForce.
Greenberg Traurig and Baker McKenzie Advise Echo Investment on Sale of Office Building in Wroclaw
Greenberg Traurig and Baker McKenzie have advised Echo Investment on the sale of the MidPoint 71 office building in Wroclaw to the Trigea Real Estate Fund.
Dominika Ramirez-Wolkiewicz Joins Gessel as Partner and Head of Tax Law
Former Arena Advisory Partner Dominika Ramirez-Wolkiewicz has joined Gessel as a Partner and Head of the firm’s Tax Law practice.
DZP Announces Four New Partners
Daniel Chojnacki, Piotr Jackowski, Sylwia Kuca, and Damian Szczygielski have been promoted to Partner at Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka, as of July 1, 2022.
Deal 5: Benefit Systems Head of Legal Iwona Rykaczewska-Kuderska on Investment in Lunching.pl
On April 29, 2022, CEE Legal Matters reported that PwC Legal had advised Benefit Systems on its acquisition of 75% of the shares and agreement on the optional acquisition of 25% of shares in Lunching.pl. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Iwona Rykaczewska-Kuderska, Head of Legal at Benefit Systems, to learn more about the acquisition.
Piotr Leonarski Appointed Head of B2RLaw’s Tax Practice
Former B2RLaw Senior Associate Piotr Leonarski has been promoted to Counsel and Head of the firm’s Tax practice.
WKB Advises Energix on Financing for Wind Farm Construction
Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr has advised Energix on a PLN 288 million financing from the EBRD and mBank for the construction of a 56-megawatt wind farm in Poland. Clifford Chance advised the lenders.
Operating a Google Legal Hub in CEE: A TKP Story
The Polish law firm of Traple Konarski Podrecki is in a position of running and maintaining a network of 15 firms, covering 19 jurisdictions, all working in unison for one of the biggest tech companies the world has ever seen – Google. To gain a deeper understanding of how this network of law firms functions and operates, we reached out to TKP Senior Partner Xawery Konarski and Partner Piotr Wasilewski.
Poland: General Trends in the PPP Market
While Polish public entities continue to express an ever-increasing interest in public-private partnerships (PPP) as a method of discharging public tasks, PPP activity has remained disappointingly slow in recent years. As can be seen from the 2009-2021 PPP Market Report by the Ministry of Regional Funds and Policies, just 24 procedures to select a private partner were launched in 2021, with PLN 627 million on the table, resulting in a paltry ten PPP contracts signed, worth PLN 172 million all told.
Partners-You-Trust and DLA Piper Advise on Investment in ReSpo.Vision
Partners-You-Trust has advised a consortium of investors led by FF Venture Capital and RKKVC on their investment in ReSpo.Vision. DLA Piper advised the founders of ReSpo.Vision on the seed round.
WKB and Wolf Theiss Advise on PIP Global Acquisition of Industrial Starter
Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr and Wolf Theiss, working with Fredrikson & Byron, have advised Odyssey Investment Partners and its portfolio company PIP Global Holdings on the acquisition of Industrial Starter and its local subsidiaries in Europe. Perez-Llorca and Chiomenti Studio Legale reportedly also advised the buyer. Adacta reportedly advised the seller.
Turning a Challenging EC Decision Into an Opportunity: The PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos Merger
While the deal looked almost impossible at first, with European Commission officials hawkish about its competition implications, PKN Orlen’s acquisition of Grupa Lotos eventually came to pass. For the two Polish energy leviathans the path towards unification was not an easy one, but that goal became a lot nearer following the EC’s 2020 approval. To learn more about the merger and how it managed to beat the odds we spoke to SMM Legal Managing Partner Maciej Mataczynski and Rymarz Zdort Managing Partner Pawel Rymarz.
Recovery and Resilience Plans in CEE: Overview and Implementation
Entering into force on February 19, 2021, the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility aimed, according to the European Commission, “to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient, and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.” CEE Legal Matters spoke with lawyers from Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania to learn what each country focused on, with its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and what difficulties lie ahead, now that these plans have been submitted to the EC.
WKB Advises Schneider Electric on Disposal of Eurotherm Business Unit to Watlow
Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr, working with Slaughter and May, has advised Schneider Electric on the disposal of its Eurotherm business unit to the Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company. Reportedly, Sullivan & Cromwell advised Watlow.
Baker McKenzie Advises on Sale of Argo-Hytos to Voith
Baker McKenzie has advised Argo-Hytos Group owners Christian Kienzle and FSP Capcellence on selling a 79.5% stake in Argo-Hytos to the Voith Group.
Noerr Advises Aurelius on Acquisition of Dental Bauer and Pluradent
Noerr has advised the Aurelius Group on its acquisition of dental distributors Dental Bauer and Pluradent. Binder Groesswang and Homburger reportedly advised Aurelius. Anwaltsgemeinschaft Stuttgart reportedly advised Dental Bauer, with Grub Brugger reportedly advising Pluradent.
Deal 5: Symfonia GC Wioletta Kaloska on Acquisition of HRtec
On May 25, 2022, CEE Legal Matters reported that Balicki Czekanski Gryglewski Lewczuk had advised Symfonia on its acquisition of a majority stake in HRtec. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Wioletta Kaloska, General Counsel at Symfonia, to learn more about the acquisition.