Leroy and Associates has advised Groupe Rocher on its acquisition of Romania's Sabon cosmetics and toiletries retailer, and with subsequent merger control procedures before the Romanian Competition Council.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, CEE Legal Matters learned that Groupe Rocher's acquisition also included Sabon's Czech subsidiary, and that the Leroy si Asociatii team was led by Partners Bruno Leroy and Andreea Toma and included Senior Associates Ruxandra Manciu and Diana Moroianu.
In addition, CEE Legal Matters learned that Reff & Associates and the Czech office of Eversheds Sutherland were reported to have advised the sellers. According to Reff & Associates, the firm — the Romanian arm of Deloitte Legal — "advised the shareholders of Sabon Holdings, a Romanian company specialized in the distribution of Israeli natural bath and body products, in relation to the sale of 75% of their shares to a Romanian company part of Yves Rocher Group, in a transaction signed in December 2019. Our full-package legal assistance included the review and negotiation of a share sale purchase agreement, assistance with competition related matters, as well as with the review and negotiation of the shareholders’ agreement to govern the future cooperation between the Yves Rocher entity and one of the former shareholders of Sabon who shall retain a 25% participation in the company and continue cooperation with the Yves RocherGroup. Further, the team assisted the sellers in relation to the fulfillment of the conditions precedent up to the closing of the transaction, which occurred in March 2020, as well as with the other documents part of the package, including those related to the amendments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic."
The Reff & Associates team was coordinated by Partner Georgiana Singurel and included Managing Associate Anca Melinte and Senior Associate Cristiana Baltag.
