Month: March 2021

Rymarz Zdort is advising Santander Bank Polska on the sale of its minority stakes in Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie, Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Ogólnych and Aviva Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Aviva Santander. The transaction is part of Aviva plc’s planned exit from Poland by way of the sale of all of its Polish operations to Allianz for approximately EUR 2.5 billion. The deal comprises the largest on the Polish insurance market to date and the largest M&A transaction in Poland so far this year.

As a result of the transaction, Allianz will also become Santander Bank Polska’s new partner in respect of its life and non-life bancassurance joint ventures.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed within 12 months.

The work of the team advising on the transaction was led by Dr hab. Łukasz Gasiński, a corporate partner and the head of the regulatory practice of Rymarz Zdort, and Jacek Zawadzki, a partner in the corporate department, who were supported by associates Marzena Iskierka and Aleksander Jakubisiak.

Rymarz Zdort is continually expanding its team of attorneys and regularly promotes experienced specialists and advisors who have been developing their careers within the law firm’s structures for years. We are pleased to announce that Piotr Zawacki from the tax department has been promoted to counsel, while Izabela Stępień from the restructuring and bankruptcy department, Patrycja Tatar-Piecha from the dispute resolution department and Michał Chyła from the tax department, have been promoted to the position of senior associate.

“Every success in our law firm is a result of the individual input of exceptional people who, thanks to their knowledge and professionalism, contribute to the further development of the law firm and help achieve the business goals of our clients,” said Paweł Zdort, managing partner at Rymarz Zdort.

Piotr Zawacki, as a tax advisor, supports clients, in respect of, among other things, mergers and acquisitions, the restructuring of enterprises, as well as in matters connected with current activities. Piotr advises companies from various sectors of the economy,  including from the financial,  energy  and real estate industries.

Patrycja Tatar-Piecha, as a legal advisor, specialises in procedural law, with particular emphasis on enforcement proceedings, bankruptcy and restructuring law, as well as administrative law. She advises on complex court and administrative proceedings related to infrastructure, transport and corporate disputes, as well as on domestic arbitration.

Michał Chyła, as a tax advisor, supports clients in the field of tax regulations, in particular in the financial services and real estate sectors. He has extensive experience in advising on value-added tax, corporate income tax and international taxes.

Izabela Stępień, as a legal advisor, specialises in bankruptcy and restructuring law. She advises domestic and foreign clients on restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings as well as on established collaterals.

Congratulations to all the promoted attorneys and advisors!

Rymarz Zdort advised European Logistics Investment (ELI), a dynamically growing logistics platform in Poland, in connection with the transaction documentation related to a land purchase, the corporate aspects of the investment and the development of a modern warehouse complex.

ELI will construct a high-quality logistics centre with an area of over 37,000 sqm in Kraków. The City Logistics Kraków I facility will be developed in cooperation with ELI’s strategic partner Panattoni, a market leader in the industrial property sector. Nearly 9,000 sqm of the space has been pre-let to InPost, the largest logistics operator in Poland.

ELI’s portfolio includes 19 logistics parks with a total leasable area of over 605,000 sqm located in Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków, Wrocław, Upper Silesia and other locations. The company is planning to further expand in the coming years. The project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.

The firm’s transaction team was headed by Piotr Fedorowicz, a partner in the corporate department and the real estate practice. The transaction team comprised: Izabela Skrzypczak, associate; Tomasz Karkowski, associate; Michał Kostewicz, associate, and Mateusz Konopka, associate.

Rymarz Zdort advised Allegro Group (Allegro), the largest e-commerce platform in Central and Eastern Europe, during the negotiation of the lease agreement and other documentation related to the logistics infrastructure.

Panattoni will prepare 36,500 sqm of space for Allegro in A2 Warsaw Park, of which 33,500 sqm will be occupied by a warehouse in which comprehensive logistics services will be carried out such as storage, packing and shipping, as well as the implementation of orders and returns.

The work of the transaction team was conducted by Piotr Fedorowicz, partner; Tomasz Bąkowski, senior associate; Tomasz Karkowski, associate and Aleksandra Śliwa, associate.

Rymarz Zdort advised Méliuz S.A. on its investment in e-commerce platform Picodi.com S.A. The transaction comprised the acquisition of approximately 51.2% of the shares from the company’s current shareholders and the conclusion of a shareholders’ agreement. Méliuz also agreed to purchase the remaining 48.8% of the shares in Picodi.com upon the future exit of the current shareholders.

Picodi.com is an international e-commerce platform that brings together discount coupons and promotional codes. It operates in more than 40 countries globally and offers services in 19 different languages. Picodi.com connects more than 12,000 online stores to 4 million users each month.

Méliuz is a Brazilian technology company that offers digital solutions through an integrated marketplace and financial services platform. With its acquisition of shares in Picodi.com, Méliuz has expanded the scope of its reach globally by not only diversifying its geographical revenue base, but also by expanding its range of partners and avenues for growth.

The team advising on the transaction was headed by managing partner Paweł Zdort, supported by Aleksandra Kabać, senior associate and Krystian Kowalski, associate. Monika Kierepa, a partner in the corporate department, led the legal due diligence team that consisted of: Aleksandra Śliwa, associate; Marek Kanczew, counsel; Dr Barbara Skardzińska, senior associate; Hubert Bracichowicz, associate; Izabela Jasion, associate, and Weronika Szyszka, associate.