The first quarter of 2021 is behind us. For Rymarz Zdort, it was a busy time, full of great results and very challenging and exciting transactions and developments. Over the past three months, we have had the pleasure of advising more than 220 Polish and international clients representing 25 individual sectors of the economy and we have advised on 15 significant transactions.
In the area of mergers and acquisitions, we advised Santander Bank Polska on the sale of its minority stakes in Aviva Poland. This deal is the largest transaction on the Polish insurance market to date and is also the largest M&A transaction in Poland so far this year. Furthermore, we provided advice to the founders of Archicom on the sale of their controlling stake to Echo Investment. We also advised ExploRNA Therapeutics and supported the company in the course of an equity investment by Black Forest. Moreover, we advised on the sale of WhitePress to RTB House and assisted Méliuz with its investment in the e-commerce platform Picodi.com.
As always, we were very active in mergers and acquisitions transactions in the financial services sector in Poland. In addition to the disposal of Aviva Poland concluded in March, at the beginning of the year we advised Bank Pekao regarding the acquisition of certain assets and rights, as well as certain liabilities, of Idea Bank during the course of a resolution process commenced by the Bank Guarantee Fund. Additionally, for Bank Pekao, we provided legal advice in relation to the acquisition of a 38.33% stake in Krajowy Integrator Płatności and, after obtaining all the required regulatory approvals, the transaction was completed on 31 March.
In the field of equity capital markets, we are proud to have handled the largest IPO in terms of value in the history of the gaming industry in Poland. We advised the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners Credit Suisse Securities, Sociedad de Valores S.A. and J.P. Morgan AG, and joint bookrunner IPOPEMA Securities S.A., on the IPO of Huuuge, Inc. and on the admission and the introduction of the shares in Huuuge, Inc. to trading on the regulated market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Due to the global nature of the company’s operations and the company being based overseas (Delaware, USA), the transaction required the resolution of a number of complex issues and the close coordination of the work of legal advisers from several jurisdictions. In addition, on the Polish gaming market, Rymarz Zdort provided legal advice to the selling shareholders in relation to the sale of shares in Ten Square Games by way of an accelerated book building process.
Our extensive experience in transactions relating to renewable energy sources, especially offshore investments, positions us very well to advise on such projects. In the first quarter of 2021, we advised the Polish energy group PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna in connection with the conclusion of a joint venture agreement with the Danish energy company Ørsted, as well as Northland Power Inc. in connection with the conclusion of a joint venture agreement with PKN Orlen on a Baltic Power project. Furthermore, we supported Brookfield Renewable Partners in connection with its investment in Polenergia.
Rymarz Zdort has also been active in the photovoltaic (PV) sector, where investment has been growing at an increasingly rapid rate. Our firm supported a borrower controlled by a fund managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments on the acquisition of financing for 130 photovoltaic farms located in Poland with an aggregate capacity of 122 MW.
We are constantly observing how the market for logistics services in Poland is developing. We have also had the pleasure of advising clients from this sector. We supported European Logistics Investment (ELI) 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 sq. m. in Kraków. We also advised Allegro Group during the negotiation of a lease agreement and other documentation related to logistics infrastructure. Panattoni will prepare 36,500 sq. m. of space for Allegro in A2 Warsaw Park.
We are very grateful that our work for our clients has been recognised and has led to Rymarz Zdort once again being included in an elite group of the best law firms in Poland according to Mergermarket, Chambers Global and Chambers Europe. In the Mergermarket Global & Regional M&A Report for 2020 released in January, Rymarz Zdort maintains its leading position in the rankings for Poland. We are proud to be ranked in first place in terms of the number of deals and third in terms of total deal value. In this year’s edition of Chambers Global and Chambers Europe, Rymarz Zdort has again been recognised as a leading law firm for Corporate/M&A, Equity Capital Markets and Private Equity for which it received the highest possible ranking of Band 1. In addition, Chambers and Partners bestowed 15 individual recognitions on our attorneys.
The firm is continuing to expand its team of lawyers and support staff. In the first quarter of this year, 9 lawyers and 8 additional employees joined Rymarz Zdort. Additionally, 3 experienced specialists and advisors, who have been developing their careers within the law firm’s structures, received well-deserved promotions: Piotr Zawacki from the tax department has been promoted to counsel; and Patrycja Tatar-Piecha from the dispute resolution department and Michał Chyła from the tax department have each been promoted to the position of senior associate.
With our team and clients in mind, we changed the location of our office after 22 years. As of 1 March 2021, we have moved to the 15th and 16th floors of Mennica Legacy Tower, a prestigious office building located at ul. Prosta 18 in the heart of Warsaw. Our new office, with an area of 3,302 sq. m., provides a welcoming environment that supports teamwork and helps to build the corporate culture that we are nurturing.
