Month: December 2021

Rymarz Zdort advised European Logistics Investment (“ELI”) in connection with a transaction involving the sale of the Nexus portfolio, a 211,803 sq m logistics portfolio located in Poland, to CBRE Investment Management. The transaction is one of the largest deals in terms of size and value in the Polish warehouse market for 2021.

The portfolio comprises a total of eight properties across six, Grade A warehouse complexes, including Panattoni Park Warsaw Airport I, Panattoni Park Sosnowiec II, Panattoni Park Bydgoszcz II, Łódź Business Centre II, Panattoni Park Poznań V and Panattoni Park Kraków II. The portfolio is 94% let to a well-balanced mix of tenants.

ELI is a dynamically developing logistics platform on the Polish market. ELI provides high-quality facilities that offer excellent connectivity and value for businesses at desirable locations around the country, thanks to the partnership with Panattoni, a leading developer of industrial real estate. ELI’s current portfolio comprises of 26 logistics projects encompassing 45 properties with a total area of over 1.1 million sqm GLA, including 563,000 sqm of standing assets, 219,000 sqm under construction and a further 370,000 sqm secured in pipeline projects. ELI is owned by Redefine Properties, Madison International Realty and Griffin Real Estate.

CBRE Investment Management is a leading global real assets investment management firm with USD 133.1 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. Assets under management (AUM) refers to the fair market value of real assets-related investments with respect to which CBRE Investment Management provides, on a global basis, oversight, investment management services and other advice and which generally consist of investments in real assets, equity in funds and joint ventures, securities portfolios, operating companies and real assets-related loans. As an investor/operator, the firm creates sustainable investment solutions across real assets categories, geographies, risk profiles and execution formats so that its clients, users, people and communities thrive.

The Rymarz Zdort team advising on the transaction was led by corporate partner and the head of the real estate practice Piotr Fedorowicz, who was supported by associate Michał Kostewicz and associate Patrick Koźliczak.

Rymarz Zdort advised Pluralis B.V. in connection with the acquisition of 40% of the shares in Polish media company Gremi Media from KCI S.A.

The acquisition of the shares in Gremi Media by Pluralis B.V. will provide Gremi Media, along with a more diversified ownership structure, with the resources and expertise of an international media investor, and will allow the current management to maintain operational control.

Pluralis’ investment in Gremi Media is its second investment in Central Europe after taking over 34% of the shares in Petit Press, the second largest news publisher in Slovakia.

Gremi Media is a leading media group in Poland and the publisher of the Rzeczpospolita, Parkiet and Sport dailies, the monthly magazine Uważam Rze Historia, and the websites rp.pl, tv.rp.pl, parkiet.com, sport.dziennik.com and historia.uwazamrze.pl.

The transaction was led by managing partner Paweł Rymarz and partner Dr hab. Łukasz Gasiński, who was responsible for negotiations of the transaction agreement. The team included senior associate Antonina Falandysz-Zięcik from the competition and antitrust team of Rymarz Zdort, and associates Marzena Iskierka, Anna Aranowska and Sebastian Mikina.

Rymarz Zdort advised Blue Media in connection with the execution of an investment agreement concerning the acquisition of a minority stake in Blue Media Group by Pollen Street Capital.

Upon the completion of the transaction, Pollen Street Capital will make a strategic growth investment in Blue Media to help accelerate its expansion plans in the payment service sector in Europe. The transaction is expected to close in H1 2022, as it is subject to receiving regulatory approval.

Blue Media is a pioneer in the payment service sector in Poland, offering a range of payment options and payment-related services to businesses and consumers via the Blue Media and Autopay brands. This year, the business expects to process over EUR 6 billion in payments, with over 33,000 active eCommerce merchants, and is approaching 1 million users of its Autopay app.

Pollen Street Capital is a leading independent, alternative investment management company focused on the financial and business services sectors.

The transaction was handled by managing partner Paweł Zdort and partner Dr hab. Łukasz Gasiński. The team included senior associate Magdalena Medyńska, and associate Marzena Iskierka. The Rymarz Zdort core transaction team was also supported by partners Iwona Her and Marcin Chyliński and counsels Irmina Wątły and Filip Leśniak.

Rymarz Zdort advised Polski Fundusz Rozwoju S.A. on its acquisition of investment certificates of two real estate investment funds from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

As part of the transaction, Polski Fundusz Rozwoju S.A. acquired investment certificates of Fundusz Sektora Mieszkań dla Rozwoju Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamknięty Aktywów Niepublicznych (FSMdR) and Fundusz Sektora Mieszkań na Wynajem Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamknięty Aktywów Niepublicznych (FSMnW), and became the owner of 100% of the investment certificates of both funds.

The total price of the investment certificates of the above funds amounted to PLN 2,196 million.

The transaction was handled by Dr Jakub Zagrajek, a partner, supported by Dr Paweł Mazur, an associate, and the due diligence team was led by Monika Kierepa, a partner.

Rymarz Zdort advised the American growth equity fund TCV on a sale of shares in the public offering of Grupa Pracuj S.A. (“Grupa Pracuj“).

Based on the final offer price, the market capitalisation of Grupa Pracuj amounted to PLN 5 billion (EUR 1.1 billion). The offering involved the sale of 15,134,278 existing shares, including 10,909,512 shares (16% of the share capital) offered by TCV, and generated gross proceeds of PLN 1,120 million (EUR 243 million).

The offering was conducted in accordance with U.S. Rule 144A and was directed at retail investors and institutional investors in Poland. The shares in Grupa Pracuj were also offered to select foreign institutional investors (within and outside of the United States).

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and Trigon Dom Maklerski S.A. acted as joint global coordinators, Numis Securities Limited as joint bookrunner and mBank S.A. as co-manager.

Grupa Pracuj is a leading technology platform in the HR industry in Central and Eastern Europe. Grupa Pracuj supports companies in the recruitment, retention and development of employees. Grupa Pracuj also makes it easy for users of its websites to find suitable employment, enabling them to use their full potential, and creates world-class technologies that shape the future of the HR market.

TCV is one of the largest growth equity firms and has invested over USD 16 billion in public and private technology companies since inception. For more than 26 years, TCV has been partnering with growth-stage technology companies, helping them with entering new markets, developing teams, managing acquisitions and preparing for IPOs.

The transaction was handled by managing partner Paweł Rymarz and partner Jacek Zawadzki, who were supported by associate Monika Michałowska.

Rymarz Zdort advised Santander Bank Polska on the sale of a block of shares in Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń na Życie, Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Ogólnych and Aviva Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne Aviva Santander to Allianz.

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

The transaction is part of Aviva plc’s exit from Poland by selling all its Polish assets to Allianz for approximately EUR 2.5 billion. It is expected to be one of the largest M&A transactions on the Polish market this year and the largest one on the Polish insurance market so far.

The transaction is being handled by Jacek Zawadzki, partner in the corporate department, supported by Dr hab. Łukasz Gasiński, partner heading the regulatory team in the corporate department. The transaction team includes associates Marzena Iskierka, Anna Aranowska and Aleksander Jakubisiak.