Kategorie: News

act BSWW was advising Strabag Real Estate on the sale of Astoria office development.

The building was purchased by Credit Suisse Asset Management for its property funds.

Astoria is a 10-storey premium-class building located in downtown Warsaw, between Nowy Świat and Marszałkowska streets. It offers over 18,000 m2 of office area, as well as some retail space.

The scope of act BSWW’s services included transaction and tax advisory throughout the sale process.

The project team was made up of Marek Wojnar (Managing Partner), Marta Kosiedowska (Partner) and Katarzyna Góra (Senior Associate). The tax team was managed by Małgorzata Wąsowska (Partner).

“The sale of Astoria is among Poland’s largest office property transactions this year,” says Marta Kosiedowska.

“Strabag Real Estate has been very active in the Polish market. Its strategy covers a wide range of different types of properties. Astoria sale is just one of many transactions we have recently handled for this Client,” adds Marek Wojnar.

Credit Suisse Asset Management was supported by Greenberg Traurig (law firm).

YIT, Finland’s largest developer, has just acquired another appealing investment property. This time it opted for Gdańsk, thus expanding its operations in Poland.

The 1.55 ha land lot with a construction permit is located close to the historical center of Gdańsk, right next to the European Solidarity Center. The developer is planning a mixed-use project with a total area of 40,000 m2. The estimated project value is over EUR 100m. It is going to be implemented in several stages.

“During YIT’s 4 years of operations in Poland, we have extended the existing residential projects (that we acquired) and purchased land lots in appealing locations across Warsaw for new projects. Finally, the time has come for some territorial expansion, as part of which we will enter a new market. We have set our sights on Gdańsk due to its impressive growth pace and vast potential for further actions. We want to stay here for a long time. The mixed-use project means that we need to develop skills covering an entirely new segment of operations, i.e. office premises,” says Tomasz Konarski, President of the Management Board at YIT Poland.

act legal Poland (BSWW) provided YIT with comprehensive legal advisory throughout the process of the real property acquisition. The scope of services included a due diligence review of the property, preparation of transaction documents, as well as support in negotiations and closing the deal.

Michał Wielhorski (Managing Partner) acted as the team leader. The team was made up of Michał Sołtyszewski (Partner) and Mateusz Prokopiuk (Senior Associate). Tax issues were handled by Małgorzata Wąsowska (Head of Tax) and Michał Brzozowicz (tax team member). 

“This is yet another large transaction in which we have supported our Client. Before that, we had a chance to consult on a range of YIT’s projects in Warsaw, including the acquisition of Parkur Residence, Nordic Mokotów (stage 3), Nordic Sadyba and Nordic Bemowo,” says Michał Wielhorski. “We are happy to watch YIT grow and expand on the Polish market,” he adds.

YIT has been operating in Poland since July 2015. Before the Gdańsk-based transaction, all its projects had been located in Warsaw. It all started with the construction of Nordic Mokotów residential estate in June 2016. YIT’s portfolio includes approx. 3,000 apartments, of which 300 have been completed, while several hundred are underway.

YIT is Finland’s biggest developer. It operates in a total of 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

For additional information, please see the press relase on YIT’s company website.

act legal Poland (BSWW) has advised Moderna Holding sp. z o.o. on the acquisition of 100% shares in Przedsiębiorstwo Budowlane “KOKOSZKI” S.A., a Gdańsk-based developer company. This purchase is a part of Moderna’s development strategy, seeking to secure a wider range of services and a stronger position as a leader in the Tri-City’s developer market. 

Following the transaction, Moderna’s portfolio features a usable residential area of 150k square meters, making it the leader in the Tri-City market. So far, Moderna has been pursuing high-end investments in multi-family and office buildings segment of the Tri-City and Warsaw market. The recent deal has expanded the company’s portfolio with a complementary developer project segment.

Moderna and Kokoszki will continue to operate as separate entities under the umbrella of Moderna Holding.

“Both companies have a similar organizational chart and operate within the same multi-family and office building segment, but have different target groups,” says Adam Małaczek, President of Moderna Holding Management Board. “We have gained immense potential to increase stability and liquidity of project implementation which, in light of complex administrative and civil regulations, will facilitate flexible process management and give us an edge over our competition. In the end, it is the buyers of standard and high-end apartments who will benefit the most from the transaction,” he adds.

Piotr Smołuch (Managing Partner) led the team of lawyers advising on the transaction. The team was made up of Jakub Salwa(Partner) and Michał Pawlak (Senior Associate).

The scope of legal services provided by the law firm covered a due diligence audit of the acquired company and its assets.

“This is yet another transaction in which we have supported Moderna. We are glad to have been able to take part in one of our Client’s key projects,” said Piotr Smołuch.

Moderna’s portfolio includes many appealing projects, such as BALTIQ PLAZA, Front Park, Oliwski Park i Oliwa 505 and Złota Chmielna Apartments. A few other investments in Gdynia, Gdańsk and Warsaw (Powiśle and Praga neighborhoods) are pending completion. Some of the most notable projects implemented by Kokoszki include the Sadowa and Niepołomicka residential estates, as well as Kokoszki Office.

Kokoszki has been operating since 1969, over time building an impressive portfolio of successful projects, including dozens of residential, special-use and commercial buildings, with the Baltic Philharmonic and Opera among them.

act legal Austria is again partner and sponsor of the AVCO annual conference this year, which takes place on 3 October 2019 in the Park Hyatt Vienna. Austria’s leading VC/PE event brings investors, service providers and entrepreneurs together. This year, market participants of the CEE region are invited – providing a day full of exquisite speakers, exciting panel discussions and gossiping in the private equity community.

Dr. Paul Koppenwallner, partner of WMWP, will chair the panel on “Creating Values – Market Development, Expectations and Channels”.

If you are interested, you will find all information here:

This is the result of a survey carried out by the data company Statista for the German news magazine Focus. act legal Germany is awarded as Top Business Law Firm in the area of employment law.

The Focus ranking is based on recommendations by partners of law firms or lawyers from corporate legal departments – 2,664 experts participated in the survey this year.

This year’s ranking recommends 379 top business law firms in 21 areas of law throughout Germany.

Finland’s leading developer, YIT Development, has purchased a land lot located at Nałęczowska street in Sadyba (a neighborhood of Warsaw), with an eye on building nearly 300 apartments in Q4 2019 as part of Nordic Sadyba project.

“We are proud to have succeeded in buying yet another appealing land lot in the Mokotów district of Warsaw. It is located in the historic section of Mokotów, called Miasto-Ogród Sadyba, that has long been famous for its characteristic buildings and unique ambience of the time when this part of city was home to military officers. This location is about to have access to fully-shaped urban amenities, convenient transport services and numerous green areas. In 2019, this project, together with the land lot in Bemowo district (purchased earlier), opens the way for YIT to build a total of almost 1,000 apartments,” says Tomasz Konarski, CEO of YIT in Poland.

act legal Poland (BSWW) provided the developer with a full range of legal services with respect to this transaction. Their scope covered all transaction stages, from due diligence review of the land, through support during transaction negotiations, to acquisition of a pending investment project with a building permit.

The transaction has been handled by a team made up of Michał Wielhorski (team leader, Manging Partner at BSWW), Michał Sołtyszewski (Partner), Mateusz Prokopiuk (Senior Associate) and Anita Woźniak (Senior Associate).

“We are more than glad to have earned the trust of the Client, who has chosen us to handle yet another of its major Poland-based projects,” says Michał Wielhorski. “We have long experience advising YIT on complex transactions, the most recent including purchase of land designed for Nordic Bemowo project and acquisition of Parkur Tower office complex,” he adds.

YIT is Finland’s leading developer, operating in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

The company has been operating in Warsaw for over 3 years. Its first project, Nordic Mokotów, involved the construction of 340 apartments at the junction of Sikorskiego and Pory streets, with the last building, comprising 124 apartments, pending completion. Progress is also being made at Aroma Park residential estate, offering over 400 apartments. For now, the first two stages of the project, with a total of 171 apartments, are being implemented. In addition, YIT intends to build 400 apartments as part of Parkur Residence estate, with further 600 offered by Nordic Bemowo estate at the crossing of Lazurowa and Batalionów Chłopskich streets.

Following on the ranking in “Germany’s Best Lawyers 2019” in the category finance law, act legal Germany is now additionally listed as top law firm and its managing partner Dr. Sven Tischendorf, MBA as top lawyer for Mergers & Acquisitions and for Restructuring in the German business journal WirtschaftsWoche. Congratulations! Every year, the journal publishes an exclusive ranking of leading law firms and lawyers in Germany for Mergers & Acquisitions and Restructuring (inter alia).

For the category M&A, Handelsblatt Research Institute asked 4400 lawyers in 223 law firms to name their most renowned colleagues in antitrust and M&A law. Afterwards, a specialist jury evaluated the list resulting in the M&A ranking of 78 lawyers from 47 law firms.

This year’s jury consisted of Martin Schlag from Thyssenkrupp, Bettina Holzwarth from Bosch, Claas Westermann from RWE, Jan Eckert from ZF Friedrichshafen and Achim Schunder as branch manager of C.H.Beck.

Find the complete M&A ranking here (in German only).

For the category restructuring, Handelsblatt Research Institute asked 1000 lawyers in more than 90 law firms to name their most renowned colleagues in insolvency law and restructuring. The results were evaluated by the jury consisting of Thomas Harbrecht from Euler Hermes, Barbara Jürgens from Oldenburgische Landesbank, Karl Beck from Commerzbank, Wencke Mull from Atradius and Achim Schunder from C.H. Beck. The list recommends 53 lawyers in 35 law firms.

Find the complete restructuring ranking here (in German only).

Volkswagen Poznan sp. z o.o. relies on act legal Poland for the advice on the acquisition of property, which is crucial for the development of the company‘ factory in Poznan. During the transaction Volkswagen was represented by legal advisor Marta Kosiedowska – partner in the real estate practice of act BSWW.

“For me – as the person who was managing the process of purchasing the above properties – it was important that act BSWW advised Volkswagen Poznań not only in strictly legal matters, but also was properly counted business risks and was a real support for my project team, which undoubtedly contributed the positive finalization of purchasing the properties, all within the framework of the schedule for realization of future investments”, said attorney Tobiasz Adam Kowalczyk, the Director of legal department of Volkswagen Poznań sp. z o.o.

“Having in mind how important this transaction is from the company’s point of view and how much time the company sacrificed for its finalization, we are especially proud of the fact that act BSWW was granted with the company’s faith and that we could represent Volkswagen during the acquisition”, said legal advisor Marta Kosiedowska.