Greenberg Traurig’s market leading real estate, M&A and capital markets teams have worked together on three major deals to assist clients acquiring publicly listed real estate companies in Poland.
The firm advised the WING Group, one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in Hungary, on the indirect acquisition of a 55.95 percent stake in Echo Investment S.A., the largest Polish developer listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Echo Group is involved in the construction, lease and sale of office and retail buildings, construction and sale of residential buildings as well as trading in real estate in Poland. The completion of the transaction is subject to merger clearance by the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
It also advised Madison International Realty LLP, a global real estate private equity firm providing liquidity to owners and investors in A-class properties and portfolios, on the indirect acquisition of a majority stake in Capital Park S.A.
As well as advising Goldman Sachs International, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, through its affiliate Bricks Acquisition Limited, on the PLN 1 billion tender offer for shares in ROBYG S.A., one of the leading Polish stock exchange listed developers.
These transactions are great examples of the synergy achieved by Greenberg Traurig through the strategic expansion of the real estate team combined with over 25 years of experience in capital markets and M&A. This enables Greenberg Traurig to support clients and their sophisticated business needs by pulling together an integrated team of interdisciplinary experts to address all of the complexities in transactions.
“Poland is one of the most attractive markets for foreign investors. Despite slightly weakening growth, we are still the most developed and mature economy in the CEE region. Due to the size of the real estate transactions carried out nowadays in Poland, and the magnitude of the parties involved, a more sophisticated approach has needed to be developed. Under this approach, the subject of transactions are no longer individual companies, but instead large real estate platforms with their stocks listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
The implementation of such an approach above all requires comprehensive cooperation between experts from the real estate, M&A and capital markets teams. It deserves emphasis that although Greenberg Traurig is the only law firm in Poland top-ranked by international legal guides in all the above-mentioned practice areas, the true verification of our knowledge and expertise is based on our clients’ trust,” commented Greenberg Traurig Warsaw Shareholder and Head of Polish Real Estate, Jolanta Nowakowska-Zimoch on the Polish market.
“Recent years have been chiefly positive for the CEE region. Market value growth has remained robust, even in the wake of a Eurozone slowdown. CEE cities dominate the list of the fastest growing metro areas in the European Union. CEE urban centers have gradually become part of the economies of the largest cities in the world and this process is expected to continue. The CEE region has gone through a significant economic transformation over recent years, which has increased the quantity and sophistication of business service jobs.
The office stock in major CEE cities has grown and is forecasted to increase further in the coming years as the inflow of new office capital rises. CEE has also become a popular destination for Asian investment. Our real estate team is able to seamlessly support clients in these markets, combining our resources in Europe and beyond. Often these transactions require a high level of complex cross-border corporate and tax structuring and we are able to effectively join up our expertise in these areas with our real estate practice,” commented Greenberg Traurig Head of International Real Estate Practice Development, Eric Rosedale on the CEE market.
