WARSAW – Nov. 6, 2018 – Greenberg Traurig advised BNP Paribas Group on the completion of the transaction of the acquisition of the core banking business of Raiffeisen Bank Polska S.A. (“RBPL”) by Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas S.A. (“BGŻ BNP Paribas”) and the related equity investment of PLN 430 million (approximately EUR 100 million) by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) through the acquisition of a circa 4.5 percent stake in BGŻ BNP Paribas from Raiffeisen Bank International AG (“RBI”) and BNP Paribas SA.
Completion of the acquisition of shares in BGŻ BNP Paribas issued to RBI by BNP Paribas SA and EBRD, and the agreement with EBRD on its equity investment in Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas, followed the successful registration of the demerger of RBPL and the acquisition of the core banking business of RBPL on 31 October 2018.
These transactions represent the conclusion of BGŻ BNP Paribas’ acquisition of the core banking business of RBPL though the demerger of RBPL which was announced in April this year. The current transfers of shares are also intended to support the plans of BNP Paribas SA, the controlling shareholder of BGŻ BNP Paribas, to maintain and gradually increase the free float of BGŻ BNP Paribas’ shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in accordance with BNP Paribas’ commitment to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego).
The Greenberg Traurig transaction team was supervised by Senior Partner Lejb Fogelman and led by Partner Stephen Horvath and Partner Łukasz Pawlak. The team also included: Partners Michal Fereniec, Aleksander Janiszewski, Marek Kozaczuk and Robert Gago; Local Partners Karolina Dunin-Wilczyńska, Anna Hałas-Krawczyk and Tomasz Kacymirow; Of Counsel prof. Adam Opalski; Senior Associates Maciej Kacymirow, Radosław Pawluk, Paweł Tatarczak and Ewa Tabor-Maciejewska, along with Associates Maciej Pietrzak from the London Office, Magdalena Bachleda-Księdzularz, Mateusz Śliżewski, Grzegorz Socha, Marta Kownacka, Natalia Wolkowycka, Martyna Komorniczak and Iga Czerniak. The legal work on the transaction was coordinated by the BNP Paribas Legal M&A team, led by Head of M&A Legal Louis-Philippe Vasconcelos.
BGŻ BNP Paribas is the sixth largest bank in Poland with a market share of 4.1 percent in terms of total assets.
Since the beginning of its operations in Poland in 1991, EBRD has invested EUR 9.3 billion in 405 projects in the country. In addition to its wide range of products for banks and companies, in recent years EBRD has built a growing portfolio of investments (both equity and debt) in the Polish financial sector.
Greenberg Traurig LLP: Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak sp.k. was named the 2017 Law Firm of the Year in Poland by Chambers and Partners. The Warsaw office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP provides legal services to clients in Central Europe and beyond and consists of more than 100 lawyers. Team members are regularly recognized as leaders in numerous practice areas. Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, IFLR1000 and EMEA Legal 500 consistently rank them among the top tiers the areas of Corporate/M&A, Capital Markets, Real Estate, Private Equity, Tax, Banking and Finance, Project Finance, Energy, Dispute Resolution and TMT.
For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com