Stephen J. Horvath III ^‡

• Advised Allianz S.E. in connection with the EUR 2.5 billion acquisition of Aviva’s Polish life and non-life insurance, pensions and asset management businesses, and 51% stakes in life and non-life bancassurance joint ventures with Santander. The transaction completed in November 2021. Ongoing advice to Allianz regarding corporate and regulatory matters related to the integration and transformation of the Polish business.
• Advised OANDA Global Corporation in the acquisition of Dom Maklerski TMS Brokers S.A., a leading Polish multi-asset class broker active in the FX and CFD segments.
• Advised Société Générale S.A. on the sale of Euro Bank S.A., its retail banking subsidiary in Poland, to Bank Millennium S.A. The reference transaction price for the sale is PLN 1.83 billion. The transaction involved the sale of Euro Bank in the entirety, unlike other recent transactions in the Polish banking sector involving a demerger of the business separated from the foreign currency mortgage business of the bank, and it included unique risk sharing arrangements in respect of the Swiss Franc denominated mortgage loan portfolio of Euro Bank.
• Advised BNP Paribas Group on its acquisition of the core banking operations of Raiffeisen Bank Polska from Raiffeisen Bank International for PLN 3.25 billion (approx. EUR 775 million). The transaction was implemented by a demerger of the transferred business directly to Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas's Polish subsidiary, in November 2018. Also advised BNP Paribas Group on the related equity investment of PLN 430 million (approx. EUR 100 million) by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development through the acquisition of a circa 4.5% stake in BGŻ BNP Paribas from Raiffeisen Bank International AG and BNP Paribas SA.
• Advised Deutsche Bank AG on the sale of its Polish private and commercial bank business to Santander Bank Polska (formerly known as Bank Zachodni WBK), in a transaction supported by Banco Santander, for approximately PLN 1.29 billion.  The transaction was implemented by a demerger of the transferred business directly to Santander Bank Polska, in November 2018. The transaction was unique on the Polish market as the transferred business was directly migrated to the IT systems of Santander Bank Polska simultaneously with the completion of the transaction.
• Represented Alior Bank in connection with the acquisition of Bank BPH’s core business from affiliates of GE Capital. Value of the transaction was PLN 1.5 billion.
• Represented AnaCap in connection with the acquisition of Nest Bank (formerly FM Bank PBP).
• Advised BNP Paribas Group on the PLN 4.2 billion (EUR 1 billion) acquisition of the Polish Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej from the Rabobank Group, the merger of BGZ with BNP Paribas Bank Polska and the transformation and merger of Sygma Banque Poland into Bank BGZ BNP Paribas.
• Advised AIG on the disposal of its investment in Santander Consumer Bank (Poland) to Santander Consumer Finance S.A.
• Advised Raiffeisen Bank International AG on the EUR 490 million acquisition of a 70% share in Polbank EFG, the Polish banking business of the Greek bank EFG Eurobank.°
• Advised AIG on the disposal of its Polish consumer finance and banking business to a unit of Banco Santander, and the retention of a significant investment in their combined Polish businesses, in transactions valued in excess of USD 800 million.°
• Advised UniCredit on the spin-off of part of the business of Bank BPH into Bank Pekao and the EUR 625 million sale of UniCredit's remaining investment in Bank BPH to a unit of GE.°
• Represented Citibank in the USD 800 million acquisition of Bank Handlowy in Warsaw, Citibank and Bank Handlowy on the sale of their Polish asset management business to Legg Mason, and Merrill Lynch and the founding shareholders of Dominet Bank in the EUR 235 million sale of Dominet Bank to Fortis.°

• Advised Volumetric Building Companies, one of the United States’ largest multifamily volumetric modular and components businesses, on its merger with Polcom Group in Poland, one of the leading international manufacturers of steel modular buildings. The Group has completed some of the most innovative hotel projects in North America and Europe, including world-class hotel buildings in New York, Seattle, London, Washington, and Amsterdam. The merger was effective in January 2022.
• Advised Bricks Acquisitions Limited, a company controlled by The Goldman Sachs Group and funds advised by affiliates of Centerbridge Partners L.P. on the sale of 100% of the shares in Robyg S.A., the largest residential real estate developer in Poland, to a subsidiary of TAG Immobilien AG, the listed German real estate company, for an estimated price of circa EUR 550 million. The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2022.
• Advised the CCC Group in connection with a transaction that will result in two new minority investors becoming shareholders of eobuwie.pl S.A. - the leader in the online footwear market in Central and Eastern Europe. Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and A&R Investments Limited, one of the shareholders of InPost S.A., signed conditional preliminary agreements regarding the sale of two 10% stakes in eobuwie.pl for PLN 500 million for each stake. The total value of the pre‑IPO transaction is PLN 1 billion (approx. USD 254 million). The conditions precedent include consents of the banks funding the CCC Group and the eobuwie.pl general meeting for the sale of shares, and should be fulfilled by April 30^th 2021 or by a later date that may be determined in accordance with the preliminary agreements. The transaction will provide eobuwie.pl with new and strong minority shareholders, and the CCC Group with funds in the amount of PLN 1 billion while it retains its majority shareholder status in the company. According to the CCC Group, proceeds from the sale are to be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing of liabilities, additional financial security in the event of further restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and a cash reserve necessary to acquire a 20% stake in eobuwie.pl from the current minority shareholder. The IPO of eobuwie.pl is planned for 2022 or 2023.
• Advised Eltel AB, a leading Northern European provider of technical services for critical infrastructure networks, on the divestment of its German Communication business to Circet Group, a European telecom network service provider based in France and funded by private equity firm Advent. The total consideration payable under the transaction is about EUR 19 million. The transaction closed in April 2020.
• Advised Madison International Realty LLP, a global real estate private equity firm, in the indirect acquisition of a 46.5% stake in the European Logistics Investment (ELI) platform, which owns a portfolio of Polish real estate worth approximately EUR 500 million, from Redefine Properties, a South African investment fund REIT. The transaction is the first major transaction for Madison in the logistics sector in Europe. The transaction value is EUR 150 million, including the initial stake plus future development. The transaction closed in March 2020.
• Advised the WING Group, one of the largest privately-owned real estate companies in Hungary, specializing in office, industrial, retail, residential, hotel and special projects primarily in Budapest, in an agreement to acquire Lisala sp. z o.o. from Echo Partners B.V. Echo Partners is owned by affiliates of Oaktree and PIMCO, and through Lisala it holds 55.95% of the shares of Echo Investment S.A. Echo is the largest Polish developer, and is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The transaction closed in December 2019.
• Advised Eltel AB, a leading Northern European provider of technical services for critical infrastructure networks, listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, on the sale of its Polish communication business to VINCI Energies. The total consideration is about EUR 12.7 million. The transaction closed in October 2019.
• Advised Madison International Realty LLP, a global real estate private equity firm, in the indirect acquisition of a controlling, 65.99 percent stake in Capital Park S.A. from Patron Capital Partners. Capital Park manages a portfolio of properties with a total area of 304,000 square miles and is the developer of the ArtN complex in Warsaw.
• Advised Forum IX Fundusz Invwestycyjny Zamknięty and other shareholders on the sale of Willson & Brown, a European manufacturer of point of sale displays with headquarters in Poland, to Array Canada Inc., a Carlyle Group portfolio company, in 2018.
• Advised CVC Capital Partners on the acquisition of Żabka Polska from Mid Europa Partners in 2017. The sale of Żabka is the largest transaction in the Polish food retail sector and the largest private equity exit in Poland.
• Advised Anheuser-Busch InBev on Polish aspects of the sale to Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. of the businesses formerly owned by SABMiller Limited in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania in 2017 for an agreed enterprise value of EUR 7.3 billion.
• Advised Venture Fundusz Inwestycyjny Zamknięty, managed by TFI Trigon S.A., in connection with the acquisition of a noncontrolling stake in Seed Labs Inc., a U.S.-based start-up involved in the development of smart lighting.
• Advised Central European Distribution Corp. (CEDC), at the time one of Europe's largest alcoholic-beverages firms, in acquisitions to expand its business in Russia and Central Europe, including its co-investment with Lion Capital to acquire the Russian Alcohol Group, and the USD 600 million buyout of Lion to take control of RAG; the completion of a USD 310 million equity placement and USD 950 million high-yield bond offering by CEDC to fund the RAG transaction; the USD 250 million acquisition of the Russian wine and spirits importer Whitehall Group; the USD 200 million acquisition of the Russian producer of Parliament vodka; the financing and other aspects of its acquisition of Polmos Bialystok from the Polish State Treasury; and the acquisition of the Polish operations of Bols.°
• Advised Baring Corilius Private Equity on the sale of a 56% stake in Poligrafia S.A., the listed Polish printing firm, to RR Donnelley.°
• Advised PepsiCo's snack-foods unit on the acquisition of Star Foods Romania and Star Foods Poland from the founding family and private equity investors.°

• Advised Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Polkomtel sp. z o.o. (“Polsat Group”) on the agreement to sell a 99.99% stake in Polkomtel Infrastruktura, a subsidiary of Polsat Group, to Cellnex Poland sp. z o.o., a subsidiary of Cellnex Telecom S.A., Europe’s leading operator of telecommunications infrastructure. The value of the transaction is over PLN 7 billion (EUR 1.6 billion). The deal is expected to be completed in Q4 2021. The transaction will result in a a long-term partnership between the Polsat Group and Cellnex in order to accelerate the deployment of 5G technology in Poland, based on the concept of active and passive infrastructure sharing, building from the Polsat Group’s 7000 sites. At completion, the Polsat Group and Cellnex will sign a Master Services Agreement under which Polkomtel Infrastruktura will provide services for 25 years (subject to renewal for subsequent 15-year terms).
• Advised Cyfrowy Polsat, the Polish media group, in two transactions for the acquisition of Polkomtel, the operator of the Plus mobile network in Poland. Cyfrowy Polsat acquired the majority of Metelem Holding Company Limited, the sole owner of Polkomtel, in exchange for Cyfrowy Polsat shares valued at PLN 5.15 billion (USD 1.7 billion), and the remainder from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in exchange for Cyfrowy Polsat shares valued at approx. USD 327 million.
• Advised Polish media entrepreneur Zygmunt Solorz-Zak on the PLN 18.1 billion (USD 6.6 billion) acquisition of Polkomtel, Poland's second-largest mobile network operator. The transaction was the largest leveraged buyout ever made in Poland, and one of the largest transactions in the history of Central and Eastern European M&A.°
• Advised Cosmote, the mobile phone subsidiary of Greek telecom operator OTE, on the EUR 190 million sale of its Cosmofon business in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to Telekom Slovenije, the EUR 48 million acquisition of minority interests in Albanian Mobile Communication SH.A. and the EUR 380 million sale of its investment in Telekom Srbija.°
• Advised Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) on the USD 900 million acquisition of TV Nova in the Czech Republic.°

• Represented Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (formerly PSE S.A) on financing, corporate, contract and project development matters.°
• Advised PGNiG S.A., the Polish oil and gas company, on its corporate and financial restructuring, including restructuring of the company's debt prior to its IPO.°
• Advised PKN Orlen S.A., the largest petrochemicals concern in Poland, on several financings and potential mergers and acquisitions.°
• Advised the governments of Romania and Ukraine on the development of regulatory systems and privatisation strategies for the electric power sector.°

°The above representations were handled by Mr. Horvath prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

• Partner, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, 2002-2012
  • Executive Partner, 2012
  • Head of London M&A Practice, 2007-2012
• Partner, Hunton & Williams LLP, 1992-2002
  • Associate, Hunton & Williams LLP, 1985-1992

• EMEA Legal 500: Recommended in Commercial, Corporate and M&A (2023-2024) and Private Equity (2023-2024)
• Listed, IFLR1000, "Highly Regarded" in M&A 2017-2023
• Recognised, Finance Monthly, 2016-2022
  • "Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year," 2019 
  • "Game Changer," 2018
  • "Deal Maker of the Year," 2016-2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
• Listed, Chambers Global, Corporate/M&A - Poland, Expertise based abroad in UK, 2019
• Team Member, PERE Global Awards, Law Firm of the Year: Fund Formation in Europe, 2018 
• Recognised,Acquisition International, 2017
  • "Best M&A Law Firm," 2017
  • "Most Trusted International Corporate Finance Lawyer – UK," 2017

• Board of Trustees, College of William and Mary Law School Foundation, July 2008-June 2019 (President, July 2016-June 2018)