RTPR advises Macquarie Asset Management on CEZ Vanzare sale

RTPR has assisted Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) in relation to the sale of CEZ Vanzare to Premier Energy PLC, owned by the Czech private equity fund, Emma Capital. CEZ Vanzare is the main electricity supplier in southwest Romania, having a portfolio of approximately 1.4 million household and non-household customers. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2024.

The team of lawyers was coordinated by Roxana Ionescu (Partner), with support from Cezara Urzica (Managing Associate). The team further included Alexandru Stanoiu (Counsel), Andrei Tosa (Managing Associate), Serban Halmagean (Associate), Flavia Mincu, Mihai Mutulescu, Maria Luca, Irina Marinescu and Luka Perovic (Junior Associates).

“We are extremely pleased to announce this important new transaction at the end of the year. It is the 30th transaction signed by our M&A team this year, a record for the Romanian market. It has been a very busy year, but the satisfaction and results are equally rewarding. We would like to thank our clients for their trust, we are glad to have supported them and we would like to congratulate them on the success of this deal”, said Roxana Ionescu, Partner of RTPR.

“It was a challenging deal keeping everyone excited up to the last minute. We are honoured to have been part of this process and contributed to its success. Congratulations to the Macquarie and CEZ teams for their professionalism and dedication, it is always a pleasure to work with such an excellent team”, said Cezara Urzica, Managing Associate at RTPR.

In 2021 RTPR has also advised MAM on the acquisition of ČEZ Group’s portfolio in Romania, including CEZ Vanzare - such transaction being, at that time, the largest M&A transaction in Romania for the last 12 years.
RTPR has unrivalled experience in corporate/M&A transactions, being one of the most active law firms in Romania with complex mandates in which it assists both sellers and buyers.

Recently, the RTPR team received the award for the most active legal adviser in the private equity and venture capital sector, at the ROPEA Awards Gala, the awards being granted by the Romanian Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds. At international level, every year RTPR is recommended in the first tier by the three reputed international directories, Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR1000. At the same time several of the team’s lawyers are recommended as Leading Lawyers or Rising Stars in individual rankings produced by the same publications.

Selected corporate/M&A deals in which RTPR have recently advised are set out below:
→    MidEuropa Partners on the EUR1.3bn sale of Profi, in the largest transaction in the retail sector ever concluded in Romania
→    Intesa Sanpaolo Bank, the largest Italian bank, on the acquisition of First Bank from the American private investment fund J.C. Flowers
→    IPS Solutions, leader on the European software market, on the acquisition of the majority stake in Avaelgo SRL, a Romanian IT services company, from the founder Mihai Tataran
→    Orange Money Romania, part of Orange group, on the transfer of its retail business to Alpha Bank Romania
→    Romcim, part of the CRH Group, on the acquisition of Bauelemente Reinvest S.R.L. and its fully owned subsidiary, Bauelemente S.R.L., the market leader manufacturer of prefabricated reinforced and prestressed concrete in Romania
→    AS Piletilevi Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in Departamentul Logistic Event S.R.L., the owner of the website bilete.ro
→    Sarmis Capital on the acquisition of a majority shareholding stake in BMF Grup, the largest integrated facility management company on the Romanian market
→    Regina Maria on the acquisition of a majority shareholding stake in the stomatology clinics chain Dr Leahu
→    Innova Capital on the acquisition of a majority stake in NETOPIA Group, one of the best known payment service providers (PSP) in Romania
→    GreenGroup, a company in the portfolio of private equity fund Abris Capital Partners, on the acquisition of UAB Zalvaris, the largest industrial waste management company in Lithuania, as well as on the acquisition of UAB Ecso, a Lithuanian LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) recycling company