RTPR advises Multimedia Est on Hotnews acquisition

The project team was made of Costin Taracila (Managing Partner) and Ana Maria Barbu (Senior Associate).

“RTPR’s role in the success of the acquisition of HotNews.ro by our group, ZYX Publishing Group, was decisive. And there is not the slightest trace of formalism in this statement. An M&A in the media industry is very complex from a legal perspective. The entire ZYX Publishing Group-HotNews,ro transaction, which was extended over a period of 9 months, was fuelled by the energy generated by the clarity of the solutions and the value of the recommendations received from the team of lawyers. We are also grateful for the invaluable empathy shown by our partners at RTPR”, declared Dragos Vilcu, Chairman of the Board, ZYX Publishing Group.

“Hotnews was and remains a symbol of excellence and resilience in the media and we are pleased to have been part of this project. We boast one of the most experienced corporate/M&A teams which since the beginning of the year has already signed 18 deals and by the end of the year, we expect to break our 2021 record of 20 deals. Congratulations to our entire team and to many more successes together!”, said Costin Taracila, Managing Partner of RTPR.

“We are proud to have advised the ZYX Publishing Group team on the acquisition of the companies in the Hotnews group, a project with novel challenges and an extremely creative team. Best of luck to ZYX Publishing Group in their future development plans!”, said Ana Maria Barbu, Senior Associate at RTPR.

RTPR is recognised for its impressive experience in the most sophisticated M&A transactions, every year the firm being recommended in the top of the specialty rankings. International legal directories Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR1000 which carry out detailed research of the global legal market every year, rank the Corporate/M&A practice in the first tier. Client feedback is equally rewarding: “The most commercial M&A legal practice in Romania (...) well equipped to address complex deals with a strong understanding of sophisticated client needs”, for Legal 500 2022.

Selected M&A deals in which RTPR have recently advised are set out below:

-        Jean Valvis on the strategic agreement between AQUA Carpatica, the premium Romanian spring water owned by Carpathian Springs SA company, and the American corporation PepsiCo for a 20 percent equity stake in AQUA Carpatica

-        Enterprise Investors on the sale of Noriel, the largest toys and games retailer in Romania, to Sunman Group

-        The founders of Qualitance on the sale of the company to Alten, a French technology and innovation consultancy and services group, with international operations in 30 countries

-        African Industries Group on the acquisition of World Class Romania, the largest health and fitness network in Romania

-        Catalyst Romania on the acquisition of a minority stake in Evolution Prest Systems S.R.L., the company that owns the e-commerce website www.evoMAG.ro

-        GreenGroup, a company in the portfolio of private equity fund Abris Capital Partners, on the acquisition of UAB Ecso, a Lithuanian LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) recycling company

-        Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) on the acquisition of a portfolio of power assets owned by CEZ Group in Romania, the largest M&A transaction in Romania in the last 12 years

-        Meridiam SAS, a global investor and asset manager, in relation to entering Netcity Telecom’s shareholding, the company that operates the underground telecommunications infrastructure in Bucharest

-        ENGIE Group on the sale of its entire participation in Flashnet S.A. to Lucy Group Ltd.

-        Arval Service Lease Romania S.R.L., part of BNP Paribas Group, on the acquisition of a part of the operational leasing activity of BCR Fleet Management