Wolf Theiss advises Novalpina Capital LLP in the largest transaction in the betting & gaming sector in Romania

Wolf Theiss was the legal advisor of Novalpina Capital LLP, a London based independent European private equity firm with investments in healthcare, B2B, software and casinos, in the largest transaction in the betting & gaming sector ever done in Romania, respectively the acquisition of the market leader MaxBet.

The assistance provided by the team led by Partner Ileana Glodeanu entailed conducting a legal due diligence on three Romanian companies from MaxBet group, as well as providing transactional advice under Romanian law. The acquisition process was complex, given that MaxBet business focuses both on large and small gaming and leisure halls, including also eco-systems created around the gambling activity. Notably, this is the largest deal ever made in the sector in Romania.

Following this acquisition Novalpina Capital LLP will offer its strategic support and capital, together with an extraordinary expertise and experience to Maxbet to consolidate its leading position on the market and open new locations in the upcoming months, creating at the same time added value by improving customer experience in game rooms and employee speciality.

"I am very grateful to Novalpina and the entire deal team who invested us with the confidence to successfully close together this transaction. I am also delighted to see that our team continues to be at the cutting edge of landmark deals in Romania and in CEE, positioning us as trusted legal advisors for private equity funds operating in regulated sectors”, commented Ileana Glodeanu, Wolf Theiss Partner and Coordinator of the Corporate / M&A team in Romania.

Wolf Theiss added this transaction to its sector portfolio, after Blackstone's first investment in Romania in May 2019, when acquiring a minority shareholding participation in Superbet group.

Under the lead of Ileana Glodeanu, contributed to the success of this transaction: Mircea Ciocîrlea (Counsel, Corporate M&A), Flaviu Nanu (Counsel, Real Estate & Construction), Luciana Tache (Senior Associate, Corporate M&A), George Ghitu (Senior Associate, Corporate M&A), Sorin Dumitru (Senior Associate, Dispute Resolution), Costin Salaru (Associate, Employment), Nina Lazar (Associate, Data protection), Adina Aurel (Senior Associate, Regulatory), Claudia Chiper (Partner, Banking & Finance), Anca Jurcovan (Partner, Competition & Antitrust), Alexandru Roman (Associate, Real Estate & Construction), Andrei Salageanu (Associate, Dispute Resolution), Alexandru Asaftei (Associate, Banking & Finance), Iulia Cumpăratu (Associate, Corporate M&A), Iuliana Stoicescu (Senior Associate, Banking & Finance) şi Cătălin Sabău (Associate, Banking & Finance).

Novalpina Capital is a European private equity firm that focuses on making control equity investments in middle market companies throughout the continent. Novalpina specialises in partnering with the highest quality entrepreneurs and management teams in carefully selected industries with the aim to grow those businesses.

Wolf Theiss is one of the leading European law firms in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe with a focus on international business law. With 340 lawyers in 13 countries, over 80% of the firm's work involves cross-border representation of international clients. Combining expertise in law and business, Wolf Theiss develops innovative solutions that integrate legal, financial and business know-how.