Dealmakers

Poland: healthy gains

London-based law firm Linklaters advised private equity investor Mid Europa on the €400m sale of Polish private healthcare provider Lux Med to British organisation Bupa.
According to the magic circle firm, the transaction represents the largest private equity exit in Poland since Mid Europa’s sale of Aster in 2010, and was the largest private equity transaction in Poland in 2012.
New York firm White & Case advised Bupa on the acquisition of Lux, which is the largest healthcare provider in Poland.
The White & Case team was led by mergers and acquisitions partners Rob Irving in Budapest, John Cunningham in London and Marcin Studniarek in Warsaw supported by local Warsaw partner Aneta Hajska and associates Jaroslaw Czernek (London) and Joanna Danilowicz (Warsaw).
The Linklaters team was led by corporate partner Tomasz Zorawski, assisted by corporate associate Klaudia Krolak, both based in Warsaw.

UK: premium offering

International law firm Norton Rose has advised Guernsey-based Starwood European Real Estate Finance on its £228.5million initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
According to a statement from the firm, the deal was the largest investment company IPO of 2012 and, measured by funds raised, the second largest premium segment IPO of last year in the UK.
Norton Rose fielded a team from its London and Toronto offices led by UK-based corporate partner Richard Sheen, assisted by Tim Page and Sam Dipper. US securities law advice came from London corporate partner Tom Vita and Alex Hirshfeld. Canadian securities law advice was provided by Toronto corporate partner Mark Convery. Tax advice was provided by London-based John Challoner.

Brazil: banking it

New York-headquartered law firm Milbank acted for the Bank of America on a $726 million loan to the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.
The loan comes just months after the firm represented BofA on a $479 million loan agreement with the state of Mato Grosso, which is set to stage World Cup matches in 2014.
Both deals were backed by the Brazilian government and led by Milbank partner Marcelo Mottesi, head of the firm’s global securities practice. He was assisted by global securities associates Matthew Squires, Rodrigo Carvalho and George Naya, alternative investments partner Jay Grushkin and associate Nicholas Robinson and tax partner Andrew Walker.

Bosnia Herzegovina: full tank

Leading Central and Eastern Europe law firm Wolf Theiss advised Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), one of the biggest vertically-integrated energy companies in southeast Europe, on the acquisition of the entire OMV petrol station network in Bosnia Herzegovina.
Austria-based OMV had already announced it was to withdraw from the region after 10 years, and Serbian outfit NIS -- a subsidiary of the Russian company Gazprom-neft –agreed to take over the Bosnian OMV subsidiary together with its complete petrol station network.
The Wolf Theiss team advising on this cross-border deal was led by corporate partner Horst Ebhardt, supported by fellow departmental partners Luka Tadic-Colic and Miroslav Stojanovic, and competition partner Günter Bauer.

Poland: learn and earn

Media and education company Pearson was advised by Central European law firm Schoenherr on its acquisition of all the rights and obligations of limited partners in iOKI Sp k, a Polish supplier of e-learning solutions.
London-based Pearson also acquired 100 per cent of the shares of iOKI sp z o o, the general partner of iOKI Sp k. Schoenherr supported Pearson in the legal due diligence exercise and in drafting and negotiating transaction documentation.
The firm’s team consisted of Warsaw partner Katarzyna Terlecka, Mateusz Rogozi?ski and Magdalena Piszewska.