Author: Kancelaria

The law firm was supporting the investment funds managed by Pekao TFI S.A., which developed – in cooperation with Bank Pekao S.A. and Pekao Investment Banking S.A. – the structure for the program involving the PLN 2.5 billion issue of bonds of Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Oczyszczania w m. st. Warszawie sp. z o.o., aimed at financing the modernization and extension of the municipal waste incineration plant, as well as the construction of a waste segregation plant for Warsaw.

The project was handled by Sebastian Sury and Matylda Juzala (Partners at act BSWW), and supervised by Piotr Smołuch (Managing Partner and Head of Bonds).

The strategically important project, involving the renovation and extension of the incineration plant, as well as the construction of a waste segregation plant, will see the emergence of two new technological lines for municipal waste combustion within the next three years. Following the completion of the works, this is going to be Poland’s biggest facility of this sort, while also being among the largest ones across Europe. It is supposed to combust over 300 tons of mixed waste annually, and generate energy for more than a dozen thousand households.

“We perfectly realize that this project is of crucial strategic importance for the city. Warsaw has been waiting for it for years. This makes us even prouder to be given the opportunity to contribute to its success,” says Piotr Smołuch, Managing Partner at act BSWW.

The facility is going to be eco-friendly as it was designed in line with top environmental standards related to waste management.

act BSWW was advising Strabag Real Estate on the sale of Astoria office development.

The building was purchased by Credit Suisse Asset Management for its property funds.

Astoria is a 10-storey premium-class building located in downtown Warsaw, between Nowy Świat and Marszałkowska streets. It offers over 18,000 m² of office area, as well as some retail space.

The scope of act BSWW’s services included transaction and tax advisory throughout the sale process.

The project team was made up of Marek Wojnar (Managing Partner), Marta Kosiedowska (Partner) and Katarzyna Góra (Senior Associate). The tax team was managed by Małgorzata Wąsowska (Partner).

“The sale of Astoria is among Poland’s largest office property transactions this year,” says Marta Kosiedowska.

“Strabag Real Estate has been very active in the Polish market. Its strategy covers a wide range of different types of properties. Astoria sale is just one of many transactions we have recently handled for this Client,” adds Marek Wojnar.

Credit Suisse Asset Management was supported by Greenberg Traurig (law firm).

act BSWW has advised Moderna Holding sp. z o.o. on the acquisition of 100% shares in Przedsiębiorstwo Budowlane “KOKOSZKI” S.A., a Gdańsk-based developer company. This purchase is a part of Moderna’s development strategy, seeking to secure a wider range of services and a stronger position as a leader in the Tri-City’s developer market.

Following the transaction, Moderna’s portfolio features a usable residential area of 150k square meters, making it the leader in the Tri-City market. So far, Moderna has been pursuing high-end investments in multi-family and office buildings segment of the Tri-City and Warsaw market. The recent deal has expanded the company’s portfolio with a complementary developer project segment.

Moderna and Kokoszki will continue to operate as separate entities under the umbrella of Moderna Holding.

“Both companies have a similar organizational chart and operate within the same multi-family and office building segment, but have different target groups,” says Adam Małaczek, President of Moderna Holding Management Board. “We have gained immense potential to increase stability and liquidity of project implementation which, in light of complex administrative and civil regulations, will facilitate flexible process management and give us an edge over our competition. In the end, it is the buyers of standard and high-end apartments who will benefit the most from the transaction,” he adds.

Piotr Smołuch (Managing Partner) led the team of lawyers advising on the transaction. The team was made up of Jakub Salwa (Partner) and Michał Pawlak (Senior Associate).

The scope of legal services provided by the law firm covered a due diligence audit of the acquired company and its assets.

“This is yet another transaction in which we have supported Moderna. We are glad to have been able to take part in one of our Client’s key projects,” said Piotr Smołuch.

Moderna’s portfolio includes many appealing projects, such as BALTIQ PLAZA, Front Park, Oliwski Park i Oliwa 505 and Złota Chmielna Apartments. A few other investments in Gdynia, Gdańsk and Warsaw (Powiśle and Praga neighborhoods) are pending completion. Some of the most notable projects implemented by Kokoszki include the Sadowa and Niepołomicka residential estates, as well as Kokoszki Office.

Kokoszki has been operating since 1969, over time building an impressive portfolio of successful projects, including dozens of residential, special-use and commercial buildings, with the Baltic Philharmonic and Opera among them.

YIT, Finland’s largest developer, has just acquired another appealing investment property. This time it opted for Gdańsk, thus expanding its operations in Poland.

The 1.55 ha land lot with a construction permit is located close to the historical center of Gdańsk, right next to the European Solidarity Center. The developer is planning a mixed-use project with a total area of 40,000 m2. The estimated project value is over EUR 100m. It is going to be implemented in several stages.

“During YIT’s 4 years of operations in Poland, we have extended the existing residential projects (that we acquired) and purchased land lots in appealing locations across Warsaw for new projects. Finally, the time has come for some territorial expansion, as part of which we will enter a new market. We have set our sights on Gdańsk due to its impressive growth pace and vast potential for further actions. We want to stay here for a long time. The mixed-use project means that we need to develop skills covering an entirely new segment of operations, i.e. office premises,” says Tomasz Konarski, President of the Management Board at YIT Poland.

act BSWW provided YIT with comprehensive legal advisory throughout the process of the real property acquisition. The scope of services included a due diligence review of the property, preparation of transaction documents, as well as support in negotiations and closing the deal.

Michał Wielhorski (Managing Partner) acted as the team leader. The team was made up of Michał Sołtyszewski (Partner) and Mateusz Prokopiuk (Senior Associate). Tax issues were handled by Małgorzata Wąsowska (Head of Tax) and Michał Brzozowicz (tax team member).

“This is yet another large transaction in which we have supported our Client. Before that, we had a chance to consult on a range of YIT’s projects in Warsaw, including the acquisition of Parkur Residence, Nordic Mokotów (stage 3), Nordic Sadyba and Nordic Bemowo,” says Michał Wielhorski. “We are happy to watch YIT grow and expand on the Polish market,” he adds.

YIT has been operating in Poland since July 2015. Before the Gdańsk-based transaction, all its projects had been located in Warsaw. It all started with the construction of Nordic Mokotów residential estate in June 2016. YIT’s portfolio includes approx. 3,000 apartments, of which 300 have been completed, while several hundred are underway.

YIT is Finland’s biggest developer. It operates in a total of 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

An online training simulator for surgeons performing procedures with the da Vinci robot has arrived at Kliny Hospital [Szpital na Klinach]. The SimNow simulator is the first online training tool of its kind in Poland. act BSWW has contributed to the success of the transaction and delivery of the equipment.

Within just a few months, Kliny Hospital has become one of the most efficient and patient-friendly medical facilities in Central and Eastern Europe. The hospital’s success has been driven by the combination of the best doctors in their fields and state-of-the-art technology. Kliny Hospital, a landmark healthcare project in the Polish market, has been assisted by act BSWW from the very beginning.

The law firm represented the hospital in negotiations with the provider of the da Vinci surgical system (one of just seven used in Poland). Recent days have seen the execution of an agreement for delivery of an online training simulator for surgeons performing procedures with the da Vinci robot. The SimNow simulator is the first training system of its kind in Poland. It is produced and patented by an American corporation, Intuitive Surgical.

“We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to advise on the purchase of the cutting-edge da Vinci technology, which has further led to the delivery of the simulator,” says Piotr Smołuch, Managing Partner at act BSWW, who headed the project team.

The da Vinci robotic surgical system is an advanced medical technology of immense potential. Not only does it facilitate surgical procedures that are key for successful treatment of most common conditions, but it also helps tackle many treatment challenges, e.g. by mitigating the risk of postoperative complications and reducing the patient recovery period.

“From the moment our healthcare facility opened, we have seen growing interest in robot-assisted procedures. Their benefits attract a lot of interest from patients and, most importantly, doctors whose job is to come up with a treatment plan that will be best suited to the patient’s needs. Surgical procedures performed with the da Vinci system, offering instruments designed with seven degrees of freedom and equipped with micro-tools that allow 10-fold magnification of the 3D vision of the surgical field, are as precise as it gets,” says Joanna Szyman, Management Board President at Kliny Hospital.

Over 5000 da Vinci surgical systems have been installed worldwide. They are used for approx. 170 types of surgical procedures, especially uterine surgeries, prostatectomy and large bowel resection, but also bladder and kidney surgeries. The number of procedures assisted by the da Vinci robot grows every year. One million operations were carried out with this technology in 2018, marking a 18% growth against the previous year. So far, 6 million da Vinci robot-assisted operations have been conducted worldwide.

Finland’s leading developer, YIT Development, has purchased a land lot located at Nałęczowska street in Sadyba (a neighborhood of Warsaw), with an eye on building nearly 300 apartments in Q4 2019 as part of Nordic Sadyba project.

“We are proud to have succeeded in buying yet another appealing land lot in the Mokotów district of Warsaw. It is located in the historic section of Mokotów, called Miasto-Ogród Sadyba, that has long been famous for its characteristic buildings and unique ambience of the time when this part of city was home to military officers. This location is about to have access to fully-shaped urban amenities, convenient transport services and numerous green areas. In 2019, this project, together with the land lot in Bemowo district (purchased earlier), opens the way for YIT to build a total of almost 1,000 apartments,” says Tomasz Konarski, CEO of YIT in Poland.

act BSWW provided the developer with a full range of legal services with respect to this transaction. Their scope covered all transaction stages, from due diligence review of the land, through support during transaction negotiations, to acquisition of a pending investment project with a building permit.

The transaction has been handled by a team made up of Michał Wielhorski (team leader, Manging Partner at act BSWW), Michał Sołtyszewski (Partner), Mateusz Prokopiuk (Senior Associate) and Anita Woźniak (Senior Associate).

“We are more than glad to have earned the trust of the Client, who has chosen us to handle yet another of its major Poland-based projects,” says Michał Wielhorski. “We have long experience advising YIT on complex transactions, the most recent including purchase of land designed for Nordic Bemowo project and acquisition of Parkur Tower office complex,” he adds.

YIT is Finland’s leading developer, operating in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

The company has been operating in Warsaw for over 3 years. Its first project, Nordic Mokotów, involved the construction of 340 apartments at the junction of Sikorskiego and Pory streets, with the last building, comprising 124 apartments, pending completion. Progress is also being made at Aroma Park residential estate, offering over 400 apartments. For now, the first two stages of the project, with a total of 171 apartments, are being implemented. In addition, YIT intends to build 400 apartments as part of Parkur Residence estate, with further 600 offered by Nordic Bemowo estate at the crossing of Lazurowa and Batalionów Chłopskich streets.

act BSWW consulted Strabag Real Estate on a transaction involving the sale of a downtown Warsaw hotel.

Motel One at Tamka street features 12,700 m2 of usable area, eleven levels and over 300 rooms. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum is located nearby.

The scope of the law firm’s services included due diligence audit and acquisition of land on which the hotel was supposed to emerge, as well as drafting and negotiations of the construction works agreement, subsequently followed by the building’s forward purchase.

The project was handled by Marek Wojnar (attorney-at-law and Managing Partner at act BSWW) and Marta Kosiedowska (legal counsel, Partner).

“This is Poland’s first Motel One (developed by our Client) that follows the new standards set by this hotel chain,” says Marta Kosiedowska.

“This is yet another large transaction that we have handled for Strabag Group. It gave us an extra boost of satisfaction since it was carried out in the hotel property market that requires vast knowledge and extensive skills. We are pleased that that the Client placed its trust in us with respect to this project that turned out to be a success,” adds Marek Wojnar.