Rymarz Zdort Maruta advises Erste Group on record-breaking acquisition of 49% controlling stake in Santander Bank Polska

We are pleased to announce that we advised Erste Group, a leading financial services provider in the eastern part of the European Union, on the acquisition of a 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska S.A. and a 50% stake in Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. from Banco Santander S.A., for a total cash consideration of EUR 7.0 billion. This transaction, involving Poland’s third-largest bank, not only marks the largest deal in the Polish market to date in terms of value but also stands as the largest cross-border M&A in the European banking sector in the past 21 years.

“We sincerely thank Erste Group for their trust and for giving us the opportunity to participate in this monumental transaction. We congratulate our client on the consistent implementation of its growth strategy and expansion into one of the most dynamic and profitable banking markets in Europe. The EUR 7 billion value of this deal exceeds the average annual total of M&A transactions in the Polish market over the past two years, which amounts to approximately EUR 6 billion. We are grateful and proud to have been part of this achievement,” — says Jacek Zawadzki, partner in the M&A department of Rymarz Zdort Maruta law firm.

The transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory and antitrust approvals. The work was led by Jacek Zawadzki (partner), supported by Paweł Mazur (counsel) and Aleksander Jakubisiak (senior associate). Our team also included Łukasz Karasek (counsel), Szymon Cieniawski (counsel), Adam Puchalski (partner), Magdalena Kos (associate), Michał Matysiak (senior associate), Tomasz Kordala (counsel), Julia Kosiniak (associate), Mikołaj Pugowski (associate), Natalia Andrzejczak (associate) and Adam Drgas (associate). Łukasz Gasiński (partner) and Katarzyna Łukaszewicz (partner) provided advice on certain regulatory matters.