Vectra takes over Multimedia Polska

Rymarz Zdort provided comprehensive legal services to the Vectra group in connection with the takeover of Multimedia Polska S.A.

The services provided by Rymarz Zdort included advice on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Multimedia, the procurement of financing for the acquisition of the shares in Multimedia, which financing was extended by a consortium of Polish and international financial institutions, as well as the refinancing of the existing indebtedness of the Vectra and Multimedia groups. In the course of the transaction, the President of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office issued a merger clearance decision that included, in addition to a structural condition concerning the sale of the chain in eight cities, an unprecedented condition based on which consumers were entitled to switch their operator in 13 other locations.

The transaction, which took more than one and a half years to complete, was closed on 31 January 2020. Following the transaction, the expanded Vectra group is able to provide services to more than 1.7 million subscribers and reach 4.4 million households, which is more than the existing market leader, UPC Polska.

“We are immensely proud that the client placed their trust in us in connection with a transaction that was highly complex and required in-depth expertise in various areas of the law. Being able to advise on a transaction with that level of complexity confirms our firm’s leading position on the legal services market in the area of M&A and acquisition finance, as well as our capacity for providing comprehensive legal services. We are pleased to have been able to support Vectra in a project that will change the Polish cable operator market by creating a new leader on such market”, said Paweł Zdort, a managing partner of the firm.

The transaction team was led by Paweł Zdort and Jacek Zawadzki, partners from the corporate and M&A departments. The team included Monika Kierepa, a corporate partner and the individual who coordinated the work of the team that conducted the due diligence of the Multimedia group, as well as Leszek Cyganiewicz (senior associate), Aleksander Jakubisiak (associate), and Monika Michałowska (associate).

Comprehensive acquisition finance and refinancing advice was coordinated by Marcin Iwaniszyn, a partner and the head of the banking and finance practice. The team comprised Jerzy Rostworowski (senior associate), Dr Jakub Rachwol (counsel), and Robert Smigielski (associate).

The antimonopoly team was headed by Iwona Her, a partner and the head of the competition protection practice. The team further comprised Leszek Cyganiewicz (senior associate), Irmina Trybalska (counsel), and Weronika Szyszka (associate).