CMS Poland has advised private equity fund CVC Capital Partners on the purchase of of state-owned company PKP Energetyka, the energy unit of Polish National Railways (PKP). The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in Q3 2015. The value of the enterprise was established at PLN 1.965 billion (approx. EUR 477 million) and the price at PLN 1.140 billion.

"Purchase of PKP Energetyka is one of the biggest private equity transactions in Poland made in the key and very perspective sector. Taking into consideration PE investments in Poland, the purchase of Emitel by Alinda Capital Partners in 2014 was similar in terms of scale of investment” – said Dariusz Greszta, partner in CMS responsible for the transaction.

PKP Energetyka – starting in Poland in 2001 – is a cross-country electricity distributor to the Polish railway network and to other customers. It also provides nationwide maintenance and emergency response services to the railway network, operates fuel stations for diesel locomotives and is active in electricity and gas reselling.

CVC is one of the world’s leading private equity and investment advisory firms, operating throughout Europe, Asia and the US. The company has a track record of successfully investing in regulated industries and major strategic assets across Europe such as its 2002 investment in Inalta, the operator of a nationwide high-voltage electricity network in Spain, its 2008 investment in Evonik, the world’s largest speciality chemicals company based in Germany and its 2011 investment in Delachaux, the global rail infrastructure group headquartered in France.

The transaction was extremely complex due to the scale of operations and position of PKP Energetyka on the Polish market, therefore involved expertise from many law practices. The CMS team working on the transaction involved more than 50 lawyers from Warsaw office.

In the transaction, CVC was advised by CMS’s Polish team led by Dariusz Greszta (Partner), supported by key lawyers: Zuzanna Jurga (Senior Associate), Piotr Ciolkowski (Of counsel), Jakub Marcinkowski (Partner), Karolina Siedlik (Partner), Michal Andruszkiewicz (Associate), Tomasz Waligórski (Associate), Filip Ostrowski (Lawyer) and the numerous team.