GESSEL advises Enterprise Investors on its investment in Anwim SA, operator of the MOYA petrol stations network

GESSEL provided wide-ranging legal support to Polish Enterprise Fund VIII, a private equity fund managed by Enterprise Investors, in the acquisition of a significant minority stake in Anwim, one of the largest independent operators of fuel stations in Poland, trading under the MOYA brand. The value of the transaction is  PLN 100 mln. Thanks to the investment, Anwim gained capital for further development of MOYA in Poland.

GESSEL’s input included legal due diligence, obtaining antimonopoly clearance from UOKiK, preparation of transaction documentation and technical documentation, negotiations and support at closing.

“We are happy that we can contribute to the development of Anwim and of the MOYA network, and we believe in the perspectives for growth of the business and of its value. Of course, a minority investment in an entity operating in such a sensitive, highly regulated sector is, by its very nature, complicated in the business as well as legal sense, and it is for this reason why we wanted the support of counsel who fully appreciate all the issues involved”, remarked Sebastian Król, the Enterprise Investors partner responsible for the project.

“The investment in MOYA is yet another transaction in which we had the pleasure and the privilege of supporting Enterprise Investors. In its substantive aspect – to mention only the scale, complexity and dynamics of the company’s operations and the volume of due diligence materials – this transaction posed a number of challenges for our team, and we acquitted ourselves well in overcoming them”, adds Marcin Macieszczak, managing partner of GESSEL.

Enterprise Investors is one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. Active since 1990, the firm has nine funds with total capital exceeding EUR 2.5 billion. These funds have invested EUR 1.9 billion in 143 companies across a range of sectors and exited 128 companies with total gross proceeds of EUR 3.7 billion.

Anwim was founded by two entrepreneurs in 1992 and was initially focused on wholesale fuel trading. In 2009, the company launched retail operations, which currently generate half its revenues. Anwim’s chain of MOYA fuel stations comprises over 180 stations attractively situated in high-traffic locations nationwide, selling quality fuel at affordable prices. Modern well-designed stores are integral to each station. The company plans to dynamically grow the chain and to at least double the number of stations in the next five years. In 2017, Anwim generated over EUR 730 million in revenue from fuel wholesale and retail operations. The company currently employs 250 people.

Our legal team was led by Marcin Macieszczak, managing partner and Bartłomiej Woźniak, advocate, supported by  Bernadeta Kasztelan-Świetlik, Michał Boryczka, Karolina Krzal, Dr Artur Kruszewski, Małgorzata Wilczyńska, Katarzyna Olszak, Piotr Tracz, Iwona Gielo-Benza.