Keeping it moving along in times of crisis

Quite understandably, the present corona crisis is dominating the public debate at all levels and has brought many sectors of the global economy to a standstill.

For our part here at GESSEL, we have regrouped and continue to soldier on, doing the utmost possible to preserve the wellbeing of our lawyers and support staff while, at the same time, remaining on standby for our Clients.

At a time like this, we are especially proud to announce that the past week has witnessed two closings of M&A transactions !

Last Monday, we hosted at our Warsaw office – open daily thanks to a skeleton staff of our dedicated colleagues – the closing of the transaction for sale of Danwood S.A., the largest producer of readymade houses in Germany and in Poland (and a portfolio company of Enterprise Investors, a leading player in the CEE private equity market and a GESSEL Client of long standing). The sale of Danwood to GS Engineering & Construction of South Korea for EUR 140 mln translates into an EUR 238 mln gross revenue for the fund – a record-breaking nine-fold return on its equity investment. We at GESSEL take especial pride in this success in that it has been our pleasure and privilege to support Enterprise Investors during the successive stages of its involvement in Danwood from its very beginning – purchase of Danwood from Budimex S.A. in 2013 – through various turning points and the exit. For more information, please see here.

At the end of the week, meanwhile, we celebrated the closing of the transaction in which another of our regular Clients, PBKM, acquired a 70% stake in a Turkish stem cell bank. For more information about the Famicord-Acibadem deal, please click here.

Clearly, these are difficult times, and practically all areas of the economy are bound to feel the strain. But we’re doing what is reasonably possible to keep it business as (almost) usual…