Advising on private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) fund transactions is a key part of our M&A specialization .
We are the legal leaders of the PE/VC market in Poland, as evidenced in particular by the accolades of the Polish Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (PSIK) granted to us as private equity law firm of the year for three years in a row (2020, 2021 and 2022).
We advise on all types of transactions in the PE/VC market, including buyouts and expansion / growth capital transactions, in all phases of enterprise development – from seed capital or start-up transactions to investments in developed and large companies, including public companies (PIPE investments).
We also provide legal assistance in structuring and conducting leveraged buyouts (LBOs), advising on raising or providing debt in the form of a bank loan as well as mezzanine financing. We advise on institution of incentive programmes for managers.
We advise on exit transactions – whether through a sale to an industry investor or financial investor, or through a company’s IPO.
We also advise, both from the legal (including regulatory) and tax perspectives, on the structuring and formation of PE/VC funds (fund formation).
- Capital raising
- Structuring and buy-outs
- Business consultancy
The basic principle that unites our team is to build relationships based on respect and trust.
We have been advising entrepreneurs for 30 years, so we understand the nature of business and how to properly support it. We focus on efficiency, transparency and partnership.
Experience
2023
- Enterprise Investors fund’s investment in Bisar S.A. (Transaction value: PLN 125 million)
- BNP Paribas Bank Poland’s investment in the High Perch Group
- Buyout of shares in Polska Grupa Biogazowa S.A. from PFR and their sale to TotalEnergies Group
- Sale of a majority stake in Hymon Fotowoltaika sp. z o.o. to a consortium of Kajima Partnership Europe and Griffin Capital Partners
2022
- Lux Med Group’s investment in Mediss Dental Clinic
- Selsey’s acquisition of an investment from Wirtualna Polska Media S.A.
- Investment by Inplus sp. z o.o., a portfolio company of Accession Capital Partners, in Smart Factor sp. z o.o.
- Sale of Famed Żywiec sp. z o.o. by PE fund EMSA Capital
- BNP Paribas Bank Polska’s investment in Autenti
- Klima Energy Transition’s (Alantra Group) investment in Sunroof Technology
- Famur S.A. and DC24 ASI’s investment in Impact Clean Power Technology
- DC24 ASI’s investment in Syntoil S.A.
2021
- Accession Capital Partners fund’s investment in Inplus-Cenatorium
- Resource Partners fund’s investment in Buglo Play
- Acquisition of 100% of Skyrise.Tech shares by Finnish public company Etteplan Oyj
- Avallon‘s sale of a majority stake in EBS
- Avallon‘s sale of a majority stake in MPS International
- BaseLinker’s acquisition of investment from Kulczyk Investments
- Sale of a stake in VirtusLab sp. z o.o. to Aquiline Capital Partners LLC
- Inovo Venture Partners’ investment in Sunroof Technology
2020
- Sale of JARS S.A. to GBA Group
- Increased involvement of the Enterprise Investors fund in Anwim S.A., operator of MOYA gas stations
- Investment by Anwim S.A., a portfolio company of the Enterprise Investors fund, in the eMila chain of unmanned gas stations
- Sale of MotionVFX business to Nextline (first transaction in Poland involving search funds, a management buyout entity with the support of global investors)
- Granting of financing in the amount of PLN 110 million for investments in photovoltaic farm projects between DC24 ASI and Columbus Energy S.A.
- Sale of shares of R2G Polska sp. z o. o., operating under the Apaczka brand, to Abris Capital Partners Ltd. fund
- Sale of shares in MBL Group by Mezzanine Management fund to INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund
- Investment by Luxembourg-based btov Partners fund in Neptune Labs company
- Sunfish Partners’ investment in Aether Biomedical
- Investment by SMOK Ventures, InnoEnergy and LT Capital in Sunroof Technology
- Sale of a stake in XTRF Systems S.A. by Experior Venture Fund
- Black Forest Fund’s investment in ExploRNA
- Sale of majority stake in Akomex Group by Highlander Partners fund
- Acquisition of a majority stake in Clovin S.A. by the Avallon fund
- Investment in Corab by the Black Forest fund
- Enterprise Investors fund’s sale of shares in Danwood S.A. to Korean firm GS Engineering & Construction (value of transaction: €140 million)
- Market One Capital’s investment in SonarHome
2019
- Sale of a stake in PayPro S.A. (operator of Przelewy24) to Nets Denmark a.s. (a portfolio company of Hellman & Friedman, Advent International and Bain Capital)
- Acquisition of 100% of Platinum Wines sp. z o.o. by Jantoń, a portfolio company of the Enterprise Investors fund
- Repurchase of H88 shares from 3TS Capital Partners fund
- Leveraged management buyout of Krosno Glass S.A. with CVI fund participation
- Enterprise Investors fund’s sale of 100% of 3S S.A. shares to Play (value of the transaction: PLN 410 million)
- Sale of ArchiDoc S.A. by OEX S.A. to Offsite Archive Storage & Integrated Services (OASIS) (transaction value: PLN 65 million)
- Black Forest fund’s investment in Tikrow company
- BNP Paribas Bank Polska‘s investment in Dafo Plastics S.A.
- VC fund Sunfish Partners’ investment in Molecule One
- BNP Paribas Bank Poland’s investment in Asprod company
- Inovo Venture Partners’ investment in the company Tidio Poland
- Raising funding for start-up SonarHome
2018
- Enterprise Investors fund’s investment in a significant minority stake in Anwim S.A., operator of MOYA gas stations
- Finch Capital’s investment in PerfOps
- BNP Paribas Bank Polska’s investment in JARS sp. z o.o.
- Sale of shares in Profim to Flokk Group by way of share exchange
- Acquisition of a majority stake in Golpasz S.A. by the Resource Partners fund
- BNP Paribas Bank Polska’s investment in PG Energetyka and indirectly in Elektromontaż Poznań S.A.
- Leveraged management buyout of Exact Systems S.A with participation of CVI fund
- Sale of majority stake in Velvet Care sp. z o.o. by Avallon fund to Abris Capital Partners fund
- Sale of shares in Kuźnia Jawor S.A. by the First Private Equity FIZAN fund
2017
- Bounty Brands’ investment in the company Bezgluten
- Mezzanine Management fund’s investment in Nettle S.A.
- Enterprise Investors fund’s investment in Jantoń
- Enterprise Investors fund’s sale of shares in Harper Hygienics S.A., a public company listed on the WSE, to Latvian firm iCotton SIA
- Sale of majority stake in Inelo Poland and OCRK Poland to Innova Capital fund
- Investment of BNP Paribas Bank Polska TLC Group
- Resource Partners fund’s sale of Melvit stake to Polfood Group
- Sale of majority stake in Profim to Innova Capital fund
- Sale of shares in companies controlling MILA chain of stores to Eurocash (transaction value: PLN 350 million)
- Sale by the Krokus PE fund of 100% of Comfort S.A. shares to the Goldbeck group
- Polish Development Fund’s investment in H. Cegielski – Poznañ
- Highlander Partners fund’s investment in Rotometal
- Sale of a 32.99% stake in Skarbiec Holding, a public company listed on the WSE, by the Enterprise Investors fund
- Sale of a stake in the Avia Prime group (Linetech and Adria Airways Tehnika d.d.) to the Hartenberg Holding fund
- Acquisition of a majority stake in EBS by the Avallon fund
- Sale by the Krokus PE fund of a stake in Catermed S.A. to Naprzód S.A.
News
& Insights
17.03.2023
GESSEL honoured in Chambers Europe 2023
Chambers and Partners have announced the results of their Europe 2022 ranking. We are proud to point out that our firm has strengthened its position i...
27.03.2025
Legal 500 Ranking!
The 2025 edition of Legal 500 is out, and we’ve been recognised in 6 categories this year. In addition, 23 of our lawyers received individual awards or were recommended ...
23.10.2024
IFRL 1000 2024
We are delighted to announce the results of the latest IFLR1000 rankings! With great pleasure, we share that our team has earned recognition in the following areas: ...
21.05.2024
We advised Sescom S.A. and its major shareholders on a PLN 104 mln sale of a majority stake to Enterprise Investors
GESSEL is proud to have advised Sescom S.A. and its major shareholders on a PLN 104 mln sale of a majority stake to Enterprise Investors. Sescom is a Warsaw-listed prov...
28.03.2024
Legal 500 international ranking just out, and GESSEL features prominently!
It’s awards season, and we at GESSEL are not done yet. The latest iteration of the Legal 500 ranking names our founding partner, Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz, as a...
15.03.2024
We advised Gaz-System on its purchase of Gas Storage Poland from Orlen
We provided legal support to Gaz-System S.A. in execution with Orlen S.A., on 14 March 2024, of a conditional share purchase agreement for a 100% stake in Gas Storage Po...
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