WKB competition team represented Grundfos Holding A/S in proceedings before the Polish competition authority (UOKiK), swiftly obtaining unconditional clearance for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Silhorko-Eurowater A/S.

On 5 August 2020, the Government Legislation Centre published the long awaited draft bill amending the Commercial Companies Code and certain other acts. The primary purpose of the proposed amendments is to introduce certain regulations from holdings law (the law on corporate groups) into the Polish law system, which will regulate relationships between parent companies and their subsidiaries such that the interests of all parties concerned are taken into account. Furthermore, the draft bill, as published, provides for a number of amendments strengthening supervisory boards by giving them tools allowing them to  exercise more effective corporate supervision. The bill also sanctions a duty of loyalty of members of a company’s governing bodies.

WKB supported RWE and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – global advisors to the RWE energy group – advising on the Polish aspects of RWE’s acquisition of Nordex’s European wind and solar power project portfolio.

Anna Wyrzykowska, partner at WKB, was elected on 28 August by the General Assembly of AIJA (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats / International Association of Young Lawyers) to the position of First Vice President of the Association. Anna is the first lawyer from Poland with such a high position on the board of AIJA, one of the most important international legal organizations in the world, and which has been operating since 1962.

WKB advised ABB with regards to the Polish legal aspects of ABB’s divestment of the Power Grids Division into a separate entity, together with the part of the company which provides support services to this Division in the CEE region. The transaction was carried out simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions across the world.

In the latest edition of the Law Firm Ranking, published every year by the Rzeczpospolita daily, WKB moved up to the 5th place by the number of lawyers and to the 6th place by the number of advocates and legal advisers. The firm was also recognized as one of the growth leaders for 2010-2020.

Poland adopted a new law on foreign direct investment controls as part of the so-called “Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0”. The law expands the State’s control over M&A transactions in some strategic sectors of the economy. These provisions came into force on 24 July 2020 and they seem to apply to ongoing transactions (those not closed before that date). On 21 July 2020 President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK, the authority responsible for application of the new measures) published guidelines concerning new rules on foreign direct investment. Even though the guidelines are not a binding source of law they show how the new measures will be interpreted and adopted.

The issue of force majeure is presented by Marta Midloch in an article in Executive Magazine.