internationalWKB advised Aviva plc on the Polish legal aspects of its exit from Poland through the sale of its entire shareholding in Aviva Poland companies to Allianz for a cash consideration of €2.5 billion. This is historically the largest transaction on the Polish insurance market.
WKB advised Aviva plc (“Aviva”) on the Polish legal aspects of its exit from Poland through the sale of its entire shareholding in all of its Polish subsidiaries, including primarily insurance businesses, as well as pension fund, investment fund manager, and its joint-ventures with Santander. WKB acted as local counsel alongside Slaughter and May – lead counsel to Aviva on this transaction.
WKB’s lawyers advised Aviva and provided comprehensive legal support during the entire transaction, in particular by providing ongoing advice regarding the structure and regulatory aspects of the transaction which involves multiple entities subject to the supervision of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, as well as assistance with drafting the transaction documentation and support in preparing the due diligence process.
The transaction required the close cooperation of WKB’s M&A, insurance, capital markets/regulatory, and banking teams. Jakub Jędrzejak (partner) and Jakub Pokrzywniak (partner) led the team’s work.
Key members of the team were: Ben Davey (partner), Tomasz Maślak (senior associate) and Katarzyna Stefaniak (associate) from the M&A practice; Aleksandra Przybysz (senior associate) from the insurance law practice; Agata Szczepańczyk-Piwek (counsel) and Monika Obiegło (senior associate) from the capital markets practice; Marcin Smolarek (partner), Konrad Kropiwnicki (associate) and Sebastian Łyś (associate) from the banking and finance practice; Krzysztof Wawrzyniak (counsel) from the company law and corporate governance practice; and Aleksander Stawicki (partner) and Wojciech Kulczyk (senior associate) from the competition law practice.
Transaction perimeter includes Aviva’s interests in life insurance business in Poland and Lithuania, and its Polish general insurance, asset management and pensions businesses, including, notably: Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Na Życie S.A., Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Ogólnych S.A., Aviva Investors Poland Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. The Aviva Poland business also includes Aviva’s 51% shareholding in life and general insurance joint ventures with Santander (Santander-Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń Na Życie S.A. and Santander-Aviva Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń S.A., respectively).
The transaction was signed and announced and its completion is pending merger control and regulatory approvals.
See also:
https://www.slaughterandmay.com/recent-work/aviva-on-its-sale-of-aviva-poland/
