DLA Piper has advised Banco Santander Group on the recent investment in its subsidiary Bank Zachodni WBK S.A (BZ WBK) by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The investment, which totals PLN 332 million, will be in the form of subscription for new shares in a private placement transaction, and will result in the EBRD holding a minority equity stake in BZ WBK.
This transaction follows the previously announced merger of BZ WBK and Kredyt Bank S.A., a Polish bank currently majority-owned by the Belgian KBC Group, and supports the consolidation of the third largest bank in Poland.
The EBRD investment is subject to the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego) consenting to relevant changes to the statutes of BZ WBK and to BZ WBK's shareholders adopting the relevant resolutions.
The DLA Piper team advising Banco Santander Group on the EBRD investment was led by Polly Owen, and included partner Jon Hayes and associate Juan Antonio Perez Tejedor in London and country managing partner Krzysztof Wiater, Ph.D. and associates Jacek Gizinski, Rafal Wozniak and Michal Pawlowski in Warsaw.
Polly Owen, Corporate partner at DLA Piper, commented: "we have an excellent relationship with Banco Santander Group internationally, which has been further cemented by this most recent deal. We are delighted to have advised Banco Santander Group in relation to the EBRD investment in BZ WBK, which is a continuation of the advisory services DLA Piper has provided to Banco Santander Group across our offices in London, Warsaw and Madrid during the bank's recent activity in Poland. The capabilities of our international team allow us to support our clients wherever they choose to do business, and we look forward to continuing to work with Banco Santander Group to help implement its impressive expansion."
(Press Release by DLA Piper)
