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News from Members Reff & Associates reports a 20% growth in 2012

Reff & Associates reports a 20% growth in 2012

by Reff & Associates March 13, 2013

The law firm is a member of Deloitte Legal, one of the first four legal networks in Continental Europe

Reff & Associates has managed a 1.3-billion Euro portfolio last year, given sustained activity in M&A, Real Estate, the Banking sector, Capital Markets, Energy and Competition. Also, the law firm has contributed to the consolidation efforts of Deloitte Legal, currently the largest integrated network in Central Europe, and the fourth in Continental Europe by number of lawyers.
“For us, 2012 was an excellent year, as we grew significantly in number of lawyers and turnover, as we continued to build upon the remarkable performance of our representative practices (M&A, Banking and Real Estate) and the growth in areas we have invested more recently in, like Energy, Litigation and Competition,” said Alexandru Reff, Partner. “We get great satisfaction from keeping a stable and enthusiastic team, while also recruiting new colleagues from other prestigious law firms and by investing in graduates, every year. We are also putting at good use sinergies with other expertise areas within Deloitte, especially fiscal and financial advisory, while also being a respected partner within the Deloitte Legal network, that is currently seeing unprecedented dynamism.”

Combined landmark M&A deals worth over 800 million Euro
2012 began with an 80-million Euro deal in Real Estate - the acquisition of the class A office complex Business City Center in Timisoara, by New Europe Property Investments plc (NEPI). Reff & Associates acted as legal counsel to the buyer.
July marked the successful end of another major deal, this time in the flat glass industry. Reff & Associates advised Trakya Investment B.V. (Turkey) in the purchase of a majority stake in Romanian company GlassCorp S.A. The team was involved in conducting the legal due diligence and drafting, reviewing and negotiating the entire set of acquisition documents for the buyer. The total investment was estimated at 55 million Euro.
Separately, the law firm has assisted Rosequeens Properties in the takeover of Liberty Center Mall. The deal was labeled as the second largest deal closed in Romania last year.

One of the Energy-related projects supported by Reff & Associates was the exclusive legal assistance provided to Portuguese-based EDP Renewables in connection with restructuring methods of the company’s business in Romania, as well as assistance and representation in front of the national regulatory authority related to various procedures and formalities. The project was valued at 80-million Euro.

Another important mandate was the legal assistance provided to Magyar Villamos Muvek (MVM) Hungary on various energy regulatory legal aspects, and preparing legal due diligence analysis of a 16 micro-hydro power plants park in Transylvania. The project was worth 10 million Euro.

The latest transaction successfully closed was the takeover of the Lakeview A Class office complex by NEPI. Reff & Associates adviced the buyer in drafting, reviewing and negotiating the entire set of acquisition documents. Worth 61.7 million Euro, the deal is considered the largest real estate deal of the first half of 2013.

Financial Services and trends in the Capital Markets

Reff & Associates has a strong portfolio in Financial Services; so far, the aggregate value of assisted mandates in this industry amounts to some 440 million Euro.

Besides legal assistance to Rosequeens Properties in the Liberty Center acquisition, Reff & Associates has acted as legal counsel to Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank in redrafting the credit documentation for a Real Estate financing deal worth more than 40 million Euro.

Separtely, the team has supported a top company in Romania in a loan restructuring of a cross-border Real Estate project (over 15 million Euro), while also negotiating the financing documentation after the acquisition (change of control) for an investment fund in a more than 70-million Euro deal.

Most mandates in banking portfolio of 2012 (with a total value exceeding 250 million Euro) consisted in legal assistance to banks for remedies in cases of defaulting loans, enforcement of loan and security documents, take-over of assets / borrowers, standstill agreements, moratorium (concordat) and dealing with bank’s rights in borrowers (pre)/ insolvency.

“We have a mixed, professional team that has been involved in numerous projects in this industry, by assisting banks and borrowers alike,” said Andrei Burz-Pînzaru, Partner Reff & Associates and coordinator of the Banking & Capital Markets practice. “We have seen increased activity in type of deals that were unusual before, such as credit portfolio transfers or securitizations; our team is currently involved in such projects. Separately, the activity has also intensified in Capital Markets, with successful projects finalized by our team. Among them we may quote the historic ruling of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, last summer, in favor of a file regarding alleged market abuse actions.”

Deloitte Legal
Around 900 lawyers are currently practicing under the Deloitte Legal umbrella , in 30 countries in Continental Europe, thus representing the fourth largest legal network in the region. In Central Europe, Deloitte Legal acts as an integrated legal practice in 12 countries, closely connected to Deloitte consultants in other areas of expertise.
Reff & Associates is one of the most important pillars of Deloitte Legal, with 36 lawyers specialized in various industries and expertise areas.
“Deloitte aims at developing the largest legal network in the world, and also at building the legal practice of the future, with global presence, ability to understand businesses and operate pragmatically, in close connection with experts from other areas, at costs optimized through efficient processes and technologies,” concludes Alexandru Reff.

About Reff & Associates

Reff & Associates is a Member of Deloitte Legal, a network of legal practices working with Deloitte all over the world integrated with the Deloitte multi-disciplinary advisory practice. The professionals working with Reff & Associates have significant experience in high level transactions, in which complex matters are addressed from cross-border and multi-disciplinary perspective. The multi-disciplinary experience of legal professionals allows them to provide, together with other Deloitte professionals, a complete answer to the needs of their clients. They propose state-of-the-art services relying not only on legal and regulatory expertise but also on the use of innovative processes. Their global and systematic approach allows clients to integrate early in their strategy potential legal issues, thus anticipating and preventing legal risks and minimizing the disruption of business operations.

International recognition:
The continuous and consistent involvement of Reff & Associates in landmark transactions over the last years has increased the firm’s visibility and market recognition and has prompted higher rankings in reputable international legal guides. The 2011 edition of Legal 500 Europe, Middle East & Africa ranks Reff & Associates alongside leading law firms, and particularly recommends its lawyers for their expertise in Banking & Finance, Corporate and M&A and Real Estate work. As quoted in the said Legal 500 edition, the clients appreciate Reff & Associates for its ‘ability to provide high-quality services and business-oriented advice’, as well as ‘good market knowledge’. Reff & Associates was also recommended by the legal guide Chambers Europe 2011 for its M&A practice.


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Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/ro/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.

Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte's 200,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence.


© 2013 Deloitte Romania


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