A&O Shearman, as lead counsel to AutoBinck Group, together with Romanian relationship firm RTPR, has advised AutoBinck Group on the sale of Business Lease Romania S.R.L. to Autonom Group. RTPR advised on the Romanian law aspects of the transaction. The transaction forms part of AutoBinck Group’s broader strategic divestment of its vehicle leasing operations across Central and Eastern Europe, on which A&O Shearman has been advising the group across multiple jurisdictions.

 AutoBinck Group is a Dutch family business at the forefront of mobility and sustainable energy, which was founded in 1907. Business Lease Romania is a provider of operational leasing and fleet management services present on the local market since 2014. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

A&O Shearman acted as lead counsel to AutoBinck Group on the transaction as part of the wider CEE divestment programme. The A&O Shearman team was led by Prague-based counsel Jakub Čech, supported by associate Jan Spousta, with RTPR advising on the Romanian law aspects of the transaction.  

The RTPR transaction team was coordinated by Mihai Ristici (Partner) and Vlad Stamatescu (Counsel), with further support from by George Capota (Associate) and Fabian Oltenacu (Junior Associate). The due diligence team was made of Cezara Urzica (Counsel), Andrei Nicolae, Victor Popa (Associates) and Iasmina Buse (Junior Associate). Roxana Ionescu (Partner) and Serban Halmagean (Managing Associate) are advising on competition and FDI aspects of the deal.

“This transaction offered another opportunity to work closely with our longstanding colleagues at A&O Shearman. The strength of our relationship and the excellent cooperation between our teams were instrumental in delivering coordinated and commercially focused advice to AutoBinck Group. It has been a pleasure to work together on this transaction”, said Mihai Ristici, Partner at RTPR.

“We are delighted to have supported AutoBinck Group on this transaction, working closely with all parties to navigate the process and address the various legal aspects efficiently and pragmatically. It was a rewarding project and another example of seamless cross-border teamwork”, said Vlad Stamatescu, Counsel at RTPR.

RTPR and A&O Shearman have been working together for many years on some of the largest and complex transactions and projects in the region and have repeatedly pooled their teams to provide services perfectly tailored to the needs of the clients on regional matters.

RTPR’s Corporate/M&A team is well known for its extensive transactional experience. The most significant international legal directories Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR1000 place the law firm in the first tier, while several of the team’s lawyers are recognised as Leading Lawyers or Rising Stars in individual rankings in this field.

Selected corporate/M&A deals in which RTPR have recently advised are set out below:

• ENGIE Romania on the sale of ENGIE Building Solutions S.R.L. to BMF GRUP, a portfolio company of private equity fund SARMIS Capital
• Nibiru Real Estate, the company developing the entertainment and leisure project NIBIRU launched this summer on the Romanian seaside, on its investment partnership with Inspire Asset Management
• Enterprise Investors and its portfolio company 18GYM on its investment in Stay Fit Gym
• Boldmind Capital Partners on the acquisition of Pallet Express S.R.L. from Delamode Group Limited, a portfolio company of BaltCap, the largest private equity fund manager in the Baltic states
• Resource Partners, one of the largest CEE private equity funds, on the sale of its entire stake in Ia Bilet SRL, the well-known Romanian ticketing platform, to PLG Romania, part of AS Piletilevi PLG
• Viorel and Elena Tofan, the shareholders of Dinamic92 Distribution SRL, Romania’s leading independent tyre distributor, on the sale of the company to Nordic Tyre Group, one of Europe’s leading independent tyre wholesale and distribution platforms backed by Nordic private equity firm Axcel
• Provectus Capital Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Seatbelt Consulting, Romania’s market leading provider of occupational health and safety services
• Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) on the EUR700m sale of Evyro Group, owner of Distributie Energie Oltenia (DEO), a regulated electricity distribution network in Romania, to Premier Energy Group
• MidEuropa on the sale of Regina Maria Group to Mehiläinen in the largest ever healthcare services transaction in Central Europe
• MidEuropa on the EUR1.3bn sale of Profi, in the largest transaction in the retail sector ever concluded in Romania