RTPR Allen & Overy has advised the shareholders of Intelligent IT, the company renowned for the billing software SmartBill, in relation to the sale of the business to Visma group, a Norwegian giant in the software industry.

Marius Ghenea, Managing Partner Catalyst Romania, one of the shareholders, said: “I have worked on many transactions with Alina and the RTPR Allen & Overy team so far. As always before, the RTPR team of professionals had an excellent contribution in this complex deal with SmartBill, the buyer being one of the most important strategic investors in Europe, in the vertical business processes provided as SaaS (Software as a Service) technology.”

The team that advised on this project included Alina Stavaru, Partner and Evelin Grigore, Associate, together with Andrei Mihul, Senior Associate, on competition aspects.

Alina Stavaru declared: “We are honoured for having been part of this success story. Especially that three years ago we assisted Catalyst Romania on their investment in SmartBill. It is a great pleasure for us to see the success of a Romanian business that grew alongside the right investors and now it breaks new ground with an impressive name in the technology field.”

Having an M&A practice recognised as one of the best in Romania, RTPR Allen & Overy team is ranked on the top tier by all three most important international legal directories, Chambers, Legal 500 and IFLR1000.

Selected M&A transactions in which RTPR Allen & Overy have been recently involved are set out below:

•                     the shareholders of A&D Pharma, the largest pharma group in Romania, operating wholesale, retail and marketing & sales business and with operations in CEE as well, on the sale of the entire group to Dr Max, the Czech pharmacy chain owned by Penta Investments

•                     Highlander Partners on the acquisition of the majority stake in the Ares Group, the leading private provider of interventional cardiology procedures in Romania

•                     CEECAT Capital on the sale of Brikston Construction Solutions S.A. to the Austrian group Leier

•                     AROBS Transilvania, a market leader in software products and services development, on the acquisition of SAS Grup

•                     Autonom Services on the acquisition of BT Operational Leasing, the operational leasing company currently owned by Banca Transilvania group

•                     the shareholder of Pet Product, the largest pet shop chain in Romania operating under the Animax brand, on the sale of the company to Rohatyn Group

•                     Enterprise Investors on the sale of Macon group to Xella Group

•                     DS Smith Plc group in relation to the acquisition of EcoPack and EcoPaper, two major producers of packaging and paper products on the Romanian market

•                     Enterprise Investors in relation to the sale of Profi supermarket chain to Mid Europa Partners, in the largest deal ever completed by a private equity fund in Romania and the largest deal in the retail sector in the country’s history

Note to the editors:

1.       Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 5,500 people, including some 550 partners, working in more than 40 offices.

2.       RTPR was incorporated in 2004 and has been working in association with Allen & Overy since 2008. RTPR Allen & Overy has a team of 45 lawyers, including 6 partners: Costin Taracila, Victor Padurari, Alexandru Retevoescu, Mihai Ristici, Valentin Berea, Alina Stavaru and also Prof Dr Lucian Mihai, Of counsel.

3.       In this press release, “Allen & Overy” means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings.

4.       In this press release, “RTPR Allen & Overy” means Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu SCA in association with Allen & Overy LLP.

5.       Allen & Overy has been operating in the CEE region since 1991, when its first office opened in Warsaw. Since then, it has expanded its operations to include Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava and Moscow, all of which are renowned in the market for top quality legal advice combined with local commercial understanding, as well as for their integrity and their pro-active approach to matters. Additionally, Allen & Overy signed an exclusive association with the leading full-service Romanian law firm Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu SCA (RTPR), effective from July 2008, expanding the number of CEE offices in which we are able to provide local law advice to six