Successful closing | RTPR advises African Industries Group on World Class acquisition

RTPR announces the successful closing of a new M&A transaction, the acquisition of the fitness network World Class Romania by African Industries Group from private equity fund Resource Partners.The deal was closed on 15 July, while the transaction documents were signed in April.Throughout the process, RTPR provided legal assistance to African Industries Group on all phases of the acquisition.

Following the acquisition of the 41 World Class centres located all over the country, African Industries Group enters a new segment of business, health & fitness.

The RTPR team was coordinated by Costin Taracila (Managing Partner), while Marina Fecheta-Giurgica (Managing Associate) provided the day-to-day management of the project with the support of Serban Halmagean (Associate). The team further included several members for the different stages of the project, for the due diligence process: Diana Dimitriu, Andrei Tosa (Managing Associates), Codrina Simionescu (Associates), Flavia Mincu, Miruna Tocileanu and Ozana Ghic (Junior Associates). Roxana Ionescu (Partner) and Serban Halmagean advised on competition aspects of the transaction.

“We would like to thank African Industries Group for putting their trust in us for the completion of this first mandate together, a large-scale project of high complexity and which was carried out at an intense pace. For our team, the joy of closing this transaction is doubled by the fact that it is the second time we facilitated the acquisition of World Class. The first time back in 2014, we assisted Resource Partners, also as a buyer at the time, and now we advised African Industries Group. Congratulations to all parties involved in this deal!”, said Marina Fecheta-Giurgica, Managing Associate at RTPR.

With an impressive track record of landmark transactions, RTPR’s Corporate/M&A practice enjoys a reputation that is hard to match, being constantly recommended by international publications in this field. 2021 was a record year for the M&A transactions with 20 mandates assisted by RTPR. Its experience in the most complex M&A mandates in various sectors was noticed and appreciated by the most prestigious international legal guides, such as Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR1000, which place the company in the first tier of the rankings. At the same time several of the RTPR lawyers are recognised as Leading Lawyers for this field in individual rankings.

Selected M&A transactions in which RTPR have recently advised are set out below:
→    Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) on the acquisition of a portfolio of power assets owned by CEZ Group in Romania, the largest M&A transaction in Romania in the last 12 years
→    Meridiam SAS, a global investor and asset manager, in relation to entering Netcity Telecom’s shareholding, the company that operates the underground telecommunications infrastructure in Bucharest
→    ENGIE Group on the sale of its entire participation in Flashnet S.A. to Lucy Group Ltd.
→    Arval Service Lease Romania S.R.L., part of BNP Paribas Group, on the acquisition of a part of the operational leasing activity of BCR Fleet Management
→    Autonom Services, the most important independent player on the operational leasing and rent-a-car markets in Romania, on the acquisition of Premium Leasing, the operational leasing business of Tiriac Group
→    AROBS Transilvania Software, an important Romanian company that provides software services and solutions in various industries, on the acquisition of Enea Services Romania SRL, the software development services business of the Swedish group Enea AB
→    LKE Group, one of the most important German suppliers of handling and logistic products and systems, on the acquisition of the majority shareholding stake in Someg S.A. and a part of Transcarpatica S.A. business
→    Sarmis Capital on the acquisition of a majority shareholding stake in Smart ID Dynamics S.A., an important provider of highly customised end-to-end automation solutions for intensive business environments, leader in the Romanian IT industry
→    dual role on the investment of the private equity fund Morphosis Capital in Cronos Med Group, leader in aesthetic medicine in Romania.
→    Morphosis Capital and a consortium of investors from Belgium on the acquisition of a majority stake in EMI Equipement Maintenance Industrie, market leader in industrial access systems
→    Innova Capital on the acquisition of PayPoint Services SRL and Payzone SA, a market leading consumer payments operator in Romania, from PayPoint group