Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak’s lawyers have assisted ITT Corporation in the acquisition of 100% of the shares in a Polish holding company Axtone S.A.
ITT Corporation is an American corporation with almost a 100-year history. It is listed on the New York stock exchange and is a producer of highly complex and important components used in the energy sector, and transport and industrial markets. ITT Corporation also produces individual technological solutions for use in those markets.
SK&S assisted in the transaction involving the acquisition of 100% of the shares in the Polish holding company Axtone S.A. (together with its subsidiaries in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic – “Axtone”). Axtone produces components in the field of the technology relating to impact energy absorption by all types of track vehicles, and impact energy absorption by compressors used in other non-track industry sectors. The value of the transaction amounts to approximately USD 118 million (approximately PLN 500 million). The seller is an investment fund, IK Investment Partners. The final agreement will be concluded once conditions set out in the signed preliminary agreement have been met.
The transaction had an international character and required close co-operation with law firms from Germany (Willkie Farr & Gallagher of Frankfurt), the Czech Republic, and Russia.
SK&S’ advised on all aspects of the transaction, particularly with respect to: carrying out an audit of the Polish part of the Axtone group; providing support in negotiating the transaction documentation; signing the preliminary share purchase agreement; as well as preparing the pertinent notification to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office.
The ITT Corporation transaction was handled by a team of lawyers at Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak, headed by Krzysztof Pawlisz, partner, and composed of: Andrzej Motyka (senior associate, attorney), Agnieszka Skowronek (associate, legal counsel), and Karol Skibniewski (associate, legal counsel). Antimonopoly issues were handled by counselor Krzysztof Kanton, the partner in charge of competition law, and Jarosław Łukawski, senior counsel.