City duo advise on SABMiller's £730m Polish market expansion

Lovells and CMS Cameron McKenna have taken lead roles in the latest of a string of deals for SABMiller, as the brewing giant expands in the Polish market in a £730m deal.

Lovells advised key client SABMiller on the acquisition of the outstanding minority interest in Polish subsidiary Kompania Piwowarska. SABMiller, which now has full ownership of the Polish firm, bought the remaining 28.1% stake from investment firm Kulczyk Holding in exchange for 60 million new SABMiller shares.

Lovells' London-based team was led by corporate partner Andrew Pearson and included corporate partner Maegen Morrison. Polish law firm SPCG advised SABMiller on local aspects of the deal.

Camerons advised Kulczyk Holding, which will own 3.8% of SABMiller after regulatory approval of the deal.

City corporate partner David Day led the Camerons team, while Warsaw-based partner Karolina Siedlik led in Poland.

The investment comes as part of a Kulczyk business strategy to develop an international investment group, and will make Kulczyk Holding one of SABMiller's larger institutional investors.

Day commented: "Kulczyk Holding is a longstanding client of the firm. We are very pleased to have been able to work with Graham Cheeseman and Justin van Spall, Kulczyk's senior in-house lawyers, to support Kulczyk in this deal."

According to Pearson, who is Lovells' client relationship partner for SABMiller, the Polish deal will be of a great strategic importance for the company's European business. Piwowarska is the largest brewer in Poland, with a 43% market share.

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