RTPR has assisted the private equity fund MidEuropa on the sale of Regina Maria Group to Mehiläinen in the largest ever healthcare services transaction in Central Europe. Regina Maria Group is a leading integrated private healthcare network in Romania, offering a wide range of multi-specialty outpatient healthcare services and hospital services, serving over 2 million patients annually via its 300-unit network. The sale further includes Regina Maria’s sister company, MediGroup, the leading service provider in the private healthcare market in Serbia. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in 2025.

Mehiläinen is Finland’s largest healthcare and social care provider, with a fast-growing international presence. Mehiläinen is a portfolio company of CVC Capital Partners and, in the context of this transaction, the global private equity firm Hellman & Friedman will become a second major investor in Mehiläinen.

RTPR executed this mandate via a team of more than 20 lawyers coordinated by Costin Taracila (Managing Partner) and Roxana Ionescu (Partner) for both due diligence and transactional phases of the project. The two partners were closely assisted by Marina Fecheta-Giurgica (Senior Associate) and the team further benefited from the significant input of Maria Luca (Associate). Alina Stavaru (Partner) advised on the negotiation of the new arrangements with Regina Maria and MediGroup’s management. Advisors to MidEuropa included: Rothschild & Co, A&O Shearman, Karanovic & Partners, PricewaterhouseCoopers and LEK.

“Our longstanding relationship with Regina Maria and MidEuropa is a source of great pride and it stands as a testament to our expertise and our dedication to excellence. We are delighted to have facilitated this major transaction which not only sets a new benchmark for M&A in Romania but also establishes a new record within the healthcare sector. Congratulations to the MidEuropa and Regina Maria teams for their exceptional performance, and thank you for the flawless collaboration!”, said Costin Taracila, Managing Partner of RTPR.

“The remarkable success of Regina Maria, which has grown with each newly opened clinic and each acquisition to become one of the largest healthcare providers in Romania, is truly a source of inspiration, and we feel privileged to have been able to contribute to this achievement. Throughout the entire sale process, we have formed an excellent team with MidEuropa and Regina Maria and we would like to thank them for the exceptional partnership”, said Roxana Ionescu, Partner at RTPR.

At the beginning of this year, RTPR announced the completion of the record-breaking deal in which it assisted MidEuropa in the EUR 1.3 billion exit from Profi, as well as providing support to Profi in the largest ever transaction in the retail sector in Romania. At the same time, the law firm has a long-standing relationship with the Regina Maria Group, having been instrumental in its previous two changes of ownership by having assisted Advent International Corporation firstly in the acquisition of a majority stake from the private equity fund 3i and the founders of the business (2010), and subsequently on its sale of Regina Maria to MidEuropa Partners (2015). The RTPR team has worked closely with Regina Maria management in the past 15 years in the group’s most significant bolt-ons, including Euroclinic Hospital, Ponderas Hospital, Puls Medical Center, Pozimed, Somesan Clinic, IDS Laboratories, Bucovina Medical Center, Ophtalens, Dr. Leahu Dental Clinics.

RTPR is well-known for its extensive experience in transactions involving investment funds, having been, during the last few years, involved in most of the private equity deals in Romania on both buy-side and sell-side mandates, whilst also advising their portfolio companies on bolt-on acquisitions. The firm’s unrivalled expertise in the largest and most interesting transactions in Romania and in the region has been recognised by the most important international legal directories, such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and IFLR1000, which rank RTPR’s Corporate/M&A practice on the first tier. At the same time several team members are recommended as Leading Lawyers or Rising Stars in this area.

RTPR was named “Romania Law Firm of the Year” at the Chambers Europe Awards 2024, one of the most prestigious accolades in the legal area which confirms the firm’s status as a leader in the field.

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

  • MidEuropa Partners on the EUR1.3bn sale of Profi, in the largest transaction in the retail sector ever concluded in Romania
  • Integral Capital Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in Embryos, a leading fertility and gynaecology clinic in Romania, specialised in assisted reproduction technology, offering an integrated suite of fertility treatments, including IVF
  • Abris Capital Partners on the sale of Pehart Grup, one of the largest paper producers in South-Eastern Europe, to INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, the leading private equity fund in the Baltic States
  • Oresa and the entrepreneur Cristian Amza on the sale of the entire stake in the La Fantana group to the strategic investor Axel Johnson
  • Wolt, a Finnish local commerce company, on the acquisition of the fast delivery platform Tazz, part of eMAG Group
  • Evryo Group, owned by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management, on the sale of its renewable energy portfolio to PPC Group
  • PragmaGO, a company owned by the private equity fund Enterprise Investors, on the acquisition of an 89% stake in Telecredit IFN, operating under the brand name Omnicredit
  • Romcim, part of the CRH group, on the acquisition of Tehno World, a company active in the production and sale of solutions for utility infrastructure networks
  • OX2 on the sale of a 99.2 MW onshore wind project located in the Eastern part of Romania to Nala Renewables, a joint venture between IFM Investors and Trafigura
  • Innova Capital on the sale of Optical Investment Group to EssilorLuxottica