RTPR has assisted the Swedish investment company Oresa and the entrepreneur Cristian Amza in relation to the sale of the entire stake in the La Fantana group, which has subsidiaries in Romania and Serbia, to the strategic investor Axel Johnson. La Fantana is a market leader in watercooler and bottled water supply solutions, for companies, public spaces, but also for the residential segment, with national coverage in Romania and Serbia.

The RTPR team was coordinated by partners Costin Taracila and Alina Stavaru, who were closely assisted throughout the process by Cezara Urzica (Senior Associate) and Andrei Nicolae (Junior Associate). The team also included Ianita Tui (Counsel), Ana Popa, Marina Fecheta-Giurgica (Senior Associates), Andrei Tosa (Managing Associate), Maria Luca, Irina Marinescu and Luka Perovic (Junior Associates). Cosmin Tilea (Partner), Andreea Stoiciu, Livia Tuca (Associates) and Ambra Lazar (Junior Associate) have advised on the financing aspects of the deal.

The English law advisors involved in this deal were A&O Shearman lawyers Stephen Lloyd (Partner), Jeremy Wilkins and Adarsh Chhabria (Senior Associates), as well as Kate Eades (Partner) and Eoin Broderick (Senior Manager) from KPMG Law in London.

“In the transactions we work on we are privileged to meet professionals who inspire and motivate us. This was also the case in our collaboration with a visionary entrepreneur such as Cristian Amza and Oresa. We are grateful to our clients for putting their trust in us for the most interesting and challenging mandates”, said Costin Taracila, Managing Partner RTPR.

“RTPR and A&O Shearman’s extensive experience, combined with their commitment to meeting tight deadlines and achieving meaningful results, ensured a seamless transaction. We couldn’t have asked for a more professional and dedicated team by our side in helping La Fantana and Cristian Amza reach this new milestone”, said Cornel Marian, Managing Partner Oresa.

“We are extremely proud to have had the opportunity to once again show our expertise in M&A deals to assist the sellers in achieving an excellent result. La Fantana is a success story, one of the most appreciated players in this sector, which together with Oresa have redefined the standards in the field and have become a trusted brand for consumers in Romania. This strategic transaction marks the beginning of a new era for the La Fantana group, which we are confident will bring new development opportunities”, said Alina Stavaru, Partner at RTPR.

“This transaction represents a new milestone in the history of La Fantana. I am honoured that together with the entire project team we contributed to its success. I would like to thank our clients for their excellent collaboration throughout the entire sale process and congratulate them for this outstanding result”, added Cezara Urzica, Senior Associate at RTPR.

The law firm has unrivalled experience in M&A and private equity deals. Private equity funds choose RTPR for its extensive expertise in both buy-side and sell-side mandates, the firm’s client portfolio includes most of the funds that have investments in Romania.

The exceptional performance of the RTPR team is confirmed by the annual rankings of the most prestigious international legal guides, Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and IFLR1000, which rank the Corporate/M&A practice in the first tier among law firms in Romania. This recognition also extends to the individual level, with several of the team’s lawyers being recommended as Leading Lawyers or Rising Stars.

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
  • Wolt, a Finnish local commerce company, on the acquisition of the fast delivery platform Tazz, part of eMAG 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
  • the shareholders of 123FormBuilder, a cloud-based platform that allows customers to digitize and automate their data collection workflows through online forms and surveys – 212 Regional Fund II, Catalyst Romania, Florin Cornianu and Adrian Gheara – on the sale of the company to American group Kiteworks, which delivers data privacy and compliance for sensitive content communications through its Private Content Network (PCN)
  • Evryo Group, owned by funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management, on the sale of its renewable energy portfolio to PPC Group
  • 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
  • Global Records and Stefan Lucian, the founder and CEO of the company, in the process of selling a 25% stake in the company to Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies and of setting up the terms of their strategic partnership
  • Vectr Holdings, through its subsidiary Vectr Realty Holdings, on the indirect acquisition of 100% stake in the company that owns The Landmark office building