CMS advises MEAG on its first wind-farm transaction in Poland

The CMS multidisciplinary team advised MEAG, one of the largest German investors in the renewable industry, on the acquisition of a 21 MW wind farm project located in Żary in Western Poland from OX2 Wind International AB, a Swedish renewable company. 

The CMS lawyers have provided MEAG with complex transactional advice comprising legal due diligence, negotiation of transactional documentation, EPC and other related contracts, as well as on tax.

As regards energy, the CMS team’s work was headed by Piotr Ciołkowski, partner and regulatory team leader, and Michał Andruszkiewicz, counsel; supported by Jan Radziuk, Adam Kędziora, Patrycja Styczynska, Paweł Ura, Ada Szon, Mikołaj Markiewicz, and Angelika Szufel. With regard to transactions – the project was led by Błażej Zagórski, partner, and Katarzyna Grodziewicz, senior associate, accompanied by Rafał Burda, senior associate, as well as Mateusz Mazur from the M&A Warsaw team. Tax aspects of the deal were supervised by Piotr Nowicki, senior associate, supported by Maciej Brezdeń and Justyna Kuta from the CMS tax practice. Advice related to environmental law was provided by Agnieszka Skorupińska, counsel and leader of the environmental protection practice supported by Wojciech Szopiński.

CMS is currently one of the most experienced law firms on the renewable energy market in Poland with regard to all aspects of this market, including M&A, regulatory and financing. In particular, CMS lawyers have recently advised on:

• acquisition of the Zajączkowo wind farm located at Kobylnica, Pomorskie Province, by Green Investment Group from Mitsui Renewable Energy Europe Limited and J-Power Investment Netherlands B.V.
• acquisition of the Jasna wind farm by Stadtwerke München from WKN, the constructor of the farm, and its subsidiary Sevivon, owned by the PNE Group, which with a capacity of 132 MW is one of the largest onshore wind farms in Poland;
• the investment in and the subsequent sale of a complex of 49 photovoltaic power stations by Modus Group, a leading developer in the renewable energy sector, to Aberdeen Standard Investments, an asset management fund;
• acquisition by Partners Group, Swiss investment manager of a majority of the shares in the VSB Group, a full-service provider in the renewable energy sector; and
• one of the first Virtual Power Purchase Agreements in Poland for Signify, a Euronext listed company, with renewable energy for its operations in Poland from Green Investment Group’s (GIG).