Our lawyers provided comprehensive legal advice to the founders of ECDF Dotacje and ECDF Rozwój on the sale of a majority stake in the companies to the Spanish Zabala Innovation group.
The project team comprised attorney-at-law Orest Ochocki, advocate Michał Sobczyński, trainee advocate Radosław Grzesiak and trainee attorney-at-law Jakub Marmurowicz from our Corporate and Transactions practice. The sellers also received business advisory support from Krzysztof Trzebuniak and Żaneta Gano-Sadowska of FSG Biznes.
Our advice included comprehensive legal support for the sellers at every stage of the transaction, including participation in negotiations concerning the terms of the sale of the majority stake, as well as the preparation and negotiation of the transaction documentation.
The majority stake was acquired by Zabala Innovation, an international consultancy group with 40 years of experience specialising in research and development, innovation and access to European public funding.
For more than 23 years, ECDF has supported Polish businesses in securing public funding for investment, research and development, and innovation projects. The company has extensive knowledge of the Polish market and national and regional funding schemes, and employs a team of more than 50 specialists.
The transaction combines ECDF’s experience in the Polish market with Zabala Innovation’s international capabilities, expertise and network of experts. Following ECDF’s incorporation into the group, Zabala Innovation’s team comprises nearly 700 professionals. The transaction is expected to support the continued expansion of services offered to clients, particularly in securing funding under programmes managed directly by the European Commission, while also creating new opportunities for cooperation on international projects.
The buyer was advised by GESSEL, whose team included advocate Karol Sokół and lawyer Zuzanna Sójka.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our clients for their trust and to everyone involved in the transaction for their professional and efficient cooperation.
This project confirms the experience of Sobczyńscy i Partnerzy | FSG Prawo in providing comprehensive sell-side advice on M&A transactions. It also demonstrates the importance of appropriately structuring the relationship between a new investor and the existing management team, which remains actively involved in the companies’ continued growth following completion of the transaction.