Rafał Kluziak

Partner
Fully committed and professional approach, trustworthy [and] in my opinion the most professional M&A team in Poland.
The Legal 500 EMEA, Corporate, Commercial and M&A 2022
About

Rafał Kluziak has extensive experience in advising clients on transactional matters and capital markets law. He works for founders and industry and financial investors, including private equity and venture capital, on private and public mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, initial public offerings and the establishment of funds. He also provides ongoing regulatory advice on trading in financial instruments and on funds.

Before starting his career in international law firms, he worked for the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, where he was responsible for supervising investment firms. He is an alumnus of the Capital Market Leaders Academy.

Professional QualificationsAdvocate (Adwokat) registered with the Warsaw Bar Association of Advocates (Okręgowa Izba Adwokacka w Warszawie), 2014

EXPERIENCE

  • Advising PSA Baltic, a subsidiary of global logistics leader PSA International, in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in Loconi Intermodal S.A., which specialises in intermodal logistics in Poland.
  • Advising Omida Group, a leading Polish logistics company, in relation to the acquisition of a majority stake in 7R Solutions, which specialises in contract logistics.
  • Advising Ondean Forward, the technology family office of Relativity's founders, in connection with its investment in a significant minority stake in Pergamin, which runs a platform that streamlines contracting for medium and large companies by automating the creation of contracts.
  • Advising Daniel Truica, one of the founders of Vola.ro and FRU.pl, and the management team in relation to the rollover and shareholder agreement as part of Resource Partners' investment in Vola.ro and FRU.pl.
  • Advising the shareholders of s-druk, a leading Polish premium packaging company, in connection with the sale of 100% of the shares of Netbox Group, a Polish leader in cardboard packaging.
  • Advising the shareholders (including VC funds) of Perfect Gym Solutions S.A., a leader in SaaS services for the fitness industry, on the sale of 100% of its shares to Sport Alliance, a global leader in this industry, funded by PSG Equity.
  • Advising the shareholders of Brand24 S.A. listed on the WSE, provider of a platform for monitoring and analysing online activities, on the sale of a majority stake to Semrush Inc. a global leader in this industry listed on NASDAQ.
  • Advising WDX S.A., a leader in the design, manufacture and integration of warehouse solutions and a portfolio company of Abris Capital, on the acquisition of a 100% stake in Versabox, a Polish pioneer in the design of self-storage equipment.
  • Advising Centerbridge Partners, a global private equity fund, in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in Global Parks Poland, which owns Suntago Park, the largest water park in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Advising Generali Poland, one of the largest insurance companies, in connection with the acquisition of a 100% stake in 4Life Direct, one of the leaders in insurance distribution in its segment.
  • Advising shareholders of Efigence, leading Polish UX company, on their sale of majority stake to Riyad Bank, leading Saudi bank.
  • Advising shareholders of Bisar, process outsourcing company, on their sale of minority 40% stake to Polish Enterprise Fund VIII managed by Enterprise Investors.
  • Advising shareholders (founders and venture capital funds) on exit from leading global AI document automation solution Applica AI to Snowflake, leading global cloud computing–based data cloud company.
  • Advising shareholders (founders and venture capital funds) on exit from leading fraud detection software company Nethone to MangoPay, portfolio company of Advent.
  • Advising Generali PTE on acquisition of NNLife PTE and NNLife DFE pension funds from NN Group.
  • Advising International Personal Finance plc, global personal finance provider listed on the London Stock Exchange and Warsaw Stock Exchange, on the tender offer, share buy-back and delisting from the Warsaw Stock Exchange and regulatory proceedings before the Polish FSA.
  • Advising a private equity fund Polish Enterprise Fund VIII managed by Enterprise Investors on the acquisition of a significant minority stake in Ekoenergetyka-Polska (Ekoenergetyka), a high-technology company focused on power charging solutions for electromobility.
  • Advising a private equity fund Polish Enterprise Fund VIII managed by Enterprise Investors on the acquisition of a majority stake in a leading Polish garden appliances e-commerce Focus Garden.
  • Advising the founders of retail chain Arhelan, which operates over 100 shops in north-eastern Poland, on the sale of a 49% stake to Polish retailer Eurocash.
  • Advising a private equity fund Polish Enterprise Fund VIII managed by Enterprise Investors on the acquisition of a majority stake in Polish software company Software Mind from Ailleron.
  • Advising Mid Europa Partners, a leading private equity investor in Central and Eastern Europe, on the acquisition of a majority stake in GWD Concept (Displate) from its founders, Credo Ventures and Miton Capital.
  • Advising a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans in the acquisition of 100% shares in TFI Capital Partners from Capital Partners.
  • Advising Tar Heel Capital on the sale of 100% of the shares in Tomma Diagnostyka Obrazowa to PZU Zdrowie.
Languages
  • Polish
  • English
Education
  • University of Warsaw, Degree: Master of Laws, 2010

Awards and Recognitions

  • Recognised as "Rising Star Partner" in the M&A – IFLR1000 2023-24
  • Recommended in Private Equity – The Legal 500 EMEA 2021-24
  • Recommended in Commercial, Corporate and M&A – The Legal 500 EMEA 2023-24

Prior Experience

  • May 2022 – present, Partner, DLA Piper, Warsaw
  • September 2019 – May 2022, Counsel, DLA Piper, Warsaw
  • October 2010 – June 2019, Counsel, leading international law firm, Warsaw
  • April 2008 – June 2009, Senior Assistant, Polish Financial Supervision Authority, Warsaw

Connect