Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Macquarie on its exit from DCT GDANSK

Clifford Chance advised Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) on the sale of shares in DCT Gdańsk S.A. to PSA International Ptd Ltd (PSA), the Polish Development Fund (PFR) and the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF) managed by IFM Investors. The Australian investor, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, through its fund, Global Infrastructure Fund II, since 2005 has held almost 64% of shares in DCT Gdańsk S.A., a company managing the Deepwater Container Terminal in the seaport in Gdańsk.

DCT Gdańsk is one of the largest infrastructure investments in Poland, the largest and fastest-growing Polish container terminal and the only deep-water terminal in the Baltic Sea region at which ships from the Far East call directly. The DCT Terminal in the Port in Gdańsk, which is located at the heart of the Baltic Sea, is the easternmost terminal within the range of Gdańsk – Le Havre ports. DCT was the first terminal at which ships from Asia heading to the Baltic Sea called, and currently is the destination of the largest vessels in the world departing from China, Korea and other Asian countries. The Terminal handles Polish import, export, transit and maritime transit. In 2014, DCT Gdańsk was awarded the European Ports Deal of the Year by IJ Global.

The head of the transaction process was Wojciech Polz, partner at Clifford Chance Warsaw with many years of experience in handling private equity funds and investments in the infrastructure sector. Other members of the transaction team included Mateusz Stępień, senior associate, Nick Fletcher, of counsel, head of the English Law practice, Jarosław Gajda, senior associate, Joanna Pominkiewicz, associate, and Aleksandra Właszczuk, associate, from the Corporate Department at Clifford Chance Warsaw. The transaction team was supported by Dr Piotr Bogdanowicz, counsel, expert on European Law, Łukasz Mamiński, senior associate, specializing in competition law, Adelina Prokop, senior associate, responsible for regulatory issues, and Piotr Węcławowicz, associate, who was responsible for the financial aspects of the transaction.

The sale of DCT Gdańsk by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) is yet another significant transaction in the infrastructure sector executed recently by the Warsaw team at Clifford Chance led by Wojciech Polz, after the representation of Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu S.A. in the purchase of 81.05% of shares of Stoczna Gdańsk S.A. and 50% of shares of GSG Towers sp. z o.o. and the representation of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity fund, with respect to the sale of a majority interest in INEA S.A., an operator of a cable and FTTH network in Western Poland.