bpv Grigorescu Stefanica advised the shareholders of Romanian company Softelligence on the latter’s takeover by the US company Encora Holdings Limited, part of the Encora Group. The transaction was signed in May 2023 and is expected to close in mid-2023, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Softelligence is a Romanian company founded in 2006, which is present in Romania, the UK, and Macedonia, offering a full range of software engineering services and digital solutions for banking, insurance, and other industries. The acquisition of Softelligence marks Encora Group’s official entry into the European IT services market.
Our team provided legal assistance throughout the negotiations leading to the transaction’s signing, including on legal and tax aspects of structuring and implementing the deal. Our team also coordinated the legal assistance of the sellers’ and Softelligence’s international advisers in the UK and other relevant jurisdictions.
“We are grateful to the shareholders of Softelligence for the confidence in our team and we are pleased to have been able to advise on this strategic transaction in the Romanian IT market. The transaction is further evidence of the attractiveness of this market to foreign investors, given the expertise and the high standards delivery in this sector. The dynamic of the M&A market in this area shows that the IT sector is a mature and continuously growing sector, and we are pleased that, through our firm’s position as a leading provider to the technology sector, we can contribute to this development.” said Catalin Grigorescu, partner at bpv Grigorescu Stefanica.
The consulting team of bpv Grigorescu Stefanica included: Catalin Grigorescu (Corporate, M&A, Technology), Iulia Dragomir (Corporate, M&A, Tax), Ioana Gheorghe (Corporate, M&A) as well as other professionals from the firm’s corporate, commercial, employment and tax practices.
The last year’s success of our Corporate Transactions’ practice continues into 2023, which confirms to be a very active year, with several running mandates currently in various stages of completion. Recently, our team advised:
- Ziegler Group on the acquisition of HS Timber Productions in Sebes, Romania (April 2023);
- private equity investment firm OMNIA CAPITAL on acquiring the road transportation company Dumagas from the private equity fund Bancroft (February 2023);
- VERIDION (formerly Soleadify), its founders, as well as the venture capital fund LAUNCHUB Ventures and other participants in a USD 6 million late seed financing round (February 2023);
- enterprise software and infrastructure company INCRYS on the acquisition of IT services company USOURCE (January 2023);
- Innoship and its shareholders in relation to the acquisition and investment by Abris Capital portfolio company Alsendo (October 2022);
- Smart ID Dynamics and its shareholders in relation to the investment of SARMIS Capital in Smart ID Dynamics (January 2022) and on the acquisition of the Brasov-based integrated software solutions provider Spectrum (May 2022).
About bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA
bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA is a business law firm with a full-service offering for complex projects and litigation and a unique combination of legal and tax advisory capabilities. Established in 2006, the firm is known internationally for its focus on the Technology sector and its prominent practice in areas such as Real Estate, Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, Taxation, Employment & Benefits, Procurement, Concessions & PPPs, Medical services, Energy and Infrastructure.
bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA team is continuously included among the most prominent Romanian law firms by prestigious international legal directories such as Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, IFLR1000, ITR World Tax, Media Law International.
bpv GRIGORESCU STEFANICA is a founding member of bpv Legal, an alliance of independent business law firms with offices in Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague and Vienna, offering cross-border legal advisory services.
