RTPR advised Autonom Services on the acquisition of Premium Leasing

RTPR has advised Autonom Services S.A. concerning the acquisition of Premium Leasing, the operational leasing business of Tiriac Group. Autonom Services is the most important independent player in the operational leasing and rent-a-car markets in Romania. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the Competition Council.

“At Autonom, we have been involved in many transactions in the last 10 years. Each time we meet a more complex situation, our first thought is to turn to RTPR. For the acquisition of Tiriac group’s operational leasing division, Alina Stavaru and her team were next to us on every step, their involvement gave us comfort and security”, declared Marius Stefan, CEO of Autonom Services.

For this project, RTPR selected a multidisciplinary team of lawyers coordinated by Partners Costin Tărăcilă and Alina Stăvaru which included several workstreams. Along the two partners, the due diligence team included Ana Maria Barbu (Senior Associate), Diana Dimitriu (Managing Associate), Codrina Simionescu (Associate), Miruna Tocileanu, Flavia Mincu and Adrian Mușcălău (Junior Associates). The negotiation of transaction documents involved Costin Tărăcilă and Alina Stăvaru, who were supported by Ana Barbu and Adrian Hlistei-Mureșan (Managing Associate). Roxana Ionescu (Partner) and Șerban Hălmăgean (Associate) advised on competition aspects of the deal, while Mihai Ristici (Partner), Ana Barbu (Senior Associate) and Marina Fechetă-Giurgică (Managing Associate) on capital markets issues.

“I am happy we started this year with a new transaction with our friends from Autonom, In less than 4 years, this is already the fourth mandate we received from them, which honors us and we would like to thank them for putting their trust in us repeatedly. For us, as lawyers, when a client returns to us with a new project represents the utmost satisfaction and the recognition of the quality of our services. Congratulations Autonom and we are looking forward to new challenges!”, said Costin Taracila, Managing Partner.

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“I was honored to assist Autonom in their first deal run by our team in 2018 and at the time I was saying that I was confident in the success of this business. Almost 4 years later I am pleased to observe that I have correctly guessed the potential of Autonom, which has developed nicely and continues on a road paved with accomplishments. I am proud to support them in this journey that continues, and I wish them the best of luck going forward”, declared Alina Stavaru, Partner RTPR.

In 2018, the law firm advised Autonom on the acquisition of BT Operational Leasing from the Banca Transilvania group. Subsequently, RTPR assisted Autonom with the first issue of corporate bonds on the regulated market managed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange. At the end of 2021, RTPR announced its third project with Autonom, namely the implementation of the first corporate bond offer program established by a local issuer and respectively, the private placement of the first tranche of corporate bonds issued under the offer program through which Autonom attracted over EUR 48 million funds.

RTPR Corporate/M&A practice is consistently ranked among market leaders in Romania. With a client portfolio that includes local entrepreneurs, investment funds, international corporations, the law firm is the first choice for its impressive experience in mergers and acquisitions both on the buy-side and on the sell-side. The Corporate/M&A team is recognized every year by the prestigious international legal directories, Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, and IFLR1000 in the first tier of their rankings for both law firms and individuals, several of RTPR lawyers being recommended as Leading Lawyers in this field.

Selected M&A transactions in which RTPR have recently assisted entrepreneurs to include advising:

• Adrian Ionescu, the founder of Adidana, one of the most important distributors of chemical fertilizers in the country, on the sale of 100% of the company to RDF, a major supplier of agricultural products, input distribution and grain trading, a company in the Roca Investments portfolio
• The shareholders of Berg Software, a local software outsourcing, and custom software development company, on the sale of 100% of the company to AROBS Transilvania Software, a provider of software services and solutions for various industries
• The shareholders of Cronos Med Group, the leader in aesthetic medicine in Romania, on the investment of the private equity fund Morphosis Capital
• The founders of Keez on the sale of the majority stake to Visma group, one of the largest software development companies in Romania, based in Norway
• The shareholders of Te-Rox Prod, a Romanian company and a leading European producer of covers and harness systems for child safety seats on the sale of the business to the Swedish group Holmbergs
• The shareholders of Sano Vita, one of the most reputable and trusted food brands in Romania, on the sale of the business to the American private equity fund Highlander Partners
• The shareholders of Intelligent IT, the company renowned for the billing software SmartBill, on the sale of the business to Visma group, a Norwegian giant in the software industry
• The shareholders on the sale of Farmavet S.A., Pasteur Filiala Filipesti S.R.L. & the fodder business of Agrozootehnica Pietroiu S.A. to Gardenica Limited, owned by CEE China II Fund (managed by CEE Equity Partners).
• The shareholders of A&D Pharma on the sale of the entire group to Dr. Max, the Czech pharmacy chain owned by Penta Investments
• The shareholder of Pet Product, the largest pet shop chain in Romania operating under the Animax brand, on the sale of the company to Rohatyn Group