Rafał Zwierz leads the ECM group at CMS, which is adept at advising clients on IPOs, secondary public and private placements, and securitisation projects. Counsel Michał Śmiechowski ‘has an exceptionally long track-record on debt capital market mandates’, and he spearheads the DCM team alongside banking and finance head Michał Meżykowski; this offering encompasses advice to issuers, investors, investment banks, and other financial institutions on issuing debt financial instruments, including bonds, bank securities, covered bonds, and bills of exchange. In team news, Ryszard Manteuffel joined the team from Deloitte Legal, Ostrowski, Gizicki i Wspólnicy sp.k. in March 2024.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Excellent practice and industry knowledge, as well as market practice. Excellent legal knowledge, constant development of knowledge. Good communication skills, and the firm accommodates business needs to solutions.’
‘Extensive legal knowledge accompanied with experience and market practice. The partners are available, responsive, meeting the agreed timeline. And so are associates.’
‘There are able to adapt to our needs. They combined the teams for banking and financing and bond issuance to provide us with bonds having LMA provisions.’
'Przemysław Kopka is one of the best lawyers in Poland for organising financings.’
‘Team focusing on bonds has great experience in large transactions. They know the market standards and expectations of other market players and the regulator.'
‘Michał Śmiechowski has an exceptionally long track-record on debt capital market mandates, which makes his experience quite unique. There are only a few lawyers in Poland with similar focus and background.’
‘Extremely dedicated team. The advice was always on time, without delays. The advice covered all the possible aspects of the questions. The team demonstrated deep knowledge of the capital markets regulations, precedents and current environment.’
‘We worked with Rafał Zwierz and Magdalena Zmysłowska. Both demonstrated a high level of professionalism and client orientation. They managed to provide unparalleled advice in the most complex situations.’
Key clients
- Passus S.A.
- Namsen Limited
- InPost S.A.
- Grupa Azoty S.A.
- Grupa Azoty Zakłady Chemiczne „Police” S.A.
Work highlights
- Advised Passus S.A. on its initial public offering and the introduction of its shares to trading on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
- Advised Namsen Limited on the delisting tender offer of the Kernel Holding's shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, launched by the main shareholder, Namsen Limited.
- Advised Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego on its issuance of samurai bonds with a nominal amount of JPY93bn on the Japanese market.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Rafał Zwierz, Michał Mężykowski, Michał Śmiechowski