Green energy and agriculture are among the local economy's sectors that will continue to attract the interest of investors, the representatives of the Bucharest office of law firm Dentons believe.  

"We're seeing a lot of interest in green energy, but also conventional energy," Perry Zizzi, the managing partner of Dentons in Romania, explained. "While in the past we worked for green energy investors looking to buy projects, they are now developing. We have investors that are interested in greenfield green energy projects."

In the energy sector, Dentons is working for clients such as Hidroelectrica and Energonuclear. Two years ago, the firm was appointed as the legal consultant for the listing of the Romanian energy group Hidroelectrica on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).

"Another trend we expect to come to Romania is that of data centers [transactions]. There's not much here to purchase, so at this point it would be development," Zizzi explained. Last year, Dentons advised investment firm KKR and fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners on the USD 15 billion acquisition of data center operator CyrusOne.

Agriculture is another area where the firm has seen a lot of activity and expects continued interest from investors.

"Agribusiness will continue the growing trend started a few years ago, now even more in the context of the war in Ukraine. The key players will see the strategic role of Romania in this part of Europe, and the transactions will continue," Cristian Popescu, partner in Corporate M&A focused on the agriculture sector, explained. He expects to see in the coming years more sophisticated players investing in operational agriculture, as well as more activity in the sectors of greenhouses, the food industry (poultry and pig farms and processing factories), and silo infrastructure.

The firm has also seen a lot of interest in projects at the intersection of green energy and agriculture. "There is a huge opportunity for Romania to become a regional hub for green energy production," Popescu argued.

Dentons advised last year on transactions amounting to a combined EUR 4.25 billion, not only in but mostly in Romania, Simona Marin, partner and head of Banking and Finance, said.

In the real estate sector, Dentons advised a syndicate of lenders - Erste Group Bank, Banca Comerciala Romana, Raiffeisen Bank International, Raiffeisen Bank Romania and Alpha Bank Romania - on a EUR 450 million, secured, non-recourse, credit facility to AFI Europe to refinance the Romanian shopping center portfolio in Bucharest, Brasov and Ploiesti. The transaction is the largest real estate credit facility granted in Romania to date.

It also advised NEPI Rockcastle on a EUR 60 million green financing for Ploiesti Shopping City from a syndicate of lenders led by BRD Groupe Société Générale. Dentons managed and coordinated the financing transaction from structuring to completion.

Among other transactions it worked on last year, the firm also represented pharmacy chain Dr Max in its EUR 940 million refinancing.

After launching its White Collar practice in Bucharest last year, led by partner Liviu Togan, the firm will focus this year on compliance and issues related to the implementation of EU legislation.

The firm also expects to see more work in relocating investors from other jurisdictions, defense, and IT transactions.

Dentons, which has locally a team of over 50 lawyers, had its best year on record last year, Zizzi explained. "We continue to have a lot of faith in the Romanian economy in some respects.[...] I think we're now where Poland was in a lot of respects in 2007. And I mean that in terms of investor confidence and interest in the economy," he said. In reference to the risks related to the regional situation, he explained that "the safety net above the EU and NATO is really kicking in, and investors are seeing that."

(Photo courtesy of the company)

simona@romania-insider.com