Reff & Associates, the sell-side legal counsel for NEPI Rockcastle and Ovidiu Șandor in the sale to Dedeman of The Office building located in Cluj. Deal insights and client feedbacks

Reff & Associates, the law firm representing Deloitte Legal global network in Romania, provided full legal transactional assistance to NEPI Rockcastle, leader of the real estate market in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as to the group of companies owned by Ovidiu Șandor, one of the major Romanian entrepreneurs active in real estate, in the sale of The Office project located in Cluj-Napoca to Dedeman, in the biggest office deal of this year. Dedeman was advised by Popovici Nitu Stoica and Associates.

The project entailed a high degree of complexity, even more since Reff & Associates acted simultaneously for both sellers, two elite players of the Romanian real estate market who developed The Office in joint venture. Reff & Associates represented the sellers as exclusive legal advisor in the drafting and negotiation of the sale purchase agreement and all ancillary transaction documents, up to the signing.

“We thank Reff & Associates for the assistance provided in yet another successful deal. We truly appreciate the capacity of our lawyers to use their vast legal knowledge in order to find efficient and pragmatic answers to any matters raised during negotiations by means of identifying the most suitable solutions to accommodate the interests of all involved parties,” said Robert Ioniță, Head of Legal of NEPI Rockcastle.

“I congratulate the lawyers from Reff & Associates for the first-class assistance granted to us all throughout the negotiations. Irina and her team have used their broad experience in providing the necessary legal way forward, while having a professional and pragmatic approach, as well as a thorough understanding of the business perspective of the parties involved in the transaction and shaping coherent legal approaches aligned to such needs. As usual, their involvement was exemplary and we hope to continue our collaboration in other successful projects,” said Ovidiu Șandor.

The project team dedicated to this transaction was coordinated by Irina Dimitriu, Partner and head of the real estate practice of Reff & Associates, and was made of experts in multiple areas. Simona Iacob, Senior Managing Associate, and Maria Nitulescu, Senior Associate, were part of the real estate team involved in the transaction, Alina Tihan, Senior Managing Associate, and Diana Elena Rotaru, Associate, were part of the banking & finance team, while Diana Fejer, Senior Managing Associate, Fraga Varadi, Associate, and Adrian Hlistei-Muresan, Senior Associate, were part of the corporate M&A team, and Oana Bucsa, Senior Associate, was the expert in competition law.

“This transaction represented more than a successful deal to us, it was a project very close to our hearts in which we were involved from the initial development phase until its sale. We are proud to have had the opportunity to simultaneously represent not one, but two of the major investors in Romania – as far as I know, a premiere for the legal real estate market. The inherent complexity of this type of deal, enhanced by the fact that we assisted two of our established clients, entailed an outstanding effort from our team of lawyers whom I take the opportunity to congratulate,” said Irina Dimitriu, Partner in Reff & Associates.

For over a decade, Reff & Associates has been consistently recognized as a leading law firm in real estate in Romania, having been involved, either sell-side or buy-side, in the majority of the largest real estate deals in the country, both in office and retail spaces transactions. The 2019 edition of Legal 500 EMEA once again recognizes Reff & Associates as a Tier 1 practice for real estate and construction, citing client quotes which appreciate the firm’s real estate lawyers as “excellent professionals”, “flexible, equitable and innovative in identifying solutions”.

With a team of over 70 lawyers, Reff & Associates is recognized as a leading law firm in Romania for the quality of services and ability to deliver solutions on complex legal matters. The areas of practice include banking & finance, competition law, employment law, energy and environment law, insolvency law, litigation, mergers & acquisitions, public sector, real estate. The firm represents in Romania Deloitte Legal, a global network with more than 2,500 lawyers in 85 countries.