Vivendi’s €2 Billion Dispute Over PTC Shares Is Over

Salans Warsaw is proud to announce that in January 2011, settlement papers ending the €2 billion plus, 11-year long dispute over control of PTC (Era), the leading Polish telecoms company, were signed, following Elektrim’s exit from bankruptcy.

Core Facts:

–        Briefly, at closing Vivendi received €1.25 billion and withdrew all claims for PTC. Deutsche Telekom group became the sole owner of PTC – paying Vivendi and Elektrim €1.4 billion. Elektrim paid off its creditors, in particular the Polish State Treasury and bondholders.

–        The final stage of negotiations involved over 20 law firms in five jurisdictions, including Salans, Orrick, Hengeler Mueller, Bingham McCutchen, Clifford Chance, Slaughter and May and a number of major Polish law firms.

–        The fiercely contested, 11-year long dispute, over a 48 percent stake in PTC, involved, among others, Vivendi, Deutsche Telekom, Elektrim and the Polish State Treasury.

–        The shareholder dispute was one of the biggest, longest and most complex in European legal history. It involved over 100 court and arbitration cases (including over 40 cases in Poland alone) in a number of jurisdictions (including Poland, Austria, Switzerland, England and America).

–        The case attracted extensive media and press coverage both in Poland and globally and litigation was conducted at all levels of the court system, including supreme courts in Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom.

Warsaw Managing Partner, Tomasz D?browski stated: “This event changes the face of the Polish telecoms sector and has huge significance for the European communications market generally. Our ability successfully to bring to completion a matter of this sheer scale is a very clear demonstration of the outstanding resources the Firm is able to offer clients in Poland and across the region. We are delighted to have played a pivotal role in assisting Firm client, Vivendi, in achieving its commercial objectives.”

The Salans Team:

Salans, as Vivendi’s counsel, conducted and hosted the negotiations and the signing. Our team was led by Warsaw Managing Partner, Tomasz D?browski with Insolvency Practice Head & Partner, Anna Maria Pukszto and 15 plus lawyers from our Corporate, Insolvency and Tax teams. Our Disputes Practice Head & Partner, Wojciech Koz?owski with Katarzyna Bilewska (Counsel) and Patrick Radzimierski (Counsel), among others, handled the wide-ranging litigation.

Key Contacts:

Tomasz D?browski
Managing Partner
E: [email protected]
T: +48 22 2425 601        

Ewa P?ocharska
Marketing & BD Director
E: [email protected]
T: +48 22 2425 226 M: +48 782 500 281