Five new equity partners at Gide

Gide is pleased to announce the appointment of five new equity partners, in the Banking & Finance, Competition & International Trade, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate practice groups. These appointments are effective from 1 January 2014.

Commenting on the appointments, Gide Senior Partner Baudouin de Moucheron said: “I am delighted to welcome these five new partners to Gide and thank them for placing their talent at our service. Following the recent addition of two significant teams (nineteen lawyers in Paris and nine in Kiev), Gide is beginning a new chapter in its long history. In an increasingly global and complex environment, we are now more than ever committed to our clients and to supporting them in their projects both in France and abroad.”

• Dimitri Dimitrov – Gide Paris | Competition & International Trade
  Admitted to the Paris Bar and a member of the Economic and European law team at Gide since 2002, Dimitri Dimitrov has acquired extensive experience in all fields of economic law (competition and distribution law, defective products, consumers’ protection, advertising, etc.). He specialises in cooperation agreements and distribution networks, in France and abroad, and represents companies in litigation procedures, namely for brutal termination of commercial relationships. He has developed an activity dedicated to Life Sciences, which covers all needs in this field (regulatory assistance, ethics rules and interactions with medical practitioners, product liability etc.). Dimitri assists on a regular basis French and foreign companies on competition rules, and namely regarding the implementation of compliance programs and merger control. Dimitri has represented or assisted recently Smith & Nephew, Johnson Controls, Volvo, Lafarge, and McArthurGlen. He holds a Magister in Business Law, Tax and Accountancy from the University of Aix-Marseille III and a Master’s degree in European law from the University of Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne.
   
• Paweł Grześkowiak – Gide Warsaw | Banking & Finance
  Paweł Grześkowiak heads the Banking & Finance department of Gide’s Warsaw office. He specialises in banking and finance projects (secured and structured lending operations), private equity and M&A transactions, with extensive experience in stock exchange law, securities, securitisation and infrastructure investment projects. Recent experience includes advising Grupa Azoty on its acquisition of 55% of shares in Senegalese company African Investment Group S.A., which owns concessions for accessing natural phosphate and ilmenite deposits in Senegal; French insurance company Groupama on the sale of its Polish branch Proama to Generali PPF; private equity fund Abris Capital Partners on the acquisition of Mykogen Polska and Mykogen Ukraine, specialised in the production of compost for mushrooms and owners of vast agricultural lands in Poland and Ukraine, of Siódemka, a messenger services company, and of WestLB Bank Polska S.A.; as well as Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Bank AG on the financing granted to the companies of Continental group. Paweł is ranked as a recommended Banking & Finance lawyer by IFLR1000, Legal 500 and Chambers, and winner of the “Forbes Professionals 2012 – Professions of Public Trust” award in the Advocates category.

• Dimitrios Logizidis – Gide London | Banking & Finance
  Dimitrios Logizidis is qualified both as an English solicitor and French avocat, and advises on English and French law transactions. Based in London, he heads the structured finance team of Gide London and advises financial institutions, private equity funds and corporates on a range of asset and asset-backed finance transactions. In particular, Dimitrios has acted for arrangers, private equity funds and originators in major whole business and trade receivable securitisation transactions involving amounts of up to EUR 3 billion. He has also been involved in a number of multi-jurisdictional asset-backed deals, including in emerging countries, where securitisation was implemented for the first time. He notably advised the arrangers on the Hertz and Fraikin whole business securitisations, and Europcar / Eurazeo and ALD Automotive / Société Générale on their respective whole business fleet or auto-loan transactions in multiple jurisdictions. Dimitrios also advised recently BNP Paribas in its capacity as sole arranger in relation to one of the largest international trade receivables securitisation transactions for the Teva Group, involving twelve jurisdictions. In 2013, Dimitrios was involved in number of whole business, auto loan, trade receivables, CLO, repackaging and repos transactions.    
   
• Guillaume Navarro – Gide Paris | Employment Law & Dispute Resolution
  Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2004, Guillaume Navarro specialises in employment and labour law.  He focuses in particular on labour law litigation (civil, criminal and administrative), covering all aspects of individual and collective work relations.  In this respect, he advises and assists companies and groups of companies (notably EDF, GDF SUEZ and Air France) in the handling of sensitive litigation cases (litigation relating to the managing director’s criminal liability) or of litigation with high strategic (litigation linked to company restructuring operations) and economic stakes (mass litigation) at all stages of the dispute (risk assessment, management of crisis situations, amicable procedure or settlement).  He holds a degree in advanced studies (DEA) in International Law from University of Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne and a post-graduate degree (DESS) in Litigation, Arbitration and Alternative Modes of Dispute Resolution from University of Paris II, Panthéon-Assas.
   
• Antoine Tézenas du Montcel – Gide Paris | Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate
  Admitted to the Paris Bar since 2002, Antoine Tézenas du Montcel is a member of Gide Mergers & Acquisitions department. His practice covers mergers and acquisitions, company law and securities law. He mainly works on mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on listed companies. He also has experience in IPOs, securities offerings and private investments in public equity. His recent assignments include advising the Belgian listed company Econocom Group on the acquisition of a controlling stake in the listed company Osiatis (2013); Silic on the exchange public offer by Icade (2011-2013); the management of Yoplait on the acquisition of a majority stake in Yoplait by General Mills (2011); Areva on the sale of Areva T&D (2009-2010). He is a graduate of the University Paris II Assas with a Magistère de Juriste d’Affaires – D.J.C.E.