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Marian Dinu

Partner
Country Managing Partner, Romania
Very strong in identifying solid solutions for complex situations.
Client, The Legal 500 EMEA 2022
About

Marian Dinu has over 25 years’ experience of helping corporations and investment funds in a range of industries with complex mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, and competition and antitrust matters

He has a particular focus on the energy, healthcare, and IT and telecoms industries. He is widely recognised as one of Romania's most experienced and prominent corporate lawyers, having been instrumental in major transactions, including the privatisation of a large local energy company.

Marian has recently assisted a major private equity fund with a cross-border acquisition in the dental sector. He has also advised one of the largest communications groups in the world on the acquisition of a fast-growing, large independent software engineering company in Central and Eastern Europe.

He has been Country Managing Partner of DLA Piper in Romania since 2008. Prior to this, he held various roles at other London-based international law firms, including Head of Corporate and Capital Markets. From 2005 to 2007 he was General Counsel for a large Romanian oil company, the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe.

Marian is a board member for United Way Romania, a foundation committed to improving quality of life through education, socio-professional integration and health. He is also an angel investor and mentor for TechAngels Romania, a network that supports entrepreneurs and promotes investments in the tech industry.

Professional QualificationsAvocat registered with the Baroul Bucureşti

Highlights

EXPERIENCE

  • Advised an Israeli bank in connection with the sale of its entire participation in its local branch, one of the rarest transactions of this calibre on the Romanian banking market.
  • Advised a company owned by private equity fund Bridgepoint, and a major supplier of renal healthcare services (including dialysis and renal transplants), on a series of acquisitions involving several companies operating an aggregate of 27 dialysis clinics in Romania (including their largest two acquisitions: Clinica Dialmed S.A. and International Healthcare Systems S.A.).
  • Advised an international media group on the acquisition of 83% of the leading Romanian eCommerce integrated solutions company.
  • Advised and assisted the largest oil and gas producer in South-Eastern Europe in the process of selling its interest in the main gas supplier in Constanta county (Romania) to an international energy company. The deal required not only M&A skills, but in-depth sector knowledge and sensitive regulatory assistance in a number of issues specific to the oil and gas industry.
  • Advised an Irish agribusiness group in the process of restructuring and the acquisition of the banking debts of two companies (five banking creditors), as part of the larger M&A transaction. This was a complex transaction due to the negotiation and implementation of various agreements, closing letters and debt restructuring structures simultaneously with a large number of banks.
  • Advised a Romanian Public Institution on a tap issuance amounting to EUR1.25 billion under its (at the time) EUR18 billion Medium Term Notes Programme, under Rule 144A and Regulation S. The project was complex, involving both local and international knowledge from the firm in order to prepare a prospectus supplement, prepare and update English and Romanian law documentation and advise on Romanian, English and US law aspects.
  • Assisted one of the most important private equity funds in Central Europe on the acquisition of one of the leading distributors of dental consumables and equipment in the region.
  • Advised one of the major players on the development, finance, construction and management of largescale projects in the renewable energy sector, and on its acquisition of the Romanian 400 MW wind project from a Luxembourg investment fund. This was the first mandate in Romania from this client, the largest investor and developer of renewable energy projects in Europe.
  • Advised one of the largest communications groups in the world on the takeover of a fast-growing, large independent software engineering company in Central and Eastern Europe. This was a particularly complex, multijurisdictional transaction due to the foreign subsidiaries held by the target company in Luxembourg and the US.
  • Advised one of the major energy suppliers in Romania on the acquisition of two operational solar power plants and on several regulatory matters relating to the transfer of green certificates.
  • Assisted a Romanian mobile gaming studio on its strategic investment from a world leader in market-defining mobile titles. This was a one-of-a-kind transaction, given the pandemic restrictions, its fast pace and dramatic reversals, and it closed in record time, despite the year-end holiday period.
  • Assisted a leading Norwegian aluminium group with the divestment of its Romanian extrusion plant to another major player in the sector.
  • Advised an international media group on its acquisition of the largest Romanian e-payments solutions provider.
  • Advised one of the largest communications groups in the world on the consolidation of its presence in Romania through the redefinition of its group structure at local level. This involved multiple acquisitions (in companies where the client does not have a controlling interest or has no shareholding interest at all) and the mergers and consolidations of five local entities.
  • Assisting one of the world's leading energy companies with various regulatory matters in relation to petroleum concession agreements including the relinquishment thereof. The case entails complex issues of civil law and requires in-depth sector knowledge. Over the past years, we have been extensively representing the client in various judicial review cases regarding shale gas exploration in Romania before the national courts. The dispute resolution team has won all the cases that have reached the trial stage and dismissed all the claims raised by a series of environmental NGOs aiming to block the client's exploration activities.
Languages
  • Romanian
  • English
  • French
Education
  • Vienna University of Economics, Master of Business Administration (MBA), 2008
  • Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, USA, Master of Laws (LL.M.) with Honours, 1998
  • University of Bucharest, Faculty of Law, Romania, LL.B., 1996

Awards and recognitions

  • Eminent Practitioner, Corporate/M&A, Romania, Chambers Global and Europe since 2019
  • Recommended lawyer, Commercial, Corporate and M&A, and Energy and Natural Resources, Romania, The Legal 500 EMEA 2022

Pro Bono

  • Member of the Board, United Way Romania

Publications and media

Memberships And Affiliations

  • Member of the New York State Bar
  • Member of the Bucharest Bar
  • Member of the National Union of Romanian Bars

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