Capital Partners: Eurisko's sale could have been blocked

The sale of the real estate consulting company Eurisko to the American giant CB Richard Ellis for 35 million dollars was one of the most complex transactions carried out on the Romanian market – given the lengthy negotiations, the size of the buyer, and the poor state of the global real estate market.
“A critical point in this transaction concerned the international crisis at the beginning of the year, when CB Richard Ellis could have pulled the plug on the deal after their shares plunged on the New York Stock Exchange,” says Andrei Diaconescu, a partner with Capital Partners, Eurisko’s adviser during the transaction.
During the global crisis, the US company’s shares fell from a 42-dollar high in July last year to 18-19 dollars this week.
However, negotiations never halted after CB Richard Ellis representatives stated; “Romania is a strategic country, and we cannot afford to ignore it,” recounts Diaconescu.
The consultants at Capital Partners formed a small portion of the team that was involved in the overall transaction, with the final contracts being negotiated by no less than 19 people. Eurisko had 8 representatives, assisted by 3 attorneys from Biris Goran, as well as 3 consultants from Capital Partners. CB Richard Ellis had a team of 5 people, which included lawyers from Badea Clifford Chance.
“Each partner’s contract took several days to negotiate, however, talks did not extend beyond 2 am in order to resume work the next day,” explains Diaconescu.
Eurisko’s management will remain unchanged, with Radu Lucianu as country manager and also five partners – Alexandra Dimofte, Ionut Bordei, Luiza Moraru, Catalina Jigman and Razvan Iorga.