• Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners (ZRVP) provided legal assistance to UniCredit Bank throughout the merger by absorption with Alpha Bank Romania, supporting the strategic management of the processes and transformations that such a project entails in the area of employment relations.

• The ZRVP employment law team included Cătălin Micu (partner and project coordinator), Marcela Brie (senior associate), Bianca Sfrija (senior associate), and Alexandra Racz (associate).

The employment law team worked with UniCredit Bank’s project team during the pre-merger phase to assess the absorbed organization, including identifying its structure, culture, and organizational policies, in order to determine synergies and potential risks.

Subsequently, the ZRVP team oversaw the planning and implementation of the employee integration process, which included:

• strategic communication with more than 4,800 employees of both entities;
• management of organizational changes;
• negotiation of collective agreements aimed at achieving the strategic objectives of the merger.

“By their nature, mergers are complex projects, especially when they involve people, organizational cultures, and changes in employment relations. In this context, the merger of UniCredit Bank with Alpha Bank Romania was a large-scale undertaking, and we are honored to have contributed to its success by ensuring an efficient employee integration process, in compliance with labor law and with respect for the rights of all employees involved. The good collaboration with the key stakeholders in the project and the focus on effective communication within the organizations involved made it possible for all planned stages to be implemented and for the inherent challenges to be successfully overcome,” said Cătălin Micu, ZRVP Partner.

The ZRVP team involved in providing legal assistance included Cătălin Micu (partner and project coordinator), Marcela Brie (senior associate), Bianca Sfrija (senior associate), and Alexandra Racz (associate).

ZRVP’s employment law practice stands out both for its day-to-day legal assistance to a large number of multinational companies on all aspects of employment law, as well as for its representation in reorganizations, restructurings, business transfers, and collective negotiations. The team implemented the first ad integrum reorganization in Romania for Nextebank and acts as a “one-stop shop” for legal assistance and representation services for companies in the banking sector, both local and part of international banking groups. The department is also known for its experience in complex employment litigation, predominantly representing national and international clients in the financial, energy, and healthcare sectors.

UniCredit Bank is part of the UniCredit Group, a European commercial bank with operations in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Central and Eastern Europe. Following the merger, UniCredit Bank has over 4,800 employees, an extensive network of 900 ATMs, and around 300 branches conveniently located close to customers, ensuring efficient access to a diverse range of financial solutions. The merger with Alpha Bank has strengthened UniCredit Group’s position on the Romanian market, both in the corporate and retail segments, reaching a market share of 11% by assets, 13% by total loans (together with UniCredit Consumer Financing), and 11% by total customer deposits.

About Zamfirescu Racoţi Vasile & Partners

Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners (ZRVP) stands among Romania’s leading law firms, with over 30 years of experience delivering top-tier legal services in litigation and arbitration, as well as in business law, insolvency, white-collar crime, and tax advisory.

ZRVP has a team of 75 lawyers, including 17 partners: Călin-Andrei Zamfirescu, Ioana Racoţi and Stan Tîrnoveanu (founding partners), Cosmin Vasile (managing partner), Anca Danilescu (senior partner), Elena Iacob, Alina Tugearu, Monica Strîmbei, Cătălin Micu, Andrei Dumitrescu, Mihai Băjenaru, Cosmin Cojocaru, Marina Crenguța Florea, Ovidiu Șerban, Violeta Saranciuc and Alexandru Iorgulescu (partners), and Robert Oancea (of counsel).