While the deal looked almost impossible at first, with European Commission officials hawkish about its competition implications, PKN Orlen's acquisition of Grupa Lotos eventually came to pass. For the two Polish energy leviathans the path towards unification was not an easy one, but that goal became a lot nearer following the EC's 2020 approval. To learn more about the merger and how it managed to beat the odds we spoke to SMM Legal Managing Partner Maciej Mataczynski and Rymarz Zdort Managing Partner Pawel Rymarz. The Setting "The PKN Orlen-Lotos merger has been a constant subject of debate in the Polish business community for the past 20 years," Mataczynski says. SMM Legal helped PKN Orlen obtain merger clearance from the EC – but it was not easy.