Author Archives: c-wettich

Iqony GmbH (Iqony) has announced that it is acquiring the 49% stake in Iqony Fernwärme GmbH held by MEAG Munich Ergo Asset Management GmbH. With the takeover, Iqony will become the sole shareholder of Iqony Fernwärme GmbH. The transaction is subject to approval under foreign trade law.

Iqony Fernwärme operates a district heating network in Bottrop, Essen and Gelsenkirchen with a total length of around 740 kilometers. The almost 160 employees generate a turnover of around 210 million euros. With the complete takeover, Iqony is taking account of the exposed strategic importance of the business area within the company and for society as a whole.

Berner Fleck Wettich (www.bfw.law) advised Iqony comprehensively in connection with the transaction. The foreign trade law issues are being handled by the law firm Oppenländer.

Hermann Josef Schulte, shareholder, managing director and founder of the family-owned company HJS Emission Technology GmbH & Co. KG from Menden / Sauerland, has signed an agreement with the listed company DEUTZ AG from Cologne for the acquisition of 50% of the shares in HJS Emission Technology by DEUTZ. With this step, the two companies are further expanding their long-standing partnership and pooling their expertise in order to drive forward the development of efficient and environmentally friendly technologies even more intensively. Upon completion of the transaction, Hermann Josef Schulte will hand over the management of the company to the future CEO Robin Trompetter and will remain active as an advisor and consultant for HJS Emission Technology; in addition, the Schulte family will remain a major shareholder in HJS Emission Technology.

Completion of the transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities in Germany and Austria and is expected by early 2025.

Berner Fleck Wettich (www.bfw.law) advised the Schulte family comprehensively on the succession solution and the entry of DEUTZ.

11880 Solutions AG has resolved a capital increase from authorized capital against contributions in kind. Euro Serve Media GmbH (“ESM”), which belongs to the Müller Medien family of companies, which in turn holds a majority stake in 11 88 0 Solutions AG via its holding company united vertical media GmbH, contributed the “pay per lead” provider Ormigo GmbH, based in Cologne, to 11880 Solutions AG as a contribution in kind in return for 1 million new shares.

With the acquisition of Ormigo GmbH, 11880 Solutions AG aims to develop the “pay per lead” business field more strongly, accelerate growth in this area and save costs for the further development of the business.

Berner Fleck Wettich provided comprehensive advice to ESM on the transaction.

Click here for the full article (in German)

The Spanish investment company Asterion Industrial Partners acquires the Essen-based energy producer Steag. For its entry into the German market, 2.6 billion euros flow to the Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft (KSBG). This consists of a total of six Ruhr area municipal utilities which Steag had acquired from Evonik. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. […]

The management and other bodies of Steag sought advice on their duties from Berner Fleck Wettich when the transaction process began in the spring.

Berner Fleck Wettich (Düsseldorf): Dr. Christian Nienkemper (Federführung), Dr. Carsten Wettich; Associate: Christina Peters (alle Corporate)

To read the full announcement, please click here (in German).

Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (KSBG) has announced that it has signed an agreement with Asterion Industrial Partners to acquire STEAG GmbH (“STEAG”). The transaction volume amounts to approximately 2.6 billion euros. The sale process is expected to be completed by December 2023.

STEAG comprises the two business units STEAG Power GmbH and Iqony GmbH. STEAG Power operates hard coal-fired power plants at six locations in Germany. Their share of total electricity generation in Germany is about five percent. Iqony offers solutions for decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization of energy supply. Iqony focuses on renewable energies and bridging technologies that can also be used in a climate-neutral way in the future. In addition to solar, wind, and geothermal energy, the portfolio also includes hydrogen solutions, storage technologies, engineering services, and modern gas-fired power plants that will be climate-neutral in the future through the use of hydrogen.

ASTERION INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS is the leading infrastructure fund in Spain. As one of the largest infrastructure-focused funds in Europe, the company manages assets of around 5 billion euros.

Berner Fleck Wettich advised STEAG and its corporate bodies on their rights and obligations under company law and corporate governance in connection with the transaction.

Click here for the full article (in German).

The Handelsblatt & Best Lawyers have awarded Berner Fleck Wettich again in three categories in their latest edition “Germany’s Best Lawyers 2023”. The ranking contains an overview of the law firms of the year 2023 in various fields of law and the lawyers particularly recommended this year.

As in previous years, all four partners of Berner Fleck Wettich are recommended in the current ranking for the following areas of law:

– Corporate Governance & Compliance: Dr. Carsten Wettich and Dr. Olaf Berner

– Mergers and acquisitions: Dr. Christian Nienkemper

– Corporate law: Dr. Olaf Berner, Dr. Thilo Fleck and Dr. Christian Nienkemper

For the 15th time already, the Handelsblatt has published the list “Die besten Anwälte und Kanzleien Deutschlands 2023” (The Best Lawyers of Germany 2023), based on research by the US publishing house Best Lawyers. Based on a peer-to-peer survey, Best Lawyers has identified Germany’s most renowned lawyers in various fields of law.

The complete results can be found here (in German): Germany’s best lawyers 2023.

In its current issue, WirtschaftsWoche has again named Berner Fleck Wettich as a top law firm for corporate law 2023 and for M&A 2023. At the same time, Dr Olaf Berner, Dr Thilo Fleck and Dr Carsten Wettich have been included in the list of Germany’s most renowned lawyers for corporate law. Dr Olaf Berner and Dr Christian Nienkemper have also been included in the list of Germany’s most renowned lawyers for M&A.

For the selection of the best German lawyers in corporate law, the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI) asked more than 5,600 lawyers from 292 law firms about their most renowned colleagues in corporate law.

The building materials supplier Schöck AG joins the Düsseldorf-based software startup FoxBase as a new investor and invests around 2.5 million euros as part of an equity financing.

Foxbase has set out to revolutionize the sales process for products that require explanation. To this end, the young company has developed a software platform that radically accelerates the B2B sales process. The bundling of expertise with Schöck AG as a partner and the investment boost are intended to support FoxBase on its way to becoming the global standard solution for direct-to-customer sales digitization in the B2B sector and to establish it as a leading provider. Together, FoxBase and Schöck want to identify opportunities for digital solutions in the sale of products requiring explanation and connect the interfaces to a digital customer journey. FoxBase intends to use the capital to invest in the further development of the software platform, in staff development and in the marketing of the software.

Berner Fleck Wettich comprehensively advised FoxBase on the entry of Schöck AG.

Click here for the full article (in German).

In the course of the realignment, the GERRY WEBER Group will focus on its core competencies: Further development of its brands and brand communication, design and development of successful collections, and distribution of the brands.

In the area of sourcing, the company intends to strengthen its position through an exclusive strategic cooperation with Techno Design GmbH as a strong global partner from June 01, 2023. Techno Design is known for its innovative and vertically integrated end-to-end sourcing solutions. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, and has sourcing offices in relevant markets worldwide.

Techno Design will take over the existing sourcing activities of the GERRY WEBER Group and cover all global sourcing needs.

Berner Fleck Wettich provided comprehensive advice to Techno Design on the strategic partnership with Gerry Weber. Techno Design was advised on insolvency law issues by the law firm Noerr, and on antitrust law issues by the Düsseldorf antitrust boutique ROCAN.

Click here for the full article (in German).