Author Archives: c-wettich

As in previous years, the seminar on the tax and foundation law support of family foundations in practice, organised by the FORUM together with the law firms Peters, Schöneberger & Partner from Munich and Berner Fleck Wettich from Düsseldorf, will take place hybrid (virtual and physical in Frankfurt am Main) on 16 May 2022. Dr. Thilo Fleck lectures on foundation law topics, including the legal position of beneficiaries and foundation bodies (employment, remuneration, liability) as well as on the maintenance of the articles of association, structural change and reform of foundation law. The effects of the corona crisis on family foundations are also examined.

If you are interested in the event, please contact us for a discount on the participation fee for clients of Berner Fleck Wettich.

You can find more information (in German) about the event and the possibilities of registration here.

Prof. Dr. Sabine Otte-Gräbener (Berner Fleck Wettich) deals in her contribution to the commemorative publication for Volker Triebel with the legal issues and consequences in practice of the temporary exception provided for in section 2 COVMG pursuant to which shareholders can adopt resolutions by circular resolution without the consent of all shareholders notwithstanding section 48 (2) German Private Limited Companies Act (GmbHG). Besides, she presents concrete proposals for a (permanent) reform of section 48 (2) GmbHG.

France’s Alliance Marine Group has acquired 12seemeilen.de, a major B2C boating accessories specialist based in Cologne and serving the German market. The acquisition was made on behalf of Intermer, a subsidiary of the French Alliance Marine Group, and its Accastillage Diffusion chain of more than 130 national stores in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Alliance Marine Group, a portfolio company of a private equity fund managed by Weinberg Capital Partners, specializes in the distribution of equipment and spare parts for repair and maintenance in the yachting and merchant marine industries. With 350 employees and a portfolio of more than 500 brands (mechanical parts and fittings), Alliance Marine is the undisputed leader in this sector in France, with sales of nearly €100 million.

The acquisition of 12seemeilen.de gives the Accastillage Diffusion group an important foothold in the German market.

Berner Fleck Wettich comprehensively advised the founders of 12seemeilen.de on the transaction.

Click here for the full article (in German).

EMMA Capital, EMH and minority shareholders of the Kiveda Group Holding, the parent company of “küchenquelle”, have formed the new “Home Furniture Group” (HFG). The new formed group will target to further disrupt the furniture market by expanding its successful tech enabled direct sales approach from kitchens into adjacent areas of home furniture. EMMA Capital and the existing shareholders see the used mixed reality technology, provided by Island Labs, Berlin as pivotal for implementing the accelerated growth strategy and secure the technology potential for HFG in the long term. With the new strategic Partner, EMMA Capital, on board, HFG is strengthened and well prepared to grow within the European market with its unique sales approach. […]

Berner Fleck Wettich advises EMMA Capital on the transaction.

Click here for the full article (in German).

MEDIA Central, a portfolio company of Bregal Unternehmerkapital advised funds, successfully completed the acquisition of Berlin-based Offerista Group at the end of July 2021.

Offerista Group, Europe’s largest shopper marketing network, specializes in providing customized, digital solutions for location-based offer and store marketing. With flexible, cross-channel advertising measures, the company – with a focus on stationary retail – accompanies and advises around 1,600 international retail and manufacturer brands along their customer journey. With a team of more than 130 employees and eight locations in Europe, Offerista Group will now become part of the group of companies of the market leader in unaddressed household advertising MEDIA Central. Through the transaction, the two companies aim to meet growing demand in the future with the best possible service from a single source. Customers are to benefit from an even greater overall reach through the use of cross-media strategies. As an independent full-service media agency, the MEDIA Central group of companies will continue to neutrally manage all haptic as well as digital channels according to customer requirements.

Berner Fleck Wettich comprehensively advised the Offerista Group shareholders on 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 2021”. The ranking contains an overview of the law firms of the year 2021 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: Carsten Wettich

– Mergers and acquisitions: Christian Nienkemper

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

For the 13th time already, the Handelsblatt has published the list “Die besten Anwälte und Kanzleien Deutschlands 2021” (The Best Lawyers of Germany 2021), 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 2021.

Dr Carsten Wettich (Berner Fleck Wettich) deals with the applicability of the One-Third Participation Act in issue 11/2021 of the journal “GWR”. In its decision of 25 November 2020 (38 O 4505/20), the Regional Court of Munich I ruled that the number of employees to be determined for exceeding the threshold of 500 employees within the meaning of the One-Third Participation Act is not to be determined by counting on a certain reference date, but by taking into account the past and future development. Dr Carsten Wettich welcomes the fact that the court thus extends the principles already recognised for the question of the applicability of the MitbestG to the DrittelbG.

In the same issue, Prof. Dr. Sabine Otte-Gräbener deals with the authority of the insolvency administrator to release a professional secrecy holder from its duty of confidentiality. If a legal entity has a protected relationship of trust with a professional secrecy holder (such as an auditor), the current representative body can release the latter from its duty of confidentiality.

In its current issue, WirtschaftsWoche has again named Berner Fleck Wettich as a top law firm for corporate law 2021. 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.

For the selection of the best German lawyers in corporate law, the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI) asked more than 4,900 lawyers from 270 law firms about their most renowned colleagues in corporate law.

Berner Fleck Wettich has been awarded the highest rating of four stars for corporate law and M&A by brand eins as one of the best commercial law firms in Germany 2021.

The list is based on a survey among lawyers (colleagues survey) and in-house lawyers (clients survey) for a total of 24 legal fields.