Germany
The German Soccer Federation (DFB) achieved another important legal victory with Dr. Johan-Michel Menke, sports employment law expert at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek in Hamburg. With today’s January 15, 2019 ruling (2 Ca 227/18), the 2nd Chamber of Verden Labor Court, chaired by Judge Trautmann, dismissed the complaint brought by former referee Patrick Schult against the DFB and established that referees are not employees
Germany
Reply AG, the German subsidiary of publicly listed Italian IT service provider Reply SpA, has acquired Hamburg-based digital agency elbkind GmbH. A team led by Dr. Lothar Ende, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s Hamburg office, advised Reply comprehensively. Reply intends to use the elbkind takeover to further expand its product range and market presence in the digital sector
Germany
The patent law team of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, jointly with patent attorneys from Denmark and Germany, again prevailed in a patent nullity case before the German Federal Court of Justice. In its January 8, 2019 ruling, the Federal Court of Justice granted the lawyers’ motions and ruled that the German part of patent EP 1 070 223 B1, held by Danish company EnerDry A/S, is legally valid
Germany
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised largest real estate service provider in the Netherlands, MVGM-Group, on the acquisition of PropertyFirst GmbH from RGM-Group with effect from 1 January 2019. Bochum-based PropertyFirst GmbH operates at 12 locations and offers any commercial and technical property management services. It manages rental space of approx. 3 million m² and administers numerous rental apartments and owner communities. A team led by the Düsseldorf-based partner Dr
Germany
With a Frankfurt-based team led by Partner Thomas K. Schrell, business law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised HF Private Debt on funding Finexx’s acquisition of GSE Vertrieb group. The financing volume was not disclosed. Finexx acquired GSE Vertrieb Biologische Nahrungsergänzung & Heilmittel GmbH, headquartered in Saarbrücken, as part of a succession plan
Germany
With a team led by Dr. Pär Johansson from its Cologne office, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised investment firm Odewald KMU II on the acquisition of a majority stake in GIATA GmbH. As a leading provider of non-bookable content, GIATA has been supporting its customers from the tourism industry since 1996, continually setting new standards in hotel content processing and distribution. Its modular product range allows GIATA to offer complete solutions tailored to individual customers
Germany
Business law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek successfully represented several companies of Sprengnetter group (Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler), which is operating in the real estate valuation sector, in a multi-year legal dispute over copyrights, in particular database rights. In the summer of 2016, several companies of Sprengnetter group had received warnings for the alleged infringement of third-party rights, in particular copyrights and rights of the database producer
Germany
A team led by Munich-based partners Dr. Helge-Torsten Wöhlert and Dr. Markus Rabe advised Deutsche Raiffeisen-Warenzentrale GmbH (DRWZ) on the sale of sports and leisurewear manufacturer JOY sportswear GmbH. The buyer is Bremen-headquartered C. Melchers GmbH & Co. KG, which operates more than 50 subsidiaries in 23 countries. JOY sportswear GmbH, based in Ottensoos near Nuremberg, is a manufacturer of sports and leisure clothing for men and women
Germany
Funds advised by PREMIUM Equity Partners sold 100 percent of the shares in ANTEBB Holding GmbH, the sole shareholder of Antennentechnik ABB Bad Blankenburg GmbH, to Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co., Ltd. Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised PREMIUM Equity Partners GmbH on the sale with a team led by Hamburg-based Partner Dr. Stefan Duhnkrack. The two companies intend to use the collaboration to increase the pace of innovation and to expand their business in China and Europe
Germany
Effective January 1, 2019, two female and five male Salaried Partners of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek will be admitted in the equity partnership. Astrid Reich (Berlin) is a lawyer, Certified Specialist Lawyer in Employment Law, and a member of the Employment Law Practice Group. Jörn Matuszewski (Düsseldorf) is a lawyer, tax advisor, and Graduate in Tax Administration (University of Applied Sciences) and advises in the fields of Tax Law and Private Clients
Germany
Hamburg-based Partner Dr. Søren Pietzcker has been elected member of the Executive Committee of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA). As of 2019, he will hold the office of President EMEA and will be responsible for supporting the members in the EMEA region (Europe - Middle East - Africa). The Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) is an alliance of lawyers located in over 100 countries
Germany
A team comprised of members of several offices led by Stuttgart-based Partner Dr. Peter Ladwig comprehensively advised diconium group GmbH and its managing shareholders on the sale of a 49% stake in diconium digital GmbH to Volkswagen AG and accompanied the transaction. The relevant agreements were signed on November 21, 2018. The sale is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities
Germany
Triton Smaller Mid-Cap Fund (TSM), a fund focusing on medium-sized companies advised by Triton, acquired a majority stake in NORRES Group. With a team led by Dr. Pär Johansson, Partner at the firm’s Cologne office, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised Triton on the legal aspects of the acquisition. The partnership aims at promoting NORRES Group’s expansion strategy. Headquartered in Gelsenkirchen, NORRES is a manufacturer of industrial hoses with production sites in Germany, China, and the U.S
Germany
The law firm of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek elected a new management board at its general partners’ meeting on November 17. In addition to various committees, an election for the management team is also held every three years. The current management board, which has been leading the firm for six years now, and in a slightly changed constellation for nine years, has been expanded by two partners. Dr. Andreas Urban and Dr. Hans Gummert will commence their fourth terms of office. Dr
Germany
FUNKE MEDIENGRUPPE and SIGNA Holding agreed on a partnership: SIGNA will take over a 49% stake in WAZ Ausland Holding GmbH from FUNKE MEDIENGRUPPE, which in turn holds shares in the “Kronen Zeitung” and “Kurier” newspapers. For the first time, SIGNA is therefore investing not only in real estate and retailing, but also in the media sector. The collaboration will start after approval by the competent antitrust authorities. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price
Germany
Consulting firm Accenture has reached an agreement with the shareholders of Kolle Rebbe to take over their advertising agency. A team led by Dr. Peter Christian Schmidt, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s Hamburg office, advised the Kolle Rebbe shareholders on the sale. Established in 1994, the agency is characterized by branding campaigns that combine award-winning creative work and digital customer interaction
Germany
Warburg-HIH Invest Real Estate (Warburg-HIH Invest) acquired the “Güterhallen” freight halls in Altona from Aurelis Real Estate. A team led by Dr. Sönke Görgens, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s Hamburg office, advised the investment manager on the acquisition. The freight halls with an area of some 15,846 square meters are part of Hamburg’s “Mitte Altona” district development and are to be incorporated into an individual fund. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price
Germany
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s partner Dr. Thorsten Kuthe and his team legally advised asknet AG’s rights issue to finance their growth plan. The public offering was one of the first capital measures using a short securities information sheet instead of a prospectus. The securities information sheet had to be permitted by BaFin to be published
Germany
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek legally advised Döhler Ventures on the seed C funding round of Waterdrop Microdrink GmbH. As part of the funding round, several investors made total payments that are well into the seven-digit range. Döhler Ventures is an investor in nutrition & technology start-ups with numerous holdings in Europe and the USA. Waterdrop Microdrink GmbH is a Vienna-based start-up whose ‘waterdrop Microdrink’ brand has been the subject of extensive media coverage
Germany
The Cologne-based capital market team led by Partner Dr. Thorsten Kuthe advised Integrata AG on a squeeze-out under stock corporation law. The shares of the remaining shareholders were transferred to Qualification Star 2 GmbH, which holds 97.97% of Integrata AG’s share capital, against cash compensation. Integrata AG is a member of Cegos Group and a full-service provider of qualification projects, qualification processes, training logistics, and seminars
Germany
As sole lead manager, IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG accompanied the successful placement of a EUR 20 million corporate bond of Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (DEAG). A team led by Dr. Thorsten Kuthe, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, legally advised the bank. Offering an annual coupon of 6%, the bond is listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Open Market. The bond was placed with a wide range of institutional investors primarily from Germany, but also from Luxemburg and Switzerland
Germany
A team led by Düsseldorf-based Partner Dr. Michael Alberts advised two Swiss stock corporations on behalf of Swiss-based Procimmo AG on the acquisition of a site in Hanau where several building halls with a special real estate concept for “light industrial” are to be developed. The modular concept allows for flexible division and use of the individual building parts that is novel in Germany
Germany
A team led by Michael Neises, Partner at the Frankfurt office, advised the seller on the sale of M.E.D. Medical Products GmbH (M.E.D.) to Vision Ophthalmology Group (VOG). By acquiring M.E.D., VOG is expanding its range of services, strengthening its value chain, and continuing its expansion. M.E.D. will continue to operate as an independent business. M.E.D. is a specialist producer of customized procedure packs and disposable products used in ophthalmic surgery
Germany
A team led by Cologne-based Partner Dr. Thorsten Kuthe advised Accentro Real Estate AG and its joint bookrunners Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft and Quirin Privatbank AG on a cash capital increase as transaction counsel. Within a short period, 2,120,000 shares were placed, so that the capital increase was increased from up to EUR 1.6 million to EUR 2.12 million due to the high demand
Germany
A team led by Dr. Stefan Duhnkrack advised funds advised by PREMIUM Equity Partners, Frankfurt/Main, on the sale of all shares in weka group to Dutch Outdoor Life Group (OLG). weka, headquartered in Neubrandenburg, employs some 140 people and generates sales in excess of EUR 30 million. The group works in two concept worlds: The garden world segment includes garden houses, terrace roofing, children’s play equipment, swimming pools, and carports
