Gleiss Lutz advised the private equity investor Blackstone on its acquisition of a minority stake of around 44 percent in the stock-listed Leica Camera AG. The seller is ACM Projektentwicklung GmbH, which has thus far held 97.56 percent of the Leica shares. The acquisition is still subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Leica currently employs 1,150 people and concluded the 2010/2011 financial year with a record turnover of 248.8 million euros. This represents a 57.2 percent increase in turnover from the previous year for the German traditional manufacturer of cameras and sport optics products. Blackstone will support Leica management as a strategic partner, especially in connection with the globalisation of its business. The company intends to expand its strong market position in Asia, South America and the Middle East in particular.
Blackstone was advised by the following Gleiss Lutz team: Dr. Jan Bauer, Dr. Cornelia Topf (both lead, both partners, corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Dr. Christian Cascante (partner, corporate/M&A, Stuttgart), Dr. Marco Niehaus (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Jan Philipp Mohr (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Dr. Carsten Walter (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Svenja Müller (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Dr. Thorsten Gayk (corporate/M&A, Stuttgart).
The following lawyers were also involved: Dr. Herwig Lux (IP/IT, Stuttgart), Dr. Henrik Holzapfel (IP/IT, Düsseldorf), Dr. Dennis Amschewitz (IP/IT, Stuttgart); Dr. Ingo Brinker (partner, antitrust, Munich), Dr. Moritz Holm-Hadulla (antitrust, Stuttgart); Dr. Stefan Mayer (partner, tax, Frankfurt), Dr. Kai Arne Birke (banking and finance, Frankfurt).
Gleiss Lutz regularly assists Blackstone in transactions and has already advised the investor in 2011 on the acquisition of Jack Wolfskin as well as on investments in the offshore wind farms “Meerwind” and “Nördlicher Grund”.
Forward
