Gleiss Lutz advised AVIC Electromechanical System Co., Ltd. (AVICEM), a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned AVIC Group (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) on the acquisition of the German automotive supplier KOKINETICS GmbH. The transaction was completed at the end of May.
The transaction marked the first time that Gleiss Lutz advised the AVIC Group. AVIC is a Chinese state-owned aerospace and defence company. Its subsidiary AVICEM, with 28 subsidiaries of its own – including four listed companies – and around 70,000 employees, specialises in electromechanical aircraft and automotive components.
Kokinetics GmbH supplies the automotive industry with seat mechanisms and components, complete metal structures for car seats as well as transmission parts. With its headquarters near Frankfurt, the company has two significant production sites in Germany and in the Czech Republic.
For AVICEM and KOKINETICS, the acquisition was a logical step in their growth. The cooperation will help them tap into new market opportunities on a global level. For Gleiss Lutz, this was yet another transaction involving a Chinese company: In 2012 the firm advised Kion on the investment of the Chinese conglomerate Shandong Heavy Industry, the largest Chinese direct investment in Germany to date. In 2013, Gleiss Lutz advised ZF Friedrichshafen on the carve-out and sale of its rubber and plastics business to a Chinese investor.
The following Gleiss Lutz team advised AVIC on the transaction: Dr. Michael Burian (partner), Dr. Jana Glock (counsel, both lead), Nico Holtkamp (all corporate/M&A Stuttgart), Dr. Thomas Winzer (partner), Verena Hechenblaikner (both employment, Frankfurt), Dr. Matthias Sonntag (partner, IP, Düsseldorf), Linda Bittner (IP, Stuttgart), Dr. Tim Weber (partner, real estate, Frankfurt), Konrad Discher (real estate, Berlin), Dr. Andreas Neun (partner), Dr. Benjamin Herz (both public law, Berlin), Dr. Wolfgang Bosch (partner) and Antonia Harbusch (both competition/antitrust, Frankfurt).
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