Gleiss Lutz has advised Infineon Technologies AG on the sale of its wireless solutions business (WLS) to Intel Corporation for a purchase price of US$1.4 billion. The contract between Infineon and Intel was signed on August 30. The transaction, which has yet to be cleared by the cartel authorities, is expected to be completed early in 2011.
WLS, which will continue operating as a separate entity after the takeover by Intel, is a leading manufacturer of chips and semiconductor platforms for mobile phones and smartphones. Its customers include, above all, major manufacturers of equipment of this kind.
For Infineon, the sale of this division marks a decisive phase in its strategy of concentrating on strong growth in its core segments, namely automotive, industrial & multimarket, and chip card & security.
Gleiss Lutz has advised Infineon all along the way on preparations for the sale and sales negotiations with Intel and other potential buyers. Besides structuring the transaction and negotiating the contracts, one of the main concerns was to ensure a clean break between the group and the WLS division, which accounts for roughly one third of Infineon’s sales. In this context Gleiss Lutz was yet again able to demonstrate the breadth of its expertise as a full-service law firm. Gleiss Lutz acts regularly for Infineon. Last year, for example, Gleiss Lutz advised them on the sale of the wireline communications division to Golden Gate Capital.
The Gleiss Lutz team advising Infineon comprised the following lawyers:
Sale to Intel: Dr. Ralf Morshäuser and Dr. Christian Cascante (both lead counsel, partners, corporate/M&A, Munich and Stuttgart), Peter Steffen Carl (partner, corporate/M&A, Munich), Martin Hitzer (partner, corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Dr. Jan Balssen, Dr. Tobias Falkner, Dr. Barbara Jagersberger, Roland Sterr, Dr. Verena Hauser (all corporate/M&A, Munich), Dr. Christina von Schweinitz (corporate/M&A, Frankfurt).
Parallel negotiations with other prospective buyers: Dr. Jan Bauer, Dr. Patrick Kaffiné (both lead counsel, partners, corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Dr. Cai Berg, Marco Niehaus, Stefanie Schween (all corporate/M&A, Frankfurt).
Specific aspects: Dr. Frank Merten (partner, employment, Munich), Dr. Steffen Krieger (partner, employment, Stuttgart/Düsseldorf), Dr. Lutz Aye (IP, Stuttgart), Dr. Andreas Wehlau (partner, IP, Munich), Cornelia Stark (IP, Munich), Dr. Matthias Werner (IP/IT, Munich), Dr. Burghard Hildebrandt (partner, public aid, Berlin), Dr. Ulrich Soltész (partner, public aid, Brussels), Dr. Alexander Werder (partner, tax, Stuttgart), Dr. Stefan Mayer (tax, Frankfurt), Dr. Ingo Brinker, Dr. Petra Linsmeier (both partners, antitrust, Munich), Ulrike Roider (antitrust, Munich).
Advice on the US legal aspects of the transaction was provided by: David Lakhdhir of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison (London).
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