Gleiss Lutz has advised the Japanese listed company Marubeni Corporation on its minority investment in RCB Nanotechnologies GmbH in the context of a financing round.
RCB Nanotechnologies, headquartered in Munich, Germany, is currently constructing a plant to produce next-generation recovered Carbon Black (“rCB 2.0”). Carbon black consists of fine carbon-based particles, mainly used as reinforcement for rubber used in tires.
In collaboration with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute, the largest non-profit research institute in the EU, RCB Nanotechnologies has successfully developed technology to produce rCB 2.0 to a world-leading standard, achieved by removing the ash from rCB through a proprietary post-pyrolysis chemical purification process. Using funds from the transaction, RCB Nanotechnologies will proceed with the construction of an initial plant, which is expected to commence stable supply of rCB2.0 to clients by the end of 2024. This plant will be the first commercial operation of an rCB chemical purification plant worldwide.
Marubeni, headquartered in Tokyo, was founded 1858 and is one of the major Japanese trading houses. The company has positioned green strategy as a basic policy in its mid-term management strategy and aspires to be a forerunner in green business. With this transaction, Marubeni plans to consolidate and structure a sustainable value chain for the tire and rubber materials business, from rubber raw materials to tire and rubber materials sales.
The following Gleiss Lutz Team led by Dr. Michael Burian (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Anselm Christiansen (partner, Stuttgart) and Josefine Wiegand (all M&A, Berlin) has advised Marubeni on the transaction:
Dr. Torsten Spiegel (Berlin), Dr. Philipp Jaspers (Frankfurt), Thomas Härtinger (Berlin), Sumiko Sato (Munich), Nikolas Frey (all M&A, Stuttgart), Jan Hinrichs (IP/Tech), Josefine Chakrabarti (counsel, Employment, both Berlin), Dr. Kathrin Haag (competition/antitrust, Munich), Lesley Milde (Real Estate, Hamburg), Simon Clemens Wegmann (Data Protection, Berlin).
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