Gleiss Lutz has advised Papierfabrik Palm GmbH & Co. KG (PALM) on its acquisition of five European corrugated board plants from International Paper (IP).
PALM undertook to acquire the plants, located in Saint-Amand, Mortagne and Cabourg (all France), Bilbao (Spain) and Ovar (Portugal), in a put option of 11 April 2025.Statutory employee participation procedures must be completed in France before the share purchase agreements can be concluded and approval for the takeover must also be obtained from the European Commission and the French antitrust authorities. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2025.
With around 4,200 employees and revenues of EUR 2 billion (2024), PALM, based in Aalen (Germany), is a leader in the European paper and corrugated board industry.
The proposed takeover of the plants will enable PALM to further expand its geographical presence in Western Europe.
IP, the largest US packaging manufacturer, agreed the sale of the five plants with the European Commission on 31 January 2025 as a condition for the takeover of DS Smith.
The following Gleiss Lutz team led by Dr. Andreas Löhdefink (partner) and Dr. Christoph Auchter (counsel, both M&A, both Frankfurt) advised PALM on the transaction:
Dr. Helge Kortz (partner), Dr. Andreas Kohlheim (counsel, both Banking & Finance), Dr. Ocka Stumm (partner), Dr. Leonhard Kornwachs, Kilian Mossel (all Tax, all Frankfurt), Dr. Alexander Molle (partner), Jan Hinrichs (both IP/Tech, both Berlin), Dr. Birgit Colbus (counsel, Competition/Antitrust), Leonie Schröck, Lukas Schulze-Hagen, Dr. Ken Laws (all M&A, all Frankfurt).
The Gleiss Lutz team was supported by Macfarlanes (on UK law), Gide Loyrette Nouel (on French law) and Pérez-Llorca (on Spanish and Portuguese law).
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