Olaf Ehlers

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised Hapag-Lloyd on the acquisition of the entire share capital in SAAM Ports S.A. and SAAM Logistics S.A. from Chile-based terminal operator and logistics service provider SM SAAM S.A.. By acquiring the terminal business and related logistics services, Hapag-Lloyd secures its stake in ten terminals in North, Central and South America with a container throughput of around 3.5 billion TEU (2021) and further expands its presence in the Latin American market. The purchase price for the terminal and logistics business, which employs approximately 4,300 people, and related real estate is approximately one billion US dollars. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The Freshfields team comprised partners Natascha Doll (Hamburg, lead), Christoph H. Seibt, Simon Schwarz-Lindenberg (Hamburg), Paul Tiger (New York) (all Global Transactions) and David Beutel (Tax, Munich), Counsel Martin Rehberg (Tax, Munich), and Olaf Ehlers (Global Transactions, New York), Principal Associates Carsten Bork, Arne Krawinkel (both Global Transactions, Hamburg) and Julia Kubelka (Tax, Vienna) as well as Associates Maximilian Berenbrok, Panagiota Kavvada (both Global Transactions, Hamburg) and Brendan Counihan (Tax, Washington DC).

Oct 7

1 min

Freshfields is advising Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE:RCL) on the sale of its Azamara cruise line to Sycamore Partners. The transaction is structured as an all-cash carve-out transaction. Sycamore Partners will acquire the entire Azamara brand, including its three-ship fleet and associated intellectual property. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. The Freshfields M&A team is being led by partners Valerie Ford Jacob and Paul Tiger and includes associates Olaf Ehlers, Max Sanders, and Khaair Morrison. Tax advice is being provided by partners Helen Buchanan and Robert Scarborough, counsel Dennis Caracristi, and associates Alan Rafferty and Edward Buxton. Partner Mena Kaplan, special counsel Peter Jaffe and associates Marissa Yu, Jillian Simons and Tibor Szigetvari are advising on IP and data protection matters. Partners Maj Vaseghi and Alice Greenwell, and associate Sara Ghulamhussain are providing advice on employee benefit and employment matters. Antitrust advice is being provided by partners Bruce McCulloch and Franck Montag, and counsel Jennifer Mellott. Compliance advice is being provided by partner Olivia Radin, counsel Stephanie Brown-Cripps and associate Weronika Bukowski. More details about the transaction can be found here. Update: the transaction closed on March 19, 2021. Details available here. ENDS About Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a global elite law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world's leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments on groundbreaking and business-critical mandates. Our 2,800-plus lawyers deliver results worldwide through our own offices and alongside leading local firms. Our commitment, local and multinational expertise, and business know-how means our clients rely on us when it matters most. Freshfields is the only firm ranked by Chambers Global in Band 1 across the seven areas of antitrust, corporate/M&A, dispute resolution, international arbitration, tax, employee benefits, and public international law. For more information visit Freshfields.us. This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For more information contact: Elliott Frieder elliott.frieder@freshfields.com +1 212 230 4664

Jan 19

2 min

Private equity shop American Securities on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to sell two of its portfolio companies to U.K.-based Rosebank Industries Plc in a deal that boasts an enterprise value of $3.25 billion and was built by three firms. American Securities is selling CPM Holdings Inc. and ASP MWI Holdings Inc. with its subsidiaries operating under the MW Components brand for $3.05 billion, with a potential earnout payment of up to an additional $200 million, according to a Tuesday statement. American Securities is selling CPM Holdings Inc. and ASP MWI Holdings Inc. with its subsidiaries operating under the MW Components brand for $3.05 billion, with a potential earnout payment of up to an additional $200 million, according to a Tuesday statement. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP advised CPM, MW Components and American Securities; Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP also advised MW Components, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP advised Rosebank Industries. Headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota, CPM designs and makes highly engineered process equipment and automation systems. It serves a global customer base operating through three main segments: industrial solutions, engineered solutions, and process solutions mainly serving the animal feed, oilseed processing, renewable energy, food, and other industrial markets, according to Tuesday's statement. American Securities first invested in CPM in November 2018. "American Securities has been an outstanding partner," said CPM CEO Dave Webster. "Their deep industrial expertise and active operational engagement enabled us to elevate our customer offering, broaden our capabilities, and further strengthen our organization. We are excited to carry that progress forward as we embark on this new chapter with Rosebank." Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, MW Components makes highly engineered bespoke fasteners, springs, and precision metal components. American Securities first invested in MW Components in 2017, the statement said. "American Securities has played an instrumental role in MW Components' evolution," said MW Components CEO Thomas Amato. "Over the years, American Securities has brought thoughtful guidance and operational rigor to support the company's key growth and strategic repositioning initiatives. Their partnership has positioned MW Components well for continued success in the years ahead." American Securities said it has partnered with both companies to speed up growth, improve operational effectiveness, and strengthen its competitive positioning. "It has been a true privilege to partner with these exceptional management teams," said American Securities Founder and CEO Michael Fisch. "With Dave Webster's leadership at CPM and Tom Amato's leadership at MW Components, both businesses have built durable platforms for sustained success. We are confident that CPM and MW Components are well positioned to build on their momentum and pursue their next phase of growth with Rosebank." For Rosebank, the company said the deal represents the next step in its "buy, improve, sell" strategy for creating shareholder value. "This transaction represents the next step of the Rosebank journey … MW Components and CPM are high-quality businesses with much unrealised potential, and we are confident that our proven approach will unlock substantial value for shareholders," said Rosebank CEO Simon Peckham. "We are grateful for the strong and continued support from our shareholders and look forward to delivering." The Simpson Thacher team advising Rosebank was led by partners Keegan Lopez and Lucy Gillett. The Weil team advising American Securities, MW Components, and CPM was led by partners Ryan Taylor and Michael Lubowitz and included David Avery-Gee and Sarah Flaherty. The Hunton team advising MW Components was led by M&A partners Austin Maloney and Doug Granger.

Mar 3

3 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised US conglomerate Emerson on the acquisition of Flexim Flexible Industriemeßtechnik GmbH (‘Flexim’). The transaction is expected to close by the end of Emerson’s fiscal 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Afterwards, Flexim’s Berlin headquarter is planned to become Emerson’s Ultrasonic Flow Measurement Center of Excellence. Flexim is the world's only supplier of clamp-on ultrasonic systems for non-intrusive flow measurement of liquids and gases with SIL certification. Flexim's clamp-on ultrasonic systems measure virtually anything that flows, liquids as well as gases. The sensors are simply clamped onto the outside of the pipe with no interruption of service or risk of leakage. The transaction will expand Emerson’s automation portfolio and measurement capabilities, complementing its existing flow measurement positions in Coriolis, differential pressure, magmeter and vortex flow measurement. Underpinned by favorable end market growth and technology leadership, the global ultrasonic clamp-on flowmeter market is expected to grow in the high single digits annually longer-term. Emerson reported revenue of $19.63 billion for the fiscal year ended 2022. The Freshfields team was led by Partner Barbara Keil (Corporate/M&A, München) and Counsel Marcus Wolter (Corporate/M&A, Milan). The team further comprised: Corporate/M&A: Associate Jan Postweiler (Munich), Partner Farid Sigari-Majd (Vienna), Guillemette Burgala (Paris), Dirk-Jan Smit (Amsterdam), Counsel Olaf Ehlers, Associates Athanasios Tasopoulos, Jules Troubat (all New York), Martin Zankl, Patrick Wageneder, Carolina Gerstacker (all Vienna), Anqi Yu (Beijing), Fabienne Tichelman, Hannah Erdman (both Amsterdam), Stephanie Austera (London), Legal Consultants Zhe Wang, Vivian Wang (both Beijing), Senior Transaction Lawyer Franz Dahl (Hamburg) and Transaction Lawyer Stéphanie Adriaens (Berlin) IP: Partner Nina Bayerl and Associate Diana Baum (both Munich) Employment Law: Partner Thomas Granetzky (Düsseldorf), Karin Buzanich-Sommeregger (Vienna), David Mendel (London), Sarah Ghulambussain (Silicon Valley), Principal Associates Benedikt Sprinzl (Vienna), Sarah Rohmann (Düsseldorf), Associates Vera Münsch (Munich), Fan Li (Beijing), Veere Everard, Babette Koning (both Amsterdam), Gino Murugesan (London), Kristen Stidham (Silicon Valley) Regulatory: Partner Juliane Hilf (Düsseldorf), Counsel Sascha Arnold (Hamburg), Associate Felicitas Weber (Berlin) Finance: Counsel Nina Heym, Associate Benedikt Schwarz (both Frankfurt) Tax: Counsel Martin Rehberg, Associate Julian Siller (both Munich) Real Estate: Partner Gerrit Beckhaus (Hamburg), Pervez Akhtar (Dubai), Counsel Jeremiah Nelson (Silicon Valley), Associates Florian Nicolas Schröder (Hamburg), Michael Holzmannhofer (Vienna), Johan Nijmeijer (Amsterdam), Legal Consultant Tariq Saeed (Dubai) Commercial: Partner Lutz Riede, Associate Iris Amschl (both Vienna)

Aug 24

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advised One Equity Partners, a leading private-equity investment firm, on its acquisition of a majority stake in DESMI A/S, a global leader in the development and manufacture of pump solutions. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022. The Freshfields team advising on the transaction was led by Partner Arend von Riegen and Associate Anna Dominke (both Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt). They were supported by Associate Simon Wizemann (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Partner Thomas Wessely, Principal Associate Marta Janek (both Antitrust and Trade, Brussels), Associate Cindy van Liempdt (Corporate/M&A, Amsterdam), Counsel Stephanie Brown Cripps, Associate Jennifer King (both Dispute Resolution, New York), Partner Paul Humphreys, Counsel Olaf Ehlers, Associate Nathalie Kupfer (all Corporate/M&A, New York), Partner Sarah Su, associate Lola Wu (both Corporate/M&A, Hong Kong), Partner Yuxin Shen, Associate Yaming Wu (both Corporate/M&A, Beijing), Partner Nigel Gleeson and Associate Shavonne Oh (both Corporate/M&A, Singapore). Danish legal aspects of the transaction were handled by the law firm Bech-Bruun with a team led by Steen Rode and Anders Hagstrøm.

Jun 23

1 min