Dr. Lea-Marie Weischede LL.M.

Fahrenheit AcquiCo GmbH (currently named sotus 861. GmbH; the "Bidder"), a holding company controlled by the EQT X fund ("EQT Private Equity"), supported by co-investors Mubadala Investment Company and the Sixth Cinven Fund, has announced the decision to launch a voluntary public takeover offer for all outstanding shares of va-Q-tec AG ("va-Q-tec"). va-Q-tec is a premium provider of thermal energy efficiency and temperature-controlled supply chain solutions and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The takeover offer is based on a Business Combination Agreement signed by the Bidder and va-Q-tec today. EQT Private Equity has partnered with the va-Q-tec founding families of Dr. Joachim Kuhn (founder and CEO) and Dr. Roland Caps (founder and former Head of Research and Development), who together hold approximately 26% in the Company’s current share capital and have agreed under a Partnership Agreement to participate in the transaction and to re-invest the majority of their current participation. Completion of the takeover offer will be subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 62.5% of va-Q-tec's current share capital (including shares held by the Founding Families) and certain further customary conditions, including merger control clearance. The takeover offer is expected to close in Q2 2023. Milbank is advising the Bidder comprehensively on the transaction. The Milbank team is led by partners Steffen Oppenländer and Christoph Rothenfusser (both Corporate/M&A, joint lead) and includes partners Philipp Klöckner (Equity Capital Markets), Alexander Rinne (Regulatory) and Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax), special counsel Sebastian Reiner-Pechtl (Corporate/M&A) and Jennifer Seipelt (Finance) as well as associates Markus von Lutterotti, Manuel Bogenreuther, Julian Jaschinski, Lea-Marie Weischede, Rabea Regh (all Corporate/M&A), Mira Zimmermann (Equity Capital Markets), as well as Alexander Zyrewitz and Stefanie Gschoßmann (both Regulatory).

Dec 14

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis has bolstered its European corporate practice with the hire of Sebastian Heim, who joins as partner across its Munich and London offices. Heim, a Milbank London partner, has advised on deals including Carlyle’s €7.7 billion ($8.9 billion) acquisition of BASF’s coating business and General Atlantic’s $5.7 billion public offering of SMG Swiss Marketing Group, at the time the largest European IPO of the year. Heim joined Milbank in 2011 as an associate, according to his LinkedIn. “Sebastian is one of the go-to private equity lawyers in Germany,” said Jon A. Ballis, chairman of Kirkland’s executive committee. Heim’s regularly advises clients on corporate law, M&A, and growth equity matters. “Sebastian is an extraordinary lawyer with a stellar reputation,” said Benjamin Leyendecker, a corporate partner in Kirkland’s Munich office. The move comes just 18 months after Kirkland opened its Frankfurt office in August 2024. The hub cooperates closely with Kirkland's Munich office, which has been described by Leyendecker as “key pillar of our strategy”. Heim is joining the Munich office, which has 17 partners listed on Kirkland’s website. Kirkland saw record lateral hires and partner promotions globally in 2025 alongside seven lateral hires in Germany since opening in Frankfurt. Kirkland’s German partners have also been in demand elsewhere, however, with former restructuring partner Leo Plank moving to Gibson Dunn in February. Milbank has been contacted for comment.

Mar 3

1 min

Milbank LLP advised General Atlantic as lead investor on a USD 500 million series E funding round of Insider. Insider is a leading AI-native omnichannel experience and customer engagement platform. Its software enables marketers and customer experience teams to create highly personalized omnichannel experiences and manage customer engagement from a single platform. Insider helps marketers to efficiently collect, analyze, and predictively use first-party data in real time. The company has more than 1,100 team members across 28 countries worldwide. Insider plans to further develop its marketing software offering and invest in research and development, focusing on expanding and evolving its AI solutions. The company also intends to scale its talent base and geographic footprint, leveraging General Atlantic’s global platform, and to use funds to explore strategic M&A opportunities. General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with businesses and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. The international Milbank team advising General Atlantic comprehensively on the transaction was led by partner Sebastian Heim (Corporate/M&A, Munich) and included partners Alexander Rinne (Regulatory, Munich), Andrea Hamilton (Regulatory, London), Matthias Schell (Tax, Munich), Jacqueline Chan (Corporate/M&A, Singapore), Nathaniel Browand (IP, New York) and Bijan Ganji (Global Risk & National Security, Washington DC), special counsel Sebastian Reiner-Pechtl (Corporate/M&A, Munich) and John Garces (IP, New York) as well as associates Sandra Feil, Lea-Marie Weischede, Manuel Bogenreuther, Lucas Stumpf, Marc Wiesner (all Corporate/M&A, Munich), Marlies Zeck (Regulatory, Munich), Wei Sheng Lee (Corporate/M&A, Singapore), Brian Murff (Global Risk & National Security, Washington DC), Abigail King (Corporate/M&A, New York) and Jil Windau (Tax, Munich).

Nov 1

1 min

Milbank LLP advised EQT Mid Market Europe and EQT Mid Market Asia III funds (together “EQT Private Equity” or “EQT”) on the sale of BBS Automation (“BBS”) to MDAX-listed Dürr Group. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, BBS helps companies automate their production processes and reduce energy consumption, waste and downtime, allowing customers to meet rapidly growing cost and sustainability demands. It plays a pivotal role in the Industry 4.0 revolution by developing and manufacturing automated, smart factory solutions. BBS’ tailor-made assembly and testing applications are used by customers in a wide range of industries, including (e)Mobility, Life Sciences, and Consumer Electronics, amongst others. EQT Private Equity acquired a majority stake in BBS in 2018. During EQT’s ownership, BBS has more than doubled its sales to over EUR 300 million today (2023 estimate). At the same time, BBS has made substantial investments in its global footprint, doubling its network of sites from 7 to 14 and growing its number of employees from around 550 to around 1,200. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory conditions and expected for the second half of 2023. The Milbank team advising EQT Partners was led by partner Steffen Oppenlaender (Global Corporate/M&A, Munich) and included partners Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax, Munich), Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance, Munich), Alexander Rinne (Regulatory, Munich) and John Beahn (Regulatory, New York) as well as special counsel Dana Zelman (Regulatory, New York) and associates Sandra Feil, Lea-Marie Weischede, Pascal Haerdtner, Julian Jaschinski, Markus von Lutterotti (all Global Corporate/M&A, Munich), Susanne Baier (Finance, Munich) and Jan Maas (Regulatory, Munich).

Jun 15

1 min

Milbank LLP has advised a consortium of European banks, led by IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG as bookrunner and mandated lead arranger and KfW-coordinator, on a EUR 260 million KfW-backed financing of Green IT applications for United Internet AG. With over 29 million fee-based customer contracts and over 38 million ad-financed free accounts, United Internet AG is a leading European internet specialist. IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, headquartered in Düsseldorf, focuses on high-end German mid-caps. IKB specializes in long-term financing for companies and projects, including public loans. The bank also offers financing solutions that can be used independently of customer balance sheets, including assistance for companies on the capital market. The Milbank team was led by partner Thomas Ingenhoven and included special counsel Thomas Möller and associate Lara Letizia Milione (all Finance) as well as partner Thomas Kleinheisterkamp and associate Christoph Wolf (all Tax).

Mar 3

1 min