Dr. Hendrik Braun

Kirkland & Ellis advised Blackstone and Rivean Capital as well as their Dutch portfolio company Enstall on the acquisition of the German Schletter Group. The current shareholders of Schletter, Avenue Capital Group and Robus Capital Management, will become minority shareholders of the combined group. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2024. Founded in 1968 and headquartered in Kirchdorf, Germany, Schletter Group is a global provider of solar mounting systems. Enstall, headquartered in Amsterdam and with regional headquarters in Deventer and Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, is a portfolio company of Blackstone and Rivean Capital since 2022. The Kirkland team was led by transactional partners Benjamin Leyendecker, Philip Goj and Hendrik Braun as well as transactional associates Marcus Commandeur and Philipp Keinath and included antitrust & competition partner Athina Van Melkebeke and associates Juan Donado-Diez and Georgia Mitchell.

Aug 1

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis has advised GIC, a global institutional investor, on a long-term minority investment in German industrial gases producer Messer. GIC's investment will support the company's long-term growth strategy. The proceeds from this investment will be used to finance the acquisition of CVC's stake in Messer Industries. The transaction between Messer and CVC as well as the entry of GIC as minority shareholder in Messer are subject to the usual regulatory approvals with completion being expected by the end of 2023. Messer, headquartered in Bad Soden near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the world's largest privately held specialist for industrial, medical and specialty gases. Read GIC’s press release The Kirkland team advising GIC was led by transactional partners Ben Leyendecker and Attila Oldag and included transactional partners Sebastian Häfele, Hendrik Braun and Ryan Brissette; antitrust & competition partners Sally Evans and Joel Gory; litigation partners Jordan Peterson and Marcus Thompson; tax partner Michael Ehret; and debt finance partner Alexander Längsfeld; as well as transactional associates Greta-Josefin Harnisch, Christina Albath, Victor Fiekers, Philipp Keinath, Friedrich Focke, Antonia Gaupp, Raisa Masud; antitrust & competition associate Alexander Wathan; and litigation associate Nicole Briones.

Jun 1

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising venture capital firm General Catalyst on its combination with European seed and growth stage venture capital fund La Famiglia. The transaction was announced on October 16, 2023. The combination will help General Catalyst extend its impact on a global scale and expand its operations in Europe where La Famiglia has built a much-admired seed brand and business over the years. General Catalyst has been investing in Europe for almost a decade and opened an office in London in 2021. Read General Catalyst’s announcement The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners Christian Atwood, Hendrik Braun and Jonathan Lipnick, and includes associates Kendahl Mordini, Tom Kelley and Jonas Goransson; investment funds regulatory partners Prem Mohan and Alpa Patel; and tax partners Michael Ehret, Lee Morlock and Brandon Short and associate Tobias Stuppi.

Oct 16

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised a consortium led by Sandbrook Capital on signing an agreement to acquire NeXtWind Capital Ltd (“NeXtWind”), a German renewable energy company, from a syndicate led by Crestline Investors. As part of the transaction, the consortium will commit up to US$750 million of equity capital to NeXtWind to acquire its existing portfolio of operating wind assets and to fund future growth. Read Sandbrook Capital’s press release The Kirkland team was led by corporate partner Keir MacLennan and associates Dana Abdulkarim and Talodabioluwa Olu-Odugbemi; debt finance partners James Boswell and James McGivern; and tax partners Peter Abbott and James Seddon and associate Maria Clezy. The team was supported by corporate partners Hendrik Braun, Stephen Noh and John Pitts.

Aug 9

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Charlesbank Capital Partners on its acquisition of Maltego Technologies GmbH, based in Munich, Germany. Charlesbank has acquired the company through its Charlesbank Technology Opportunities Fund from Maxburg Beteiligungen III GmbH & Co. KG, a German investment company advised by Maxburg Capital Partners. Maltego’s software is used for data visualization and link analysis by companies worldwide, including half of the DOW 30. Founded in 2008, Maltego Technologies GmbH has grown to over 100 employees. Based in Boston and New York, Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private investment firm with more than $15 billion of capital raised since inception. Charlesbank focuses on management-led buyouts and growth capital financings and also engages in opportunistic credit and technology investments. The Kirkland team advising Charlesbank was led by corporate partner Hendrik Braun and included corporate partners Dave Gusella, Michael Movsovich and Larissa Cespedes-Yaffar, as well as corporate associates Thomas Hornberger and Julia Jung.

Apr 26

1 min