Dr. Andrea Eggenstein

Milbank LLP has comprehensively advised the lenders on the financial restructuring of the Schur Flexibles Group, which will operate under the name adapa in the future. Schur Flexibles Group, based in Wiener Neudorf, Austria, is a leading provider of sustainable custom packaging solutions for the food, flavor protection, hygiene and pharmaceutical industries. The ‘lender-led’ financial restructuring transaction comprised the takeover of the Schur Flexibles Group by the lenders from the incumbent owners B&C Industrieholding and Lindsay Goldberg and the write-down of up to 75% of the original bank debt. This recapitalisation reduced the group’s leverage to industry levels. In addition, the lenders provided €160 million in fresh capital in two tranches of which €50 million are earmarked for further investments, M&A activities and capital expenditure. Following the approval of the new ownership structure under the leadership of Apollo Global Management and the related debt haircut by the relevant authorities, the financial restructuring transaction closed on September 28, 2022. This represents a significant milestone on adapa’s path to a successful restructuring. The Milbank team that advised the lenders comprehensively on the restructuring, financing, corporate and tax aspects of the transaction was led by partners Mathias Eisen (Frankfurt), Karen McMaster and Yushan Ng (London, all Financial Restructuring) and included partners Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax, Munich), Andrej Wolf (Global Corporate), Russell Jacobs (Tax, both London), Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance, Munich), Mona Vaswani (Litigation & Arbitration), John Goldfinch (Alternative Investments, both London), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust, Munich), Russell Kestenbaum (Tax, New York), Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance, Frankfurt), Andrea Hamilton (Antitrust, London), Andrew Walker (Tax, New York), Tom Canning (Litigation & Arbitration), James Warbey (Alternative Investments, both London) and special counsel Jennifer Seipelt (Finance, Munich), Dr. Andrea Eggenstein (Global Corporate, Frankfurt), Alan Rafferty (Tax, London), Nicholas Crossin (Financial Restructuring), Claire Bridcut (Alternative Investments, both London) as well as associates Sarah Levin, Navine Hussain, Ryan Al-Hakim, Justine Erickson, Kushal Bhimjiani (all Financial Restructuring, London), Alexandra Schäfer (Global Corporate, München), Danielle Tullett (Financial Restructuring), Cosmos Fung (Tax, both London), Robert Kastl (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), Philipp Engel (European Leveraged/Capital Markets), Timothy Merchant (Global Corporate), Rosy Villar (Litigation & Arbitration, all London), Alexander Theisen (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), J. Melchior Raiser (Finance, Munich), Klaudia Mach (Alternative Investments, London), Gerrit Merkel, Sebastian Trompler (both Finance, Frankfurt), Alexander Zyrewitz (Antitrust, Munich), Lara Milione (Finance, Frankfurt), Sandra Feil (Munich), Steven Buschle (Frankfurt), Manuel Bogenreuther (Munich, all Global Corporate), Chris Burke (Alternative Investments, London), Stefanie Gschoßmann (Antitrust, Munich), Linda Mahlangu (Global Leveraged Finance), Mark Padley (Litigation, both London) and transaction lawyer Silvia Lengauer (Finance, Munich).

Oct 7

2 min

Milbank LLP advised the investment house Ardian on its sale of d&b audiotechnik group („d&b“). The sale took place as part of an auction process to Providence and is subject to antitrust approval. Milbank has previously advised Ardian on several matters, three of which included the previous acquisition of the d&b audiotechnik group, the sale of its stake in Schustermann & Borenstein and the sale of the Schleich group. Ardian is a world-leading private independent investment house, managing or advising around $150 billion of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Backnang, Germany, d&b is one of the world's leading providers of professional audio technology and AVLM solutions to create unique, multisensorial experiences. d&b audiotechnik, the manufacturing side of the firm, is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system integration principles, and pioneering technological development. d&b solutions, the service-focused business entity, offers complete and flexible audio, video, lighting and xR expertise, covering system planning, installation, maintenance and managed services. Milbank comprehensively advised Ardian on the corporate, financing and tax aspects of the transaction. The Milbank team was led by partner Norbert Rieger (Corporate/M&A) and included partners Matthias Schell (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance), special counsel Andrea Eggenstein (Corporate/M&A) and Thomas Möller (Finance) as well as associates Alexandra Schäfer, Julian Jaschinski (both Corporate/M&A), Nils Bremer (Antitrust), Lara Milione (Finance), Jil Windau, Elisabeth Wöhrle (both Tax) and Marlies Zeck (Antitrust).

Jul 13

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Axel Springer on the sale of its majority stake in finanzen.net, one of Germany's leading finance portals. The shares in finanzen.net were acquired by Inflexion together with the founders of finanzen.net, Peter Schille and Jens Ohr. The transaction is still subject to merger and investment control clearances. finanzen.net was founded in 2000 by Jens Ohr and Peter Schille under the umbrella of Smarthouse Media GmbH. In 2010, it was spun off into an independent company, finanzen.net GmbH, in which Axel Springer holds a majority stake alongside the founders. The finanzen.net group also includes the neo-broker finanzen.net ZERO and the real-time stock market software for investors, TraderFox. Axel Springer is an international media and technology company. Its brands include renowned media such as BILD, WELT, Business Insider and POLITICO, as well as leading classifieds platforms such as the Stepstone Group and the AVIV Group. Inflexion is a European mid-market investor that partners with management teams of high-growth companies to accelerate sustainable growth. The Milbank team advised Axel Springer, in particular, on corporate, tax and antitrust aspects of the transaction. The M&A side of the team included Special Counsel Andrea Eggenstein (lead, corporate), Norbert Rieger (partner, corporate) and Lucas Stumpf (associate, corporate). Rolf Füger (partner, tax law) and Arne Hammerich (associate, tax law) advised on tax law aspects, and Moritz Lichtenegger (special counsel, competition law) and Jana-Sophie Enders (associate, competition law) on competition law aspects. The team also included  partner Thomas Ingenhoven (finance) as well as special counsel Gerrit Merkel (finance) and associate Thomas Vogl (corporate). Axel Springer’s legal team was headed by Ansgar Schönborn (Head of M&A Legal and Corporate Law) and also comprised Jens Riedel (Senior Legal Counsel Corporate and M&A) and Lili Birnbach (Legal Counsel Corporate and M&A), as well as on the tax side by Cendy Micksch (Head of M&A Tax). The founders of finanzen.net were represented by Taylor Wessing. The founders of TraderFox were represented by Görg.

Nov 18

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Advent International (“Advent”) on an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) according to which ADIA will invest in, and become a significant shareholder of, the Austrian energy solutions provider INNIO. The consummation of the transaction is, inter alia, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Advent will continue to be the majority owner of the company. Advent is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 410 private equity investments across 42 countries, and as of March 31, 2023, had $95 billion in assets under management. Advent focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. Under Advent’s stewardship, INNIO has transformed from a leading provider of reciprocating engines for the conversion of gaseous input fuels to a green technology pioneer, delivering innovative energy solutions and services for the power generation, heating, cooling and compression segments. With its product brands Jenbacher and Waukesha and its digital platform myPlant, INNIO offers innovative solutions for the power generation and compression segments that help industries and communities generate and manage energy sustainably while navigating the fast-changing landscape of traditional and green energy sources. The Milbank team that advised Advent on corporate/M&A and tax aspects of the transaction was led by partner Norbert Rieger, special counsel Andrea Eggenstein and partner Sebastian Heim (all Corporate/M&A) and included partners Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and Rolf Füger (Tax), as well as special counsel Michael Pujol (Corporate/M&A) and Moritz Lichtenegger (Antitrust) and associates Julian Jaschinski (Corporate/M&A), Arne Hammerich (Tax), Pascal Härdtner, David Schwenneker (both Corporate/M&A), Elisabeth Wöhrle (Tax) and Nils Bremer (Antitrust), as well as transaction lawyer Antonia Fichtner (Corporate/M&A).

Mar 31

1 min

Milbank LLP advised Hg on its investment in JTL-Software-GmbH ("JTL-Software"). JTL-Software is a leading provider of ERP software specializing in e-commerce solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Hg is a globally acting private equity investor that invests in software and services companies with an investment focus on businesses that modernize business operations. Through specialization in core sectors, complemented by vertical application specialization and operational support, Hg provides support to entrepreneurs and managers looking to scale their businesses. With a strong European network and a presence in North America, Hg's 400 employees and $65 billion in assets under management support a portfolio of more than 50 companies. JTL-Software is a provider of innovative ERP software for multichannel commerce. With more than 50,000 customers and over 500 partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, JTL-Software is one of the leading manufacturers of e-commerce software in the DACH region. Hg's investment includes a strategic partnership between Hg, the founders of JTL-Software and the management of JTL-Software to support JTL-Software in the next phase of its growth. Hg will support JTL-Software to continue its product development in SaaS and facilitate its expansion in other regions as well as in related sectors. The Milbank team that comprehensively advised Hg on the transaction was led by partners Norbert Rieger and Sebastian Heim (both Corporate/M&A) and included partners Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance), special counsel Andrea Eggenstein (Corporate/M&A) and Moritz Lichtenegger (Antitrust) and associates Markus Lutterotti, Mahmood Kawany, Julian Jaschinski, Lucas Stumpf (all Corporate/M&A), Susanne Baier (Finance) and Marlies Zeck (Antitrust).

Oct 17

1 min