Dr. Philipp Dohnke

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) advises Näder Holding GmbH & Co. KG (‘Näder Holding’) on the repurchase of 20% of the shares in Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA (‘Ottobock’) from the Swedish private equity firm EQT and a new refinancing of Näder Holding. With the acquisition, Näder Holding indirectly becomes the sole shareholder of Ottobock, one of the world's leading companies in the manufacture of prostheses, orthoses, wheelchairs and exoskeletons. EQT acquired the 20% minority stake in 2017. Näder Holding is majority-owned by Hans Georg Näder and his two daughters. Freshfields' advice includes the structuring of the overall transaction and all legal aspects of the acquisition, including advice on a vendor loan to be granted by EQT and on an intragroup reorganisation on the acquirer side. Freshfields also advised on the complex €1.1 billion debt fund financing entered into in connection with the acquisition. The Freshfields team was led by Partner Christoph H. Seibt (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg) and included Partner Michael Josenhans (Finance, Frankfurt) as well as Counsels Justus Anacker (Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf) and Alexander Pospisil (Finance, Frankfurt/Berlin). The team further comprised: Partners: Frank Laudenklos (Finance, Frankfurt), Alexander Schwahn (Tax, Hamburg), Philipp Dohnke (IP/IT, Hamburg), Igor Gerber (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Klaus-Stefan Hohenstatt (Labour Law, Hamburg), Katrin Gaßner (Antitrust Law, Düsseldorf) Counsel: Marius Scherb (IP/IT, Hamburg), Lukas Pomaroli (Sanctions, Vienna), Sascha Arnold (Regulatory, Hamburg), Uwe Salaschek (Foreign Trade Law, Berlin) Principal Associates: Tobias Dreßler, Marlen Vesper-Gräske (both Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Noel Zamani (Corporate M&A, Vienna), Tobias Franz (Tax, Hamburg), Philipp Roos (Data Protection, Düsseldorf), Dennis Chinnow (Finance, Frankfurt), Flavia Lang (Labour Law, Hamburg), Sebastian Breder (Real Estate, Frankfurt) Associates: Kristin Kapral, Jean Mohamed, Maximilian Sander, Désirée Höwing, Jens-Ole Steiner (all Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Lucas Lengersdorf, Alexander Bräuer (both Finance, Frankfurt), Hanna Rieß (Finance, Berlin), Asta von Kienitz, Yvonne Wolski (both IP/IT, Hamburg), Jan Kothe (Tax, Hamburg), Vincent Fischer (Data Protection, Düsseldorf), Carolina Gerstacker (Corporate/M&A, Vienna), Marcel Blumör (Real Estate, Frankfurt), Tensin Studer (Sanctions, Vienna) Regina Thums provided in-house legal advice on the transaction on the purchaser side. Teams led by Hamburg partner Prof. Christoph H. Seibt had already advised Näder Holding on the entry of EQT as Ottobock's minority shareholder, as well as on M&A transactions, and also advised the Ottobock Group in particular on corporate law matters and financing.

Mar 14

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised BASF on the merger between Wintershall Dea AG (‘Wintershall Dea’) and Harbour Energy plc (“Habour”). The merger agreement provides for the transfer of Wintershall Dea's E&P business to Harbour. This includes production and development assets as well as exploration rights in Norway, Argentina, Germany, Mexico, Algeria, Libya (excluding Wintershall AG), Egypt and Denmark (excluding Ravn) as well as Wintershall Dea's carbon capture and storage (CCS) licences. In return, the shareholders of Wintershall Dea - BASF (72.7%) and LetterOne (27.3%) - will receive a total cash payment of USD 2.15 billion (BASF share: USD 1.56 billion) plus new Harbour shares to be issued by Harbour, representing a total shareholding in the enlarged Harbour of 54.5% (BASF share: 39.6%) upon completion of the transaction. The agreed enterprise value for the target assets of Wintershall Dea is USD 11.2 billion. This amount includes Wintershall Dea's outstanding bonds with a nominal value of approximately 4.9 billion US dollars, which will be transferred to Harbour upon completion of the transaction. The transaction is subject to, among other conditions, the approval of merger control and foreign investment authorities in several countries. Pending these regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Freshfields team comprised partners Rick van Aerssen, Sabrina Kulenkamp (both Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Graham Watson, Samira Afrasiabi (both Corporate/M&A, London), Maria Dreher-Lorjé (Vienna), Thomas McGrath (London), Rafique Bachour (Brussels), Frank Röhling (Berlin, all Antitrust & Competition), Norbert Schneider (Tax, Düsseldorf), Frank Schaer (People & Reward, Frankfurt) and Philipp Dohnke (Commercial, Hamburg), Counsel Bukunola Alakija (Corporate/M&A, London) and Sarah Jensen, Principal Associates Susannah Prichard (both London), Florian Reiter-Werzin (Vienna), all Antitrust & Competition). Florian Reiter-Werzin (Vienna, all Antitrust & Competition), Thomas Richter (Tax, Düsseldorf), Nikolaus Bunting (Capital Markets, Frankfurt) and Elisabeth Wulf (Commercial, Hamburg) as well as associates Thomas Kelm (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Martha Davis, Chloe Coleman, Dominic Armstrong (all Corporate/M&A, London), Nicholas English (London), Victoria Baert (Brussels, both Antitrust & Competition), Valentin Lang (People & Reward, Frankfurt) and Linus Cathomas (Capital Markets, Frankfurt). The BASF team comprised Stefan Rothweiler (Vice President Legal Corporate), Holger Pattberg (Director Legal Corporate) (both lead), Stephan Purps (Director Corporate Legal), Lars Reichmann (Vice President HR), Dr Michael Reichle (Director HR), Jochen Beyer (International Tax).

Dec 27

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising Merck KGaA, the German multinational science and technology company (‘Merck’), on the agreement to sell its global Surface Solutions business unit to Global New Material International Holdings Ltd. (‘GNMI’). The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions. Merck’s Surface Solutions business unit offers pigment solutions used in coating, industrial and cosmetic applications and generated sales of €411m in 2023, with Merck generating sales of €21bn in 65 countries in 2023. Merck intends to use the net proceeds from the divestment to further strengthen its strategic core businesses in life science, healthcare and electronics. GNMI, also known under the brand name Chesir, is a large pigment producer in China. Founded in 2011, GNMI is based in Guangxi, China and is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company has sites in China and Korea with approximately 800 employees. Freshfields is advising Merck on all legal aspects of the sale and carve-out, working closely with Merck’s in-house team led by Alexander Krüger (Senior Corporate Counsel), Gabriela Gomes Strieder (Senior Corporate Counsel), Malte Christians (Corporate Counsel), Alexander Werner (Head of Legal – HR, Procurement & Site Management) and Matthias Hart (Head of Legal – Surface Solutions). The global Freshfields team is being led by Partners Lars Meyer (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt/Berlin) and Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) as well as Associates Laura Ashoff (Corporate/M&A, Berlin) and Tainá Moreira de Araújo (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Counsel Marius Scherb (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) and Senior Associate Elisabeth Wulf (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) and also included: Partners: Rod Carlton (Antitrust, London), Frank Röhling (Antitrust, Berlin), Grace Huang (Corporate/M&A, Hong Kong), Thomas Müller-Bonanni (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Thomas Granetzny (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Christian Ruoff (Tax, Hamburg), Tanja Walter-Yadegardjam (Tax, Frankfurt), Michael Ramb (Public Law, Düsseldorf/Berlin), Ulrich Scholz (Energy Law, Düsseldorf), Julia Haas (Real Estate, Frankfurt) Counsel: Uwe Salaschek (Foreign Investment, Berlin), Colin Costello (CFIUS, Washington), Sarah Rohmann (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Sascha Arnold (Regulatory, Hamburg) Principal Associates: Stephan Reemts (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Ferdinand Dreher (Corporate/M&A, Berlin), Jill Rollmann (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Jan Jeram (Antitrust, Brussels), Marie-Theres Urban (Foreign Investment, Berlin), Andrea Strackerjan (Tax, Hamburg), Christian Schmidt (Tax, Frankfurt), Marlen Vesper-Gräske (Public Law, Hamburg), Sarah Kutsche (Real Estate, Düsseldorf), Hendrik Wessling (Energy Law, Düsseldorf) Associates: David Thüning (Corporate/M&A, Berlin), Alicja Klosok (Antitrust, London), Helen Panteli (Antitrust, London), Leonie Sage (Antitrust, London), Fabian Zöpfchen (Labor Law, Frankfurt), Fabienne Gieshoidt (Tax, Hamburg), Marlen Vesper-Gräske (Public Law, Hamburg) Transaction Lawyers: Stéphanie Adriaens (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Berlin), Besdegül Ünsal (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Berlin)

Jul 25

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is advising listed Deutz Aktiengesellschaft on the acquisition and subsequent integration of the sales and service business for selected industrial engines in the 5-16-liter range with a maximum power output of up to 480 kW from Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, which is listed in the UK. These industrial engines are used in various off-highway applications, primarily in the agricultural, industrial and construction machinery sector. Deutz will also take over the service activities for the engines already in use. This transaction is related to the cooperation with Daimler Truck that Deutz concluded at the beginning of 2023 to develop and market medium- and heavy-duty engines (MDEG and HDEP platforms) in the off-highway segment; Freshfields also advised Deutz on this cooperation. With the agreed takeover of the sales and service operations from Rolls-Royce Power Systems, Deutz is taking over the marketing of the off-highway variants of these engines from 2024 and, in addition, the distribution of the older mtu Classic series (Daimler Truck engine series OM900 & OM460). Deutz expects additional annual revenue from the acquisition of around Euro 300 million. Freshfields' advice covers all legal aspects of the transaction, including legal structuring and due diligence, negotiation of the contractual documentation, integration planning, the analysis and obtaining of regulatory approvals, as well as advice on all related corporate and capital market law issues. The Freshfields team is led by Partner Christoph H. Seibt, supported by Associate Maximilian Berenbrok (both Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), and also includes: Partners: Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Boris Dzida (Labor Law, Hamburg), Thomas Granetzny (Labor/Pensions Law, Dusseldorf), Martin Klusmann (Competition Law, Dusseldorf), Alexander Schwahn (Tax, Hamburg) Counsel: Marius Scherb (Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Juliane Ziebarth (Competition Law, Dusseldorf) Principal Associates: Tobias Franz (Tax, Hamburg), Manuel Jäger (Labor/Pensions Law, Dusseldorf), Michael Bakowitz (Competition Law, Dusseldorf) Associates: Philipp Mroz, Zahar Qasim (all Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Severin Pretzel (Labor Law, Hamburg), Rebecca Hettich (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Esther von Bronk (Real Estate, Hamburg), Alexander Harrer (Competition Law, Dusseldorf) Tax Manager: Marius Gorski (Hamburg) In-house at Deutz, the transaction is supported by Fabian Dietrich (Head of Legal), Rebecca Weber (Head of M&A), Sebastian Nover and Yunis Kaluc (both M&A) as well as Marco Herre (Senior Vice President Central Sales). Teams led by Hamburg partner Christoph H. Seibt have also advised Deutz in the past on M&A transactions, e.g., on the transaction with Daimler Truck in 2023 or the acquisition of Torqeedo GmbH in 2017, and advise Deutz on corporate and capital markets law issues on an ongoing basis.

Apr 2

2 min

Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised Hasten Biopharmaceuticals on its acquisition of 14 product portfolios from Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion Healthcare. Hasten Biopharmaceuticals is a leading specialty pharmaceutical company based in China and a portfolio company of CBC Group, a healthcare-dedicated asset management firm headquartered in Singapore. The Freshfields team advising on the transaction was led by partner Alan Wang and counsel Ya Ma, supported by associates Sunny Min and Yichen Xing. Teams in Europe provided support on IP matters and various commercial agreements, comprised by partners David Brooks and Philipp Dohnke, counsel Philipp Lehman and John Scurr, senior associate Ben Cohen and associate Babak Hakimian.

Jul 11

1 min