Milbank LLP advised Oakley Capital, a leading pan-European private equity investor, on the strategic combination of its portfolio company WindStar Medical (“WindStar”) with Merz Lifecare. The combination will create a leading provider of over-the-counter health and wellbeing products in the DACH region. On completion, the Merz Group will hold a majority stake in the holding. WindStar is an over-the-counter consumer healthcare company that designs, develops and commercializes branded consumer health and private label products, with a track record of establishing best-in-class medical formulations and brands. Oakley first invested in the business in October 2020 to support the company’s growth strategy and scale the business through continued product innovation, digitalization and accretive acquisitions. Merz Lifecare, based in Frankfurt am Main, is part of the Merz Group, a leading, privately-owned pharma and healthcare business. Merz Lifecare is a leading provider of health, wellbeing, and beauty products in the DACH region, with brands including tetesept, Merz Spezial and Brooklyn Soap Company. The Milbank team that advised Oakley Capital on the corporate, financial and tax aspects of the transaction, was led by partner Martin Erhardt and special counsel Michael Pujol (both Corporate/M&A) and included partner Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance), Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust), special counsel Nils Bremer (Antitrust) and Thomas Möller (Finance) as well as associates Florian Weustenfeld, Manuel Bogenreuther, Svenja Tauchmann, Thomas Vogl (all Corporate/M&A), Jana-Sophie Enders, Marlies Zeck (both Antitrust) and Adrian Müller-Achenbach (Finance).