Baker & McKenzie advised MAT Holdings, Inc. on the acquisition of the braking sector for commercial vehicles in Germany and the braking sector for passenger and commercial vehicles in France from Federal Mogul.
The acquisition was structured as an asset deal in Germany and as a share deal in France. Baker & McKenzie advised MAT comprehensively on the contract negotiations as well as on all antitrust law, employment law and tax law issues. The purchase price was not disclosed. The transaction implements requirements of the European Commission pertaining to transactions by Federal Mogul.
"Structuring the transaction required special antitrust expertise. Despite the complexity, we were able to complete the transaction successfully within tight deadlines," commented Dr. Thomas Gilles, corporate partner at Baker & McKenzie in Frankfurt.
MAT Holdings, Inc., Headquartered in Long Grove, Illinois, was founded in 1984 under the name Midwest Air Technologies Inc. Today, the company owns six subsidiaries in the US and twelve subsidiaries in Europe. With a total of approximately 13,000 employees, MAT Holdings, Inc. produces safety castings made out of spheroidal graphite iron for the passenger and truck industry. The company has long years of experience and expertise in the fields of brake components, chassis and powertrain and particular expertise in manufacturing technology, process organization and testing technology. MAT Holdings Inc. holds manufacturing and sales facilities in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Baker & McKenzie's Corporate/M&A team regularly advises on cross border transactions and restructurings. Most recently, Baker & McKenzie advised Telefónica/E-Plus on the sale of yourfone to Drillisch, Flowserve Corporation on a bid for the acquisition of SIHI-Group, HOCHTIEF on the sale of its property management business to vincitag group, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen on a strategic Partnership with a Chinese manufacturer, Clariant on the sale of its Energy Storage business to Johnson Matthey Plc as well as Meibah International GmbH on the public takeover of Schumag AG.
Legal advisor MAT Holdings: Baker & McKenzie
Lead
Corporate: Dr. Thomas Gilles (partner, Frankfurt), Laurent Barbara (partner, Paris)
Further team:
Corporate: Christian Atzler (partner, Frankfurt), Vanessa Maier (associate, Frankfurt), Anna Ma (associate, Frankfurt), Hugo Sanchez De La Espada (partner, Paris), Gwendoline Hong Tuan Ha (associate)
Employment: Dr. Hagen Köckeritz (partner, Frankfurt)
IP: Dr. Benjamin Koch (partner, Munich)
Trade & Commerce: Dr. Johannes Teichmann (senior associate, Frankfurt)
Antitrust & Trade: Sarwenaz Kiani (associate, Frankfurt).
