Baker & McKenzie advised ZF Friedrichshafen AG on the acquisition of the industrial and wind gearbox division from Bosch Rexroth AG. The purchase price was not disclosed. The transaction is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.
ZF will take over the two production sites from Bosch Rexroth AG in Witten (North Rhine-Westphalia / Germany) with nearly 900 employees and in Beijing (China) with more than 300 employees as well as the service site in Lake Zurich (United States), with approx. 15 employees, in total more than 1200 employees. For ZF, the acquisition is an entrance to the industrial gearbox business, producing parts which are used in oil rigs, mining vehicles, tunnel drilling equipment or cableways amongst others. In addition, the technology group is strengthening its wind gearbox business. The strengthening of the non-automotive segment is part of ZF's long-term corporate strategy and is intended to complement the industrial technology portfolio and tap into new customer groups.
Baker & McKenzie advised ZF Friedrichshafen on all legal aspects of the transaction.
"We are very pleased to support ZF Friedrichshafen for the first time in an M&A transaction. With our full service approach and our global network, we were well positioned to advise ZF comprehensively on this complex cross-border asset deal," commented Dr. Ingo Strauss, Corporate / M&A partner in Dusseldorf.
ZF is a leading global technology group in driveline and chassis technology with 113 production companies in 26 countries. In 2014, the Group achieved a sales figure of presumably EUR 18.4 billion with 71,400 employees. ZF is one of the ten largest automotive suppliers worldwide.
Baker & McKenzie's Corporate/M&A team regularly advises strategic investors on cross border transactions and restructurings. Most recently, Baker & McKenzie advised Group Le Duff on the purchase of Kamps, Telefónica/E-Plus on the sale of yourfone to Drillisch, Flowserve Corporation on 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 and Clariant on the sale of its Energy Storage business to Johnson Matthey Plc. as well as Meibah International GmbH on the takeover of Schumag AG.
Legal Advisor ZF Friedrichshafen AG:
Baker & McKenzie
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Dr. Ingo Strauss (partner, Dusseldorf)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Christian Atzler (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Deny-Jean Silny (associate, Dusseldorf), Dr. Konstantin Ulrich (associate, Dusseldorf), Dr. Christoph Dachner (associate, Munich)
IP: Dr. Benjamin Koch (partner, Munich), Dr. Jochen Herr (partner, Munich), Christina Loizou (associate, Munich)
Employment: Dr. Burkard Goepfert (partner, Munich), Henrik Luethge (senior associate, Dusseldorf), Andreas Dussmann, (associate, Munich)
Pensions: Dr. Christian Reichel (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Verena Boehm (senior associate, Frankfurt)
IT: Dr. Holger Lutz (partner, Frankfurt), Daniel Sigg (associate, Frankfurt)
Real Estate: Dr. Florian Thamm (partner, Dusseldorf), Dr. Daniel Bork (associate, Dusseldorf)
Commercial: Katharina Spenner (partner, Munich), Dr. Johannes Teichmann (senior associate, Frankfurt), Joachim Froehlich (Counsel, Munich)
Public Law: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ellinghaus (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Julia Pfeil (senior associate, Frankfurt)
Anti-Trust: Christian Horstkotte (partner, Dusseldorf), Dr. Anika Yomere (associate, Dusseldorf)
Baker & McKenzie lawyers from our offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chicago und Washington.
In-house ZF Friedrichshafen AG:
Dr. Jan Eckert (general counsel), Martin Neubauer (head of legal division industrial technology), Christiane Keilwerth
