De Brauw has advised German defence giant Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) on an agreement to merge with its French counterpart Nexter Systems.

KMW, owned by the German Wegmann family and well-known as manufacturer of the “Leopard” battle tank, and Nexter, currently owned by the French State, are two of Europe’s leading manufacturers of military land defence systems. The transaction will be structured as a 50/50 joint venture in a Dutch top holding company which will initially be headed by two Co-CEOs. The merger will create a Franco-German defence technology group with a current annual turnover nearing EUR 2 billion and more than 6,000 employees.

De Brauw has acted as Dutch counsel to Wegmann, working alongside Oppenhoff & Partner.

Team: Paul Cronheim (lead partner), Niels Geuze, Lotte van der Stelt, Janiek Meppelink.