King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) advises Guo GmbH & Co. KG on the increase of its shareholding in the listed Powerland AG, Frankfurt am Main.
Powerland AG is a leading Chinese supplier of a broad range of elegant and high quality bags, travel cases and accessories. The company manufactures, markets, and sells its products in two separate business segments: The “Powerland” brand caters for the luxury segment, and the “Sotto” brand offers products for the casual segment. In the financial year 2014, the group sales of Powerland AG amounted to 175 million Euro. The shares of Powerland AG are admitted to trading on the Regulated Market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and are also traded over the counter (Freiverkehr) at the stock exchanges in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart.
The increase of the shareholding was effected through several public and private share transactions. In parallel thereto, Guo GmbH & Co. KG also placed a voluntary offer to the shareholders of Powerland AG and thereby raised its shareholding to in total around 90 % of the voting rights.
In June 2015, upon application of the Management Board of Powerland AG, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange has revoked the admission of the Powerland AG shares to trading on the regulated market with effect as of the end of 29 December 2015 (regular delisting). Thus, with the public offer, the shareholders of Powerland AG were also given the opportunity to dispose of their shares before the delisting becoming effective.
After the public takeover of German Brokers AG by Sino-German Ecopark, KWM advised on a further successful takeover of a German listed company by a Chinese entity within a short period of time and once again demonstrates its strength as an advisor to Chinese Investors.
Advisors to Guo Group:
King & Wood Mallesons LLP, Germany
Corporate/M&A
Dr. Christian Cornett (partner, transaction lead Europe), Norman Wasse (associate), Xin Li (professional support lawyer, all Frankfurt am Main)
King & Wood Mallesons LLP, China
Securities
Zhao Xiaohong (partner, transaction lead Asia), Ningyuan Wang (associate, both Shanghai)
