Ashurst advised a consortium comprising the Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, SEB AG and The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland on the refinancing and recapitalisation of the existing credit facilities of  the cosmetic supplier GEKA Holding GmbH (GEKA). The banks provided GEKA with a total package of €95 million.

GEKA, the Franconia-based international manufacturer of innovative packaging and application solutions for the cosmetic industry, is a portfolio company of financial investor 3i Group plc. 3i first invested in GEKA in 2012, acquiring a majority stake in the company from private equity fund Halder.

he Ashurst team was led by partner Anne Grewlich and counsel Dr Oliver K. Hahnelt. They were supported by the associates Gabrielle Metherall and Ralph-Tobias Rodrian as well as by transaction lawyer Emilie Veyran-Müller (all Banking, Frankfurt). Furthermore, partner Heiko Penndorf advised on tax law (Frankfurt). Partners Kim Desmarais and David Z. Nirenberg as well as senior associate Andrew Smith and associate Misha Daha (all Banking) from the Ashurst office in New York advised on aspects of US-American law.

Ashurst regularly supports the financing banks in connection with acquisitions by 3i. In 2010 Ashurst advised on the acquisition of jewellery retailer Amor Group as well as in 2014 and 2015 with the takeovers of CHRIST Juweliergeschäfte and the Weener Plastic Packaging Group.