Clifford Chance has advised EQT Infrastructure II on the sale of EEW Energy from Waste (EEW) to Beijing Enterprises Holdings. The equity purchase price amounts to EUR 1.438 billion. Closing is scheduled for the end of February 2016 once the German foreign trade clearance certificate has been issued. The deal represents the largest Chinese direct investment in a German company to date.
EEW is the market-leading Energy from Waste company in Germany. The company operates 18 plants in Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and operates an installed waste capacity of around 4.7 million tonnes a year. In 2014, EEW generated sales of about EUR 539 million.
EQT is one of the leading global private equity groups in Northern Europe. The EQT Infrastructure II funds invests in medium-sized infrastructure businesses in the Nordic region, parts of Continental Europe and North America. Its investment targets include regulated, concession-based and market-based infrastructure as well as infrastructure-related services.
EQT Infrastructure II acquired a 51% stake in EEW in March 2013 and developed the business in partnership with E.ON. In April 2015, EQT Infrastructure II purchased the remaining 49% of the shares. Clifford Chance also advised EQT on those transactions.
The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Markus Muhs (Munich) and coordinated by counsel Frederik Mühl (Frankfurt, both Corporate/Private Equity) and comprised partners Dr. Björn Heinlein (Corporate/Energy, Düsseldorf), Dr. Kerstin Kopp and Joachim Hasselbach (Frankfurt), associate Dr. Wenzel Richter, transaction lawyer Caroline Lutz (both Munich), associates Susanne Werry, Ayleen Hermann and Paul Bock, senior associate Dr. Christian Nordholtz (Frankfurt) - all Corporate/Private Equity -, partner Taner Hassan, senior associate Nicholas Kinnersley (both Banking & Finance, London), partner Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Munich), senior associate Matthias Töke (Frankfurt) and associate Christian Cranmore (Munich, all Banking & Capital Markets), senior associates Dr. Martin Weitenberg and Dr. Lukas Ernst (both Corporate/Energy, Düsseldorf), partner Dr. Stefan Simon (Corporate/Employment, Frankfurt), partner Dr. David Elshorst (Real Estate, Frankfurt), partner Marc Besen (Corporate/Antitrust, Düsseldorf) and lawyers from the Clifford Chance offices in Shanghai, London, Amsterdam, Luxembourg and Warsaw.
