Ashurst advised Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) comprehensively on the acquisition and financing of a participation in Sjølund A/S (Sjølund), a leading manufacturer of aluminium and steel components. As part of a management buy-out, DBAG ECF, a fund managed by DBAG, will acquire around 51 percent of the shares in Sjølund from previous sole owner and CEO Søren Ravn Jensen. The remaining 49 percent of the shares will in future be held by Søren Ravn Jensen, who will continue to serve as CEO of the company, and other members of the management. The execution of the purchase agreement is scheduled for January 2018. The parties have agreed to not to disclose the purchase price.

Ashurst's advice included, in addition to the purchase agreement, the conclusion of the shareholders agreement and the associated acquisition financing.

The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner Holger H. Ebersberger, assisted by associate Nicole Kaps and paralegal Franziska Nebolieff. In addition, partner Dr Bernd Egbers, along with counsel Carsten Endres, provided advice on the acquisition financing (all Munich). Partner Michael Sheng, along with counsel Daniel Öhvall, senior associate Derek Wang, associates Ken Tang, Mirror Zhou, Yuebo Hu and paralegal Judy Zhou (all corporate) from the Ashurst office in Shanghai also advised.

DBAG is a listed private equity firm that sets up closed funds focussed on small and medium-sized enterprises. These allow institutional investors to invest in equity or equity-like instruments of unlisted companies. At present, DBAG hand the DBAG funds have more than 20 holdings; the managed and advised volume amounts to around €1.8bn.

Sjølund is one of the largest suppliers in the niche market for complex components made of bent aluminium and steel. The company, headquartered in Sjølund, Denmark, has around 110 employees.