Gleiss Lutz has advised US investment bank Goldman Sachs on all aspects of German law in connection with its proposed acquisition of the bakery group Continental Bakeries. Together with the family office investment club Silverfern, Goldman Sachs intends to acquire Continental Bakeries from NPM Capital. Final agreement on the transaction is expected after completion of the applicable employee consultation procedures. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory clearances.

LKQ Corporation, the Nasdaq listed leading U.S. distributor of automotive parts and accessories, acquires Rhiag-Inter Auto Parts Italia S.p.a., a leading pan-European distributor of aftermarket auto spare parts, from private equity group Apax Partners for a purchase price of EUR 1.04 billion.

The Firm is representing Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA), as part of a buyer group with Mr. Yan Tang, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Momo, Matrix Partners China II Hong Kong Limited, Sequoia Capital China Investment Management L.P. and Huatai Ruilian Fund Management Co., Ltd., in connection with the announced proposal to consummate a going private transaction to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Momo Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO) not already owned by the buyer group for approximately $3 billion.

The Corporate Finance team from Burges Salmon has advised mid-market private equity firm LDC on its £8 million investment in healthy food chain Vital Ingredient.

The management buyout involved a funding package of £12 million and will enable Vital Ingredient to continue growing its London presence and support expansion into new cities across the UK, and responds to increasing demand for healthy grab and go meals.

Burges Salmon has advised Colian Holding SA, a Polish confectionery producer and distributor, on the acquisition of Bristol based chocolatier, Elizabeth Shaw, from Norwegian fund Imagine Capital AS.

Corporate finance partner Dominic Davis and corporate finance associate Corrine Harries led the Burges Salmon cross-firm team.

We acted as the sole legal advisor to Caverion in its acquisition of Sähkötaso Esitystekniikka Oy made to strengthen its AV solutions expertise. The transaction supports Caverion’s strategy and complements its offering in the area of Information and Communication Services. The sellers are Sähkötaso Esitystekniikka Oy’s CEO Esa Ranta-aho and Palvelurahasto I, a fund managed by Korona Invest.

We assisted Mipro Group Oy in its purchase of the entire share capital of Profa Automaatio Oy. Profa Automaatio operates in the machine and process design business. The deal value is confidential.

Mipro is a Finnish expert company specialising in safety and environmental technology. Mipro develops and supplies comprehensive system solutions for safety management in railway and metro traffic control and industry as well as for water and energy management. In addition to Finland, Mipro has activities in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Law firm Shoosmiths has advised the management team of Babington Group (Babington), the skills and corporate training business, on their MBO, backed by private equity firm RJD Partners (RJD).

BLP has advised Eclectic Bar Group plc (Eclectic) on its acquisition of all the shares in The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier Company from the Noble Group.  Eclectic has been renamed The Brighton Pier Group plc.

The acquisition is a reverse takeover under the AIM Rules, so was conditional upon obtaining shareholder consent and the readmission of the Company’s shares to AIM.

Baker & McKenzie advised GFKL Financial Services GmbH, part of GFKL Lowell Group, a European leader in credit receivables management, on its acquisition of IS Group Management GmbH (trading as IS Inkasso Service). IS Inkasso Service is the Austrian market leader in third party collections (3PC) with a strong Swiss business presence. Sellers are the majority shareholder HANNOVER Finanz and the management to date, which will be remaining in place. Closing of the transaction is expected at the end of May, subject to anti-trust approvals.