Baker McKenzie advised CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A. (CORESTATE) on the acquisition of HFS Helvetic Financial Services AG based in Wollerau, Switzerland. HFS is one of the leading providers of mezzanine financing on the German residential and commercial real estate market and advises various investment funds in this field.

The purchase price for HFS is in the middle three-digit million range and is being financed by the issuance of approximately 7.4 million new shares against contributions from authorized capital to the HFS shareholders as well as debt capital and CORESTATE's own funds. The transaction is being financed through a securitization structure in Luxembourg.

Baker McKenzie advised CORESTATE on all aspects of the acquisition with regard to corporate, finance and capital market legal aspects under Swiss, German and Luxembourg law.

"With this transaction, CORESTATE was able to further substantially expand its portfolio. The transaction was very demanding on the financing side, because it was necessary to procure debt from capital markets within a very short time," commented Filip Kurkowski, one of the lead partners on the transaction at Baker McKenzie.

Dr. Alexander Fischer, who lead the transaction on the M&A side, adds: "A transaction in which the purchase price is paid with a cash component, but also with new stock-exchange listed shares, poses special challenges. We are delighted that CORESTATE was able achieve this milestone in its history, as CORESTATE now manages assets under management of approximately € 20 billion, including the upcoming integration of the Hannover Leasing Group. "

Baker McKenzie already advised CORESTATE on several occasions, among others on the cash capital increase from authorized capital with a gross issue proceeds of just under EUR 22.72 million, the acquisition of shares in the Hannover Leasing Group and the financing of the acquisition of various real estate portfolios.

The M&A practice and financing practice of Baker McKenzie regularly advises private equity investors on acquisitions in Germany and in Europe. Most recently, Baker McKenzie advised Deutsche Beteiligungs AG and DBAG Fund VII on the acquisition of duagon, a Switzerland-based provider of network components for data communication in railway vehicles.

Lead advisors to CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A .:
Baker McKenzie

Lead: Corporate/M&A: Dr. Alexander Fischer (partner Corporate M&A, Zurich), Filip Kurkowski (partner Banking & Finance, Frankfurt), Gerald Schumann (partner Corporate M&A, Munich)

Team:

Corporate/M&A: Dr. Tino Marz (associate, Munich), Dr. Christoph Dachner (associate, Munich), Roger Bischof (associate, Zurich), Dr. Matthias Trautmann (associate, Zurich)

Banking / Finance: Katrin Marchant (partner, Frankfurt), Anouschka Zagorski (senior counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Ansgar Schott (partner, Zurich), Martina Kessler (associate, Zurich), Samuel Marbacher (partner, Zurich), Dr. Markus Wolf (associate, Zurich), Jean-Francois Trapp (partner, Luxembourg), Manuela Dias Marques (senior associate, Luxembourg)

Capital Markets: Dr. Christoph Wolf (partner, Frankfurt); Dr. Manuel Lorenz (partner, Frankfurt), Tilman Wink (senior counsel, Frankfurt), Laurent Fessmann (partner, Luxembourg), Christoph Dahlgrün (associate, Luxembourg), Michael Wietzorek (associate, Luxembourg)

Employment: Dr. Steffen Scheuer (partner, Munich), Dr. Anna Verena Böhm (counsel, Frankfurt)