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.
Baker & McKenzie advised GFKL Lowell on the legal aspects of the transaction.
"With this transaction our client adds a third, highly attractive market position in the pan-European credit receivables management. We were able assist our client in well-rehearsed teamwork by closing the transaction in a timely manner in all relevant jurisdictions," comments Dr. Ingo Strauss, corporate partner at Baker & McKenzie.
The Lowell GFKL Group was created in October 2015 following the merger of UK and German market leaders the Lowell Group and GFKL. This union created one of the largest credit management companies in Europe. It benefits from the backing of global investment company Permira Funds and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). The Group’s experience, expertise and core strengths in data analytics and operational efficiency underpin its vision to be the most reputable and trusted partner in the European credit management sector. As market leader in Germany GFKL manages a credit volume of 16.4 billion Euro with approx. 950 employees for clients from various industries, including banks, insurance companies, online retailers and telecommunications companies.
The Corporate / M&A team of Baker & McKenzie regularly advises on cross-border transactions and restructuring. Most recently , e.g., Baker & McKenzie provided advice to RWE and E.ON on the sale of its minority holdings in Luxembourg energy provider Enovos, the Deutsche Beteiligungs AG on its acquisition of a substantial minority interest in mageba AG, HITACHI KOKI on its acquisition of the power tool specialist Metabo AG, Barry-Wehmiller Group on the acquisition of Winkler+Dünnebier GmbH, ZF Friedrichshafen AG on the acquisition of the industrial and wind turbine business of Bosch Rexroth AG, Group Le Duff on the acquisition of Kamps, Telefónica/E-Plus on the sale of yourfone to Drillisch, Flowserve Corporation on the acquisition of the SIHI Group, and Hochtief on the sale of the property management business to vincitag and the offshore business to GeoSea.
Legal adviser to GFKL Lowell:
Baker & McKenzie
Lead: Corporate/M&A: Dr. Ingo Strauss (partner, Dusseldorf), Dr. Heiko Gotsche (partner, Düsseldorf)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Dr. Wendelin Ettmayer (partner, Vienna), Dr. Deny Silny (senior associate, Dusseldorf), Stefan Arnold (associate, Vienna)
IT/Data protection: Dr. Lukas Feiler (associate, Vienna)
Antitrust: Andreas Traugott (partner, Vienna), Dr. Marc Lager (partner, Vienna), Katerina Schenkova (associate, Vienna)
Banking & Finance: Dr. Dieter Buchberger (partner, Vienna), Andrea Eigner (associate, Vienna)
Tax: Prof. Dr. Christoph Urtz (partner, Vienna)
Employment: Elisabeth Wasinger (associate, Vienna)
Regulatory: Dr. Franz Arztmann (associate, Vienna)
Real Estate: Julia Moser (associate, Vienna)
Inhouse GFKL Lowell: Peter Blaschkowski (Head of Legal)
