Frankfurt, Germany, August 2014. Baker & McKenzie advised the Boltun-QST-Group (QST), under the ownership of the Wu family from Taiwan, on the acquisition of ESKA Automotive GmbH (ESKA). The transaction was completed on 4 August.
The buyer QST was founded in 1985 in Tainan and is a listed company in Taiwan with focus on development, manufacturing and sales of mechanical fittings and cold formed parts for the automotive industry.
By way of a bidding process, QST takes over Saxony-based ESKA. ESKA is a supplier of mechanical fittings for numerous well-known car manufacturers and currently holds two German production locations and approximately 300 employees. ESKA's history dates back to its founding year in 1881.
Predominantly active in Asia, this acquisition ensures QST's strategic entry into the European market. Baker & McKenzie's M&A team provided comprehensive advice on all legal aspects of the transaction.
Dr. Thomas Gilles, head of the EMEA China Desk group in Frankfurt, commented, "Once again we were able to assist one of our Asian clients with the legal aspect of their strategically important European market entry. QST was able to rely on our experience with German-Asian transactions."
Baker & McKenzie's Corporate/M&A team regularly advises strategic investors on transactions and restructurings. Most recently, Baker & McKenzie advised KSPG AG on a joint venture with Huayu Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. as well as Meibah International GmbH on the public takeover of Schumag AG. The firm's repertoire also includes advising Sulzer AG on the sale of its Metco division to OC Oerlikon, Knorr-Bremse on the acquisition of Transtechnik and the PCS Power Converter Solutions and Weichai Power in terms with regards to their strategic partnership with Kion.
Legal Advisor QST:
Baker & McKenzie
Lead:
Corporate: Christian Atzler, Dr. Thomas Gilles (partners, Frankfurt)
Team:
Antitrust: Sarwenaz Kiani (associate, Frankfurt)
Employment: Dr. Hagen Köckeritz (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Sandra Stahl-Bock (associate, Frankfurt)
Environment: Dr. Julia Pfeil (associate, Frankfurt)
Corporate: Kevin Wang (partner, Taipei), Dr. Christian Vocke (counsel, Frankfurt); Christina Brunner, Lipei Shi, Jens Rikus (all associates, Frankfurt); Mark Tu (associate, Taipei)
IP: Dr. Benjamin Koch (partner, Munich), Christina Loizou (associate, Munich)
IT: Dr. Holger Lutz (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Michaela Weigl (associate, Frankfurt)
Real Estate: Dr. Florian Thamm (partner, Dusseldorf), Dr. Daniel Bork (associate, Dusseldorf)
Trade & Commerce: Heiko Franke (associate, Frankfurt)
