Clifford Chance advises Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, on its equity participation in Forward Engineering GmbH ("FE"), a leading German design and engineering company specializing in automotive lightweight structures made from carbon fiber and other composite materials.

FE has an extensive track record in design and engineering activities relating to autobody and parts made from composite materials, since the time it was part of Roding Automobile GmbH (spun off in March 2016), to reduce the weight of mass-produced vehicles.

Mitsui will use its global network and business activities to promote FE's automotive lightweight design and engineering services. It also aims to expand its presence in the automotive carbon fiber market by leveraging FE's advanced knowledge and experiences relating to automotive parts made from composite materials.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd is one of the world's most diversified general trading and investment companies that operates across 138 offices in 65 countries.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Stefanie Tetz, coordinated by Associate David Schwenneker (both Corporate, Munich), and further consisted of partner Thomas Hey (Düsseldorf) and senior associate Dr. Philipp Schäuble (Munich, both Employment Law) as well as partner Marc Besen (Brussels/Düsseldorf) and Associate Dr. Dimitri Slobodenjuk (Düsseldorf, both Antitrust).