Clifford Chance has advised Schaeffler AG on the sale of the cylinder head manufacturer Schaeffler Motorenelemente AG & Co. KG, Magdeburg, Germany. The purchaser is Weber Group, which produces gear components for cars, commercial and recreational vehicles.

Schaeffler Motorenelemente AG & Co. KG, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Schaeffler AG, specialises in the mechanical processing of cylinder heads and other complex casings for the automotive industry. The sale of its cylinder head operations is another step in Schaeffler AG's strategy of focusing on its core activities. Weber Group will continue the business operations of Schaeffler Motorenelemente AG & Co. KG and intends to take on all 185 staff in Magdeburg.

Schaeffler Motorenelemente AG & Co. KG generated revenues of around EUR 42 million in the 2015 financial year. The transaction also involves a long-term arrangement for supplying components to Schaeffler Group.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Christof-Ulrich Goldschmidt and comprised senior associates Dr. Margret Bootz-Hagen and Afroditi Tsobanelis-Görgen and associate Schirin Drewell (all Corporate), as well as partner Dr. Stefan Simon, associate Dr. Christopher Fischer (both Employment), partner Marc Besen (Brussels/Düsseldorf), senior associate Dr. Dimitri Slobodenjuk (Düsseldorf, both Antitrust), partner Dr. David Elshorst, senior associate Markus Böhn (both Real Estate), partner Thorsten Sauerhering, senior associate Dr. Dominik Engl (both Tax) – all Frankfurt, senior associate Dr. Wenzel Richter (Munich), associate Dr. Philipp Büsch (Düsseldorf, both Corporate) and transaction lawyer Laura Lamster (Tax, Frankfurt).