Dentons has advised Gienanth GmbH on the sale to Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) and the in-house DBAG Fund VI in the framework of a double-sided trusteeship. DBAG and DBAG Fund VI will hold 100 percent of Gienanth. The management will be involved in the context of a management buy-out (MBO). This also includes the subsidiary Fronberg Guss GmbH in Schwandorf. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office and is expected to take place at the beginning of 2015.
Gienanth operates two iron foundries in Germany: one at its headquarters in Eisenberg (Rhineland-Palatinate) and a second in Fronberg (Bavaria). A staff of 880 is employed at the two sites. Gienanth has forecast revenues in 2014 of about €150 million. The company delivers its products the world over. Gienanth is a global leader in hand-molded castings when it comes to the highly sophisticated processes involved in casting engine blocks (cylinder crankcases) for large-size diesel and gas engines. Such engines are found in generators, ships, locomotives and other large commercial vehicles. Gienanth also has a leadership position in machine-molded castings, its second line of business. The company primarily manufactures clutch and brake components in large-scale production for the automotive and commercial vehicle industry and, in the clutch business, boasts a share of more than 25 percent of the global market.
Gienanth is a company with a very long history. It was founded in 1735 in Eisenberg; its second site in Fronberg evolved from a hammer mill, founded as early as 1449.
Gienanth Holding GmbH is a trust vehicle that was established by Dentons Partner Andreas Ziegenhagen to facilitate the successful search for investors for Gienanth on a fiduciary basis within the framework of a double-sided trusteeship. The search for investors became necessary due to difficulties grounded in the global economic crisis in 2009 and a high financial indebtedness of the company. Therefore, Gienanth sold its shares already in 2010, the successful financial restructuring was then accompanied by Andreas Ziegenhagen. During this time, investments in the operative further development as well as the expansion of capacities continued, so that the leading market position was maintained.
This was not the first time that the Dentons team around Andreas Ziegenhagen and Dr. Detlef Spranger was able to develop and implement successful transactions for its clients by so called double-sided trusteeships (doppelnützige Treuhandschaft). For example, the team has successfully advised on the fiduciary sale of the manufacturer of tools Flex to the Chinese enterprise Chervon, as well as on the search for investors for the German shoe manufacturer Görtz.
Advisor Gienanth GmbH:
Dentons (Berlin/Frankfurt): Andreas Ziegenhagen (Partner, Management Trustee, Restructuring/M&A, Leading), Dr. Detlef Spranger (Counsel, Restructuring/M&A, lead of negotiations), Hauke Thieme (Partner, Tax), Dr. Markus Diepold (Partner, Employment), Dr. Constantin Rehaag (Partner, IP), Dirk Schoene (Counsel, Restructuring/M&A), Matthias Stelzer (Counsel, Employment), Boris Strauch (Counsel, Public Law), Dr. Jan Seelinger (Senior Associate, Restructuring/M&A), Judith Specht (Associate, Restructuring/M&A), Dr. David Lange (Associate, Real Estate), Jochen Hörth (Associate, Corporate/M&A)
