DLA Piper has advised H.I.G. Europe on the sale of specialty alumina producing companies, Alufin GmbH Tabularoxid and Alteo Arc SA, to Imerys.

These Alteo companies produce specialty alumina for the manufacturing industry. They employ 290 individuals at three manufacturing sites in Germany and France (Teutschenthal, La Bâthie and Beyrède) and had sales of EUR 80 million in 2015 in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. After merger clearance by the European Commission, the transaction was closed.

H.I.G. Europe is the European affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity firm focused on the small and mid-cap market with EUR 20 billion of equity capital under management and over 250 investment professionals worldwide. In Europe, H.I.G. Capital has offices in Paris (team leading the investment in Alteo), London, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Madrid and Milan.

Imerys is a French-based multinational company with EUR 4 billion revenue and 16,000 employees. As world leader in mineral-based specialties for industry, Imerys transforms a large variety of minerals into high value specialty products for the industry using sophisticated technical processes. The company is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.

The German DLA Piper team was led by partner Dominik Stühler and counsel Dr. Kai Terstiege, and consisted of associates Angélique Schraud and Silvia Rava (both Corporate, Munich). In France, the transaction was led by partner Michel Frieh and senior associate Matthieu Lampel, assisted by associate Aymeric Robine (Corporate, Paris), partner Jérôme Halphen and associate Vanessa Li (both Employment, Paris), as well as partner Edouard Sarrazin and senior associate Julien Farhi (both Antitrust, Paris).