DLA Piper has advised the globally operating Tentamus Group on its acquisition of food analysis laboratories from the TÜV Rheinland Group in China and Taiwan. The company has signed an agreement to take over all food-related businesses from TÜV Rheinland. The acquisitions in China and Taiwan were concluded after clarification of the customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals in the third quarter of 2017. DLA Piper advised Tentamus Group on the due diligence in China and Taiwan, on the relevant negotiations during the signing and closing, as well as on the post-closing issues.

The merging of the three laboratories of Tentamus Group in China with the laboratories of TÜV Rheinland in China and Taiwan results in extensive geographic coverage of the Chinese market along the coast from northern China to Hainan in the south. In addition, Tentamus has acquired the Hamburg-based wholly owned shareholding Luxcontrol GmbH (also a company of the TÜV Rheinland Group) from Luxcontrol S.A., which, apart from testing, is also able to provide additional services for the Tentamus Group (such as auditing and certification).

The Tentamus Group was founded in 2011. Headquartered in Berlin, the company operates globally at more than 40 locations and has in excess of 2,000 employees. Focal areas are Europe, China and the USA. The company offers its clients an international network of specialized laboratories.

The DLA Piper Corporate team was led by partners Dr Nils Krause in Hamburg and Rainer Jacob in Frankfurt. They were assisted by Hamburg-based senior associate Dr Jan-Philipp Meier associate Ronja Hecker, transaction lawyers Hui Hao and Dan Li and Frankfurt-based senior associate, Niklas Mangels. Additionally involved in the advisory services from the DLA Piper office in China was Co-Country Managing Partner in China, Qiang Li, Employment partner, Johnny Choi, senior associates Wenxin Zhou and Julian Zhu as well as associates Dylan Wu, May Liu, Lily Li, Chen Ji and Vivienne Jin. In Taiwan, support came from the team of Formosan Brothers Attorneys-at-Law, in particular Li-Pu Lee, Jeffrey Klossner, Maggie Tsai, Derek Cheng, Miranda Liu, Albert Su, Teresa Pan and Lilian Chen.

TÜV Rheinland Group has been advised by a team of law firm Luther with partner Thomas Weidlich and Senior Associate Dr Yuan Shen.