Clifford Chance has advised KUKA Aktiengesellschaft, Augsburg, Germany, on the public takeover offer made by MECCA International (BVI) Limited, a subsidiary of Midea Group Co., Ltd., for all shares in KUKA Aktiengesellschaft.
On 18 May 2016, MECCA International published the decision to make an offer in accordance with § 10 section 1 of the German Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act. In this decision it published key items of the intended takeover offer, including the offer price of EUR 115.00 per KUKA share. This would correspond to a premium of around 36.2 percent on the current KUKA share price (XETRA closing price on 17 May 2016).
Midea is a global leader in manufacturing consumer appliances and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and has an extensive product portfolio ranging from air-conditioning systems, refrigerators, washing machines and kitchen equipment to small household appliances. The company focuses on technological innovation, including robotics, to make everyday life more comfortable. Midea was founded in 1968 in Guangdong, China, and has expanded its operations globally with more than 200 subsidiaries and nine strategic divisions. In 2015 (as per 31 December), its total revenues exceeded EUR 18.7 billion. Midea has about 100,000 employees across 21 locations and operates 260 logistics centres. The company is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange (000333).
KUKA AG is a global leader in the production of industrial robots and also develops automated manufacturing processes. The company employs around 12,000 people and generated revenues of around EUR 3 billion.
The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Andreas Dietzel (Corporate, Frankfurt) and comprised partner Dr. Christian Vogel and senior associate Dr. Jochen Buckel (both Corporate, Düsseldorf), partner Amy Ho and senior associate Shan Huang (both Corporate, Hong Kong) as well as partners George Kleinfeld (Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Washington) and Marc Besen (Antitrust, Düsseldorf/Brussels).
