Linklaters advised Toyoda Gosei, a global system provider of high-quality automotive components and LEDs headquartered in Japan, on the acquisition of Meteor Gummiwerke K. H. Bädje GmbH & Co. KG. In April 2012, insolvency proceedings regarding the assets of Meteor Gummiwerke were opened. Yesterday, the new investor Toyoda Gosei and the insolvency administrator Christopher Seagon signed the contract on the acquisition of the assets. Both parties agreed to maintain confidentiality regarding the amount of the purchase price. The transaction is still subject to board approval, approval by the competent antitrust authorities, and implementation of agreed measures. Closing of the transaction is scheduled for March/April 2014.

With the acquisition of Meteor Gummiwerke, Toyoda Gosei is significantly broadening its business foundations in Europe in the area of automotive sealing products. For the employees of Meteor Gummiwerke, the transaction means a long-term perspective after a long period of uncertainty. The automobile manufacturers now also have a strong system partner by their side again.

In order to demonstrate the integration of Meteor Gummiwerke into Toyoda Gosei Group externally, Meteor will operate under the name of “Toyoda Gosei Meteor GmbH” after the conclusion of the transaction.

Toyoda Gosei was established in 1949 as a spin-off of Toyota Motor Industry. The company, listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges, generates sales of about 5.6 billion euros. Toyoda Gosei employs 30,000 employees worldwide.

Meteor Gummiwerke is a market leader in the field of sealing parts and complex sealing products for automobiles, rail vehicles and aircraft subjects, buildings, and electrical and household appliances. In 2011, Meteor generated annual sales of 221 million euros. The company was established in 1951 in Hildesheim and has been headquartered in Bockenem since 1954. It has a second German plant in Worbis/Thüringen and the subsidiary Meteor Sealing Systems in Dover/Ohio (USA).

A Linklaters team led by Dr Sven Schelo (Restructuring/Insolvency, Frankfurt), Dr Klaus Marinus Hoenig (Corporate, Düsseldorf) and Prof Dr Georg Annuß (Employment, Munich) advised on the deal. The team also included Hiroya Yamazaki (Corporate, Tokyo), Aaron Javian (Restructuring/Insolvency, New York), Dr Ingo Klauß (Competition/Antitrust, Düsseldorf), Thorben Eisenbeiß (Employment, Munich), Sebastian Klingen, Christopher Sprado (both Corporate, Düsseldorf), Dr Jonas Hermann, Maximilian Bettermann (both Restructuring/Insolvency, Frankfurt), and Priscilla Fasoro (Restructuring/Insolvency, New York).