Niederer Kraft & Frey (NKF) has advised Trend International Holding AG (Trend) and its majority shareholder, Shawn Sedaghat, in the sale of the capital stock of Gotha Cosmetics S.r.l. (Gotha) to a special purpose vehicle ultimately held by Capvis Equity IV LP (Capvis) and the subsequent reinvestment by Trend in Gotha.

NKF has acted as lead counsel for the seller, particularly negotiating the purchase and reinvestment agreements and various ancillary documents as well as coordinating the activities in various foreign jurisdictions. Capvis has been assisted by Latham & Watkins, Milan. K&L Gates, Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners and Linklaters were also involved. The acquisition was successfully closed on 23 September 2016.

Gotha, founded in 2005, is a private label cosmetics manufacturing company based in Lallio, in the province of Bergamo, Italy. The company, a successful innovation and manufacturing partner serving the full range of global cosmetics brands, is active in the research and development of formulae, in swift industrialization of new products and offers in-house bulk manufacturing, filling and packaging. Gotha currently employs more than 100 people. Shawn Sedaghat remains actively involved in the development of Gotha acting as ongoing CEO.

The NKF team consisted of Philippe Weber (lead partner, M&A/finance), Andreas Casutt (senior partner, corporate/M&A), Daniela Schmucki (senior partner, tax), Nicolas Birkhäuser (partner, competition law), René Fischer (senior associate, corporate/M&A), Paolo Bollini (associate, transactions) and Giulia Ghezzi (associate, transactions).