Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze (SEBN) on its conversion into a European Stock Corporation (Societas Europaea, SE).

SEBN operates in the automotive industry and is a member of the Sumitomo Electric Industries Group. The multinational group includes approximately 389 subsidiaries and affiliates in more than 30 countries around the world, mainly in Asia, North America and Europe. The total number of employees for the entire group exceeds 240,000.

The legal form of European Stock Corporation upholds the European origin of the SEBN, whilst underlining its role as a key player in the global market. SEBN's conversion into the SE follows several leading companies also within the automotive industry opting for the legal form of SE, illustrating the increasing appeal of an SE.

Norton Rose Fulbright has previously advised SEBN on the conversion into a German Stock Corporation in addition to a status proceeding to enforce co-determination on administrative board level under the German Stock Corporation Act.

The team was led by partner Karsten Kuhnle (corporate, Frankfurt) with assistance from Kai Kruger, Denis Drager, Karim Karouia (corporate, Frankfurt), Christian Wolf, Sinje Maier (corporate litigation, Frankfurt), Cornelia Marquardt (employment, Munich) and Anja Lingscheid (employment, Frankfurt), Piotr Strawa, Piotr Milczarek, Malgorzata Patocka (corporate, Warsaw), Eyji Kobayashi and Yui Ota (corporate, Tokyo) as well as local counsel in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, and Belgium.