DLA Piper has advised the UK’s largest franchised dealer group, Sytner. on its acquisition of The Car People, nearly doubling the size of their Used Vehicle Supermarket Division. This is Sytner’s second car supermarket takeover in the last 12 months, having acquired CarShop earlier last year, a transaction in which DLA Piper also advised on.

The Car People operates from four locations in Wakefield, Sheffield, Manchester and Warrington, and sells about 18,000 vehicles a year.

DLA Piper has advised the Italian energy company ERG SpA on its acquisition, from Vortex Energy Group, of Windpark Linda GmbH & Co KG, holder of project rights for a 21.6-MW wind project in the district of Wittenberg, Germany, as well as in connection with the associated project development documentation and the construction contract.

The acquisition was made by ERG’s subsidiary in Germany, ERG Windpark Beteiligungs GmbH. The involved parties have agreed to treat the purchase price confidential.

International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised the owner of EDS GmbH, Johannes P. Müller, on its takeover by Reifenhäuser Group. EDS GmbH will operate within the Reifenhäuser Group as a separate independent business unit. With this acquisition, Reifenhäuser will further expand its existing expertise in die production and significantly strengthen the design know-how for die and film tools.

Based in North Rhine-Westphalia, EDS GmbH is a leading supplier of high-end extrusion tools and a flat dies specialist.

International law firm Pinsent Masons has advised on the acquisition of League of Ireland football club Dundalk FC by a US based consortium for an undisclosed figure.

The firm not only advised on all aspects of transaction but played a key role in bringing the lead consortium stakeholders together.

Slaughter and May acted for BT Pension Scheme Trustees Limited (the “Trustee”), the largest private sector pension scheme in the UK, in the case of British Telecommunications Plc v BT Pension Scheme Trustees Limited and Linda Bruce-Watt (Representative Beneficiary), which was heard on an expedited basis in the High Court in December 2017.

Squire Patton Boggs has acted for leading speciality chemicals company Synthomer plc on the sale of Synthomer Leuna GmbH to Alberdingk Boley GmbH, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly binders based in Krefeld, Germany.

TLT has advised Santander on a landmark transaction signalling that the energy storage market is now ripe for debt funding.
The investment sees Santander provide a £28.5m facility to Battery Energy Storage Solutions Limited (BESS), an independent developer, operator and owner of battery storage units in the UK that aims to reach a 100MW portfolio by the end of 2018.

Zurich - FlexLink AB, headquarted in Göteborg (Sweden) announced the acquisition of Swiss factory automation company SSS-Fördertechnik AG (Switzerland) effective 1 January 2018. SSS-Fördertechnik AG will become part of FlexLink AB under the name of FlexLink Switzerland GmbH and will take responsibility for sales in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Berlin – capiton IV GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG sells its shares in Kautex Holding GmbH based in Bonn (Germany) to Plastech Beteiligungs GmbH based in Vienna (Austria). The purchaser is an independent industry holding, focusing on investments in the plastic materials sector. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The closing of the transaction is still subject to the approval by the antitrust authorities.

CMS Prague has successfully advised Metal Trade Comax Group, a Czech metals processing conglomerate, on its acquisition of the German Oetinger Aluminium Group from Orlando Management AG.

The acquisition creates one of Europe’s leading and dynamic aluminium recycling groups. The Oetinger Group is a leading German manufacturer of recycled aluminium casting alloys, with strategic facilities in Bavaria. Czech-based Metal Trade Comax is a significant exporter and CEE supplier to building industry of a range of metal products.