Noerr Advises Hitachi Capital on the Acquisition of Maske Group

Noerr has advised Japanese financial group Hitachi Capital Corporation on the acquisition of Maske Group, a leading German provider of vehicle rental and fleet management services to commercial customers. Maske Group specialises in long term rental schemes for car and light-duty commercial vehicles and, in 2018, generated a group turnover of approximately 80 million Euros with a pool of some 10,000 vehicles.

Hitachi Capital has acquired 100% of the share capital in Maske Fleet GmbH from the company’s founder Andreas Maske who shall remain with the company as strategic advisor. Maske Fleet operates eleven service branches in Germany and Austria and holds subsidiaries in Austria and Denmark. The transaction has closed. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

With the acquisition of Maske, Hitachi Capital pursues its strategy to expand and develop the vehicle solutions business in Europe. Hitachi Capital’s highly capable existing operations in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Poland have now been complemented by a well-established vehicle solutions business with German and Austrian operations and a presence in Denmark. The acquisition fits well into Hitachi Capital’s European growth strategy to seek sustainable co-operations with leading partners in relevant markets.

In the course of the Maske Fleet acquisition, Hitachi Capital was advised by a Noerr team led by Hamburg-based partner Christoph Spiering. Earlier in 2018, Hitachi Capital had acquired Planet Car Lease in Poland and was advised by a Noerr team led by Warsaw-based partner Jakub Lerner.

Advisors Hitachi Capital Corporation: Noerr LLP

Dr Christoph Spiering (Corporate/M&A), Prof Dr Dr Kai-Michael Hingst (Regulatory, both Hamburg), Dr Kathrin Westermann (Antitrust, Berlin), Dr Felix Muhl (Commercial, Hamburg), Dr Florian-Felix Marquardt (Tax, Berlin), Dr Christoph Rieken (IP, Munich)

Associates: Dr Sarah Götze, Vanessa Wüsthoff (both Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Dr Karl-Alexander Neumann (Regulatory), Dr Wolfgang Wittek (Employment, both Hamburg), Dr Henrik Dornscheidt (Real Estate, Düsseldorf).