Noerr advises Chinese Hailiang Group on acquisition of brass and copper divisions of KME Group

Noerr, in close cooperation with the Chinese law firm Haiwen & Partners, advised the Chinese Hailiang Group on the acquisition of the European brass and copper tube business from KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG and thus Hailiang Group‘s entry into the European market.

KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG is an affiliated company of KME AG. KME AG is one of the market leaders in the European industry for semi-finished products made of copper and copper alloys and in turn a subsidiary of the Italian listed Intek Group S.p.A. With this acquisition, Hailiang Group is represented in Europe for the first time. Hailiang Group, listed on the Shenzen Stock Exchange (SZSE), is one of the largest and most competitive copper processing companies in the world and is currently active in 188 countries.

The transaction comprises the brass product division in Germany and Italy as well as the copper tubes product division in Germany and Spain. KME has also granted Hailiang a put option to acquire the French brass business.

The transaction is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.

Consultant Zhejiang Hailiang Co. Ltd.: Noerr LLP

Dr. Georg Schneider (Private Equity), Robert Korndörfer (Corporate/M&A, both Munich, joint lead), Dr. Carsten Heinz (Tax, Munich/Berlin), Michael Tommaso (Tax, Berlin), Dr. Bärbel Sachs (Foreign Investment Law, Berlin), Dr. Christoph Thiermann (Private Equity), Dr. Sebastian Janka (Antitrust Law), Dr. Michael Reiling (Digital Business), Dr. Christoph Rieken (IP Law), Uwe Erling (Public Law, all Munich)

Associates: Anna Loibl (Private Equity, Lead Associate, Munich), Sarah Götze (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Johannes Pfeiffer (Corporate/M&A, Munich), Sarah Blazek (Antitrust Law, both Munich), Dr. Hannes Butz (Financing, New York), Dr. Henrik Dornscheidt (Real Estate, Düsseldorf), Dr. Max Helleberg (Foreign Investment Law, Berlin), Dr. Sven Lohse (Labour Law), Alexander Mühleisen (Real Estate, both Düsseldorf)