Noerr advises financial investor Axcel on the takeover of a majority stake in medium format specialist Phase One

Noerr has advised Danish financial investor Axcel on the acquisition of a majority stake in the technology business Phase One A/S. Founded in 1994, Axcel is a Nordic private equity firm focusing on mid-market companies and has a broad base of both Nordic and international investors. Axcel has raised five funds with total committed capital of just over EUR 2.0 billion.

The Danish company Phase One A/S is one of the leading manufacturers in digital medium format photography and software solutions for professional photographers and industrial applications.

The seller of the majority stake is Silverfleet Capital. The pan-European private equity company had acquired the majority stake in Phase One in 2014. Alongside Axcel, the Phase One management team will reinvest in the company and continue to own a significant stake. The Copenhagen-based company, which also has offices in Germany, the US, Japan and Hong Kong, maintains the divisions Software Imaging Systems (“SIS”) and Image Capture Solutions (“ICS”). SIS provides market-leading image editing software under the Capture One brand while ICS specialises in ultra-high-end medium format cameras.

Noerr advised Axcel on the German law aspects associated with the transaction.

Advisors to Axcel: Noerr LLP

Dr Jan-Philipp Meier (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Prof Christian Pleister (both lead, Private Equity, Frankfurt/Berlin), Dr Torsten Kraul (IP, Berlin), Prof Karsten Metzlaff (Antitrust, Hamburg), Associates: Dr Wolfgang Wittek (Employment, Hamburg), Markus Brösamle (Antitrust, Berlin)

Lead counsel: Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen (Denmark)

Other advisors: Ropes & Gray, Barnea