Baker & McKenzie Advises GM on Partial Sale of Opel
Deal Announcement
September 11, 2009
Berlin, September 11, 2009 – The international law firm Baker & McKenzie, which has already provided legal support to General Motors Company (GM) during the entire bidding procedure, has now also been retained to advise GM on the sale of a part of its shares in Adam Opel GmbH. As is generally known, the main bidders have been a consortium consisting of the Austrian-Canadian automotive supplier Magna and the Russian Sberbank, as well as the financial investor RHJ International. The Opel trust entity, in which both the GM side and the German government are stakeholders, is also involved in the further sale procedure. The advice does not only include the drafting and negotiation of the purchase contract but also extends to any aspects regarding the future cooperation of Opel’s shareholders. In the past, GM had repeatedly retained Baker & McKenzie to provide advice regarding Opel.
Based on a long-standing relationship with Magna and Baker & McKenzie’s expertise in antitrust matters, the Frankfurt team headed by Dr. Jörg-Martin Schultze also advises Magna on all merger control-related issues arising in connection with the acquisition of the Opel shares.
Legal advisers of GM: Baker & McKenzie
Lead Counsel: Günther Heckelmann (Partner Employment Law, Frankfurt)
Dr. Peter Wessels (Partner Corporate, Berlin)
Charles Whitefoord (Partner Corporate, London)
Corporate/ M&A: Dr. Thorsten Seidel (Partner, Berlin)
Dr. Arne Friel (Partner, Berlin)
Erin Cogan (Associate, London)
Dr. Hermann Ali Hinderer (Associate, Berlin)
Banking/Finance: Dr. Olaf Gebler (Partner, Frankfurt)
Dr. Oliver Socher (Partner, Frankfurt)
EC Law Practice (Brussels): Nina Niejahr (Counsel)
Max Seuster (Associate)
Tax: Christian Brodersen (Partner, Frankfurt)
Dr. Udo Henkel (Partner, Munich)
Alexander Chadwick (Partner, London)
In-house: Teresa Holderer (GM, Zurich)
Riccardo Ventura (GM, Zurich)