Baker McKenzie advised Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, on its acquisition of ESG Mobility, a group company of ESG Elektroniksystem - and Logistik - GmbH, a portfolio company held by Armira Private Equity.
According to Cognizant’s press release, acquiring ESG Mobility will expand Cognizant's automotive engineering expertise, particularly in connected vehicles. Cognizant and ESG Mobility together, upon the close of the acquisition, will provide engineering services to eight of the world's top 10 automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM).
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to the completion of closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.
An international team of specialized Baker McKenzie lawyers from Germany, the US and China, led by partner Berthold Hummel, advised Cognizant comprehensively on all legal and regulatory aspects of the transaction.
"With a cross-border team of corporate, data privacy, IT and public law & trade lawyers, we were able to contribute to the successful agreement of the parties related to the acquisition of ESG Mobility involving a multi-national carve-out at the intersection of automotive, software and IoT expertise," comments Thomas Gierath, relationship partner for Cognizant at Baker McKenzie.
The global Corporate/M&A team of Baker McKenzie advises on more cross-border transactions than any other law firm. Most recently the team advised Paragon on the sale of NovumIP to Questel Group, TA Associates on the acquisition of a majority stake in IGEL, Embracer on the acquisition of Easybrain Limited, SK Tele-com on a joint venture with Deutsche Telekom, Chr. Hansen Holding A/S on the acquisition of Jennewein Biotechnologie GmbH, DBAG on an investment in congatec Holding AG, SAP on the sale of the communication unit SAP Digital Interconnect to Sinch AB, Air Liquide on the sale of the Schülke Group to the Swedish financial investor EQT, METRO AG on the establishment of a strategic partnership with Wumei Technology Group, Bayer AG on the sale of its majority stake in the chemical park operator Currenta and Evonik on the sale of its methacrylate business to Advent International.
Legal advisor to Cognizant:
Baker McKenzie
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Berthold A. Hummel (partner, Munich)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Dr. Jon Marcus Meese (partner, Munich), Katja Heuterkes (counsel, Munich), Dr. Julia Rossié (associate, Munich), Michelle Karrer (associate, Munich), Eva Kriechbaumer (associate, Munich), Celina Anna Zaim (associate, Dusseldorf), Marianne Milovanov (associate, Munich)
Tax: Thomas Gierath (partner, Munich), Victoria Ritter (associate, Munich)
Commercial: Dr. Johannes Teichmann (partner, Frankfurt), Rebecca Romig (associate, Frankfurt)
Antitrust: Dr. Christian Burholt (partner, Berlin), Katrin Kurz (associate, Berlin), Markus Mossmann (associate, Dusseldorf)
Employment: Dr. Christian Reichel (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Matthias Köhler (partner, Berlin), Dr. Anna Verena Böhm (counsel, Frankfurt), Kerstin Schmiedel (associate, Berlin), Tatjana Serbina (associate, Berlin), Harasch Yakubi (associate, Berlin)
Compliance: Dr. Andreas Lohner (partner, Munich), Dr. Robin Haas (senior associate, Munich)
IP: Dr. Rembert Niebel (partner, Frankfurt), Lena Weber (associate, Frankfurt), Dr. Markus Hecht (senior associate, Frankfurt)
IT: Dr. Michaela Nebel (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Holger Lutz (partner, Frankfurt), Nadine Neumeier (associate, Frankfurt), Anika Vornwald (associate, Frankfurt), Simone Rieken (senior associate, Frankfurt), Dr. Johannes Döveling (associate, Frankfurt)
Real Estate: Dr. Florian Thamm (partner, Frankfurt), Till Pflug (associate, Frankfurt), Nadine Uhrner (associate, Frankfurt)
Banking & Finance: Dr. Oliver Socher (partner, Frankfurt), Silke Fritz (counsel, Frankfurt), Philipp Thimm (associate, Frankfurt)
Public Law: Dr. Marc Gabriel (partner, Berlin), Dr. Claire Dietz-Polte (counsel, Berlin), Dr. Andreas Schulz (counsel, Berlin), Dr. Katharina Weiner (counsel, Dusseldorf), Caroline Heinickel (counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Andreas Neumann (associate, Frankfurt)
Trade Law: Anahita Thoms (partner, Dusseldorf), Alexander Ehrle (associate, Berlin), Paul Amberg (partner, Amsterdam)
Further lawyers from Baker McKenzie offices in UK, USA, Canada, China and Hong Kong