Baker McKenzie advised Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) on its investment in vhf Group (vhf), a manufacturer of computer-aided milling machines for applications in dentistry and industry. DBAG is acquiring around one fifth of the shares in vhf camfacture AG, which will act as the group's holding company in the future.
The parties involved agreed not to disclose the purchase price. With the investment, DBAG is pursuing the goal of supporting the further international growth of the group of companies and bringing about capital market viability.
"With the investment in vhf Group, our client is investing in a company that serves a structurally growing, low-cyclical market and has become very profitable in the past," commented Christian Atzler, lead partner of the transaction.
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, a listed company headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, initiates closed-end private equity funds and invests - predominantly alongside DBAG funds - in well-positioned medium-sized companies with potential. DBAG places a focus on industrial sectors in which the German Mittelstand is strong by international standards. An increasing proportion of equity investments are in companies in the new focus sectors of broadband telecommunications, IT services/software and healthcare.
vhf, based in Ammerbuch/Baden-Württemberg, develops and produces computer-controlled milling machines, which are mainly used by commercial dental laboratories and dentists in their own laboratories to produce dental prostheses. Another high-growth part of vhf's sales is generated with machines for selected industrial applications.
Baker McKenzie's Corporate/M&A team regularly advises on national and international transactions. Most recently, Baker McKenzie advised, among others, VINCI Energies S.A. on the acquisition of parts of Kontron AG, AURELIUS on the acquisition of AGFA Offset Solutions and of Footasylum from JD Sports, FUNKE Digital on the acquisition of Baseplus DIGITAL MEDIA GmbH, Knorr-Bremse AG on the sale of its 9.2% stake in the listed Swedish company Haldex AB to SAF-Holland S, Siemens on the sale of its Commercial Vehicles business to Meritor, Nikkiso on the sale of LEWA GmbH and Geveke B.V. to Atlas Copco, Kerry Group plc on the acquisition of c-LEcta, Celanese on the acquisition of DuPont's Mobility & Materials business, Sika AG on the acquisition of MBCC Group, Advent International on the sale of Allnex Group to PTT Global Chemical, Paragon on the sale of NovumIP to Questel Group, Embracer on the acquisition of Easybrain Limited, and SAP on the sale of the SAP Digital Interconnect communications unit to Sinch AB.
Legal advisor to DBAG:
Baker McKenzie
Lead:
Corporate/M&A: Christian Atzler (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Markus Mörtel (senior associate, Frankfurt)
Team:
Corporate/M&A: Dr. Richard Stefanink (senior associate, Dusseldorf), Celina Anna Zaim (sssociate, Dusseldorf)
Commercial & Trade: Dr. Johannes Teichmann (partner, Frankfurt), Rebecca Romig (Associate, Frankfurt)
Banking & Finance: Matthias Töke (counsel, Frankfurt), Fabian Löw (associate, Frankfurt)
Real Estate: Dr. Daniel Bork (partner, Dusseldorf)
IP: Dr. Rembert Niebel (partner, Frankfurt), Lena Carla Weber (associate, Frankfurt)
IT/Data Protection: Dr. Holger Lutz (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Tobias Born (senior associate, Frankfurt), Anna-Lena Bußer (associate, Frankfurt)
Employment: Dr. Felix Diehl (senior associate, Frankfurt)
Public Law: Dr. Katharina Weiner (counsel, Dusseldorf)
Regulatory: Dr. Frank Pflüger (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Christian Lebrecht (mid level associate, Frankfurt).