Mergers & Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are an indispensable strategy tool for any group and any larger medium-sized company which thinks strategically and wants to improve its relative competitive position.
SKW Schwarz has years of experience in the mergers and acquisitions business, both in terms of international transactions and medium-sized company acquisitions. We accompany the transaction from the beginning to the end. We
- advise you concerning the structure and financing of the transaction;
- support you in negotiating confidentiality agreements and a Letter of Intent;
- evaluate and assess the opportunities and risks of a company or business department comprehensively in the framework of due diligence;
- are involved in every stage of the actual purchase, from the preparation of the initial draft of the purchase agreement to the negotiations and to the signing of the final agreement;
- support you in making or examining an offer in a tender and in structuring the procedure;
- coordinate the specialists on related legal areas who should be involved in the transaction, for example on labour law, intellectual property law, competition law, real-estate law or restrictive practices law.
Thanks to our connections to independent law firms in other countries our clients can quickly and cost-efficiently implement complex cross-border transactions. The selection of the foreign law firm depends exclusively on its work quality and is made in the client’s best interests.
Examples
We supported a listed computer games publisher during the purchase of a leading production company, which consisted of several German and foreign companies. We conducted the due diligence, planned the transaction structure, drafted and negotiated the contract documentation and simplified the structure of the acquired group.
We represented the interests of the managing shareholders of a music company when they sold their shares to a listed competitor. The purchase price was paid in the form of a cash compensation and shares in the acquiring company.
We advised a German venture capital fund which wanted to sell an internet platform to a French buyer. Our tasks included representing our client’s interests versus other selling shareholders, conducting the negotiations with the buyer and preparing the contract documentation.
We supported a German private equity fund during the acquisition of a leading German engineering services company. We carried out a comprehensive legal due diligence, negotiated the details of the transaction and drafted the contract documentation.
We supported a leading international agricultural production and distribution company during the acquisition of two biodiesel producers. One of the companies was sold during a bankruptcy procedure; in that case we advised our client in the framework of the tender procedure. In both cases we planned and structured the transaction, carried out the legal due diligence, conducted all negotiations with the seller and the financing banks and drafted the contract documentation. In addition, we supported our client during the merger control procedure.