Global law firm Freshfields has advised AURELIUS on its acquisition of the international smart metering business of US-based Xylem Inc., spanning inter alia Europe, the UK and North Africa.

The cross-border carve-out was recently signed, with closing subject to receiving required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, including actions relating to the carve-out of the international metering business.

The transaction involves the acquisition of the water metering, heat metering, and advanced metering infrastructure business outside of North America, which is to be carved out from Xylem’s global operations across more than 20 jurisdictions. The deal also encompasses a suite of long-term commercial agreements.

Freshfields advised AURELIUS comprehensively on all legal aspects of the transaction, including corporate/M&A, pre-closing reorganizations, commercial agreements, intellectual property, employment, tax, and regulatory.

The transaction was led by a cross-office team from the firm's Munich, New York, Boston, and Silicon Valley offices, headed by partners Elizabeth Oberholzer (Corporate, Munich) and Claire James (Corporate, New York). The team further comprised:

Partners: Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/IP/IT, Hamburg), Thomas Granetzny (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), David Beutel (Tax), Barbara Keil (Corporate, both Munich), Lori Goodman (Employment Law), Sarah Katz (Tax, both New York), Vinita Kailasanath (IP, Silicon Valley)

Counsel: Martin Rehberg (Tax, Munich), Kevin A. Uhler (Corporate, New York), Lukas Pomaroli (Commercial, Vienna)

Principal/Senior Associates: Moritz Lehmann (Tax, Munich), Nicolas Sölter (Regulatory, Hamburg), Marius Stein (Commercial/IP/IT, Frankfurt), Zackory Burns (IP, Boston), Courtney Canning (Tax, New York)

Associates: D. Andrew Rondeau (Corporate, Boston), Shannon O’Hara (IP, New York), Lina Zhu (Employment Law, New York), Charles Carroll, Nicole Johnson (both Corporate, New York), Lisa-Marie Woschniak, Jan Postweiler, Philipp Schneider (all Corporate, Munich), Julia Kilp, Roland Sternisko (both Employment Law, Munich), Dominik Luczak (Tax, New York), Philipp Valanto (Commercial/IP/IT, Hamburg), Eike Jani (Real Estate, Hamburg), Alexandra Wehowsky (Regulatory, Berlin), Kia Aoki (Employment Law), Murad Cholak (Real Estate), Brandon Thompson (Corporate, all London), Leif‑Magnus Wishöth (Finance, Frankfurt), Marcel Neuhauser (Commercial, Vienna)

Inhouse: Shawn der Kinderen (General Counsel M&A, AURELIUS) and Guido Brockhausen (Director Legal, AURELIUS).