Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) is advising Merck KGaA, the German multinational science and technology company (‘Merck’), on the agreement to sell its global Surface Solutions business unit to Global New Material International Holdings Ltd. (‘GNMI’). The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of certain other customary closing conditions.

Merck’s Surface Solutions business unit offers pigment solutions used in coating, industrial and cosmetic applications and generated sales of €411m in 2023, with Merck generating sales of €21bn in 65 countries in 2023. Merck intends to use the net proceeds from the divestment to further strengthen its strategic core businesses in life science, healthcare and electronics.

GNMI, also known under the brand name Chesir, is a large pigment producer in China. Founded in 2011, GNMI is based in Guangxi, China and is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company has sites in China and Korea with approximately 800 employees.

Freshfields is advising Merck on all legal aspects of the sale and carve-out, working closely with Merck’s in-house team led by Alexander Krüger (Senior Corporate Counsel), Gabriela Gomes Strieder (Senior Corporate Counsel), Malte Christians (Corporate Counsel), Alexander Werner (Head of Legal – HR, Procurement & Site Management) and Matthias Hart (Head of Legal – Surface Solutions).

The global Freshfields team is being led by Partners Lars Meyer (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt/Berlin) and Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) as well as Associates Laura Ashoff (Corporate/M&A, Berlin) and Tainá Moreira de Araújo (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Counsel Marius Scherb (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) and Senior Associate Elisabeth Wulf (Commercial/M&A, Hamburg) and also included:

• Partners: Rod Carlton (Antitrust, London), Frank Röhling (Antitrust, Berlin), Grace Huang (Corporate/M&A, Hong Kong), Thomas Müller-Bonanni (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Thomas Granetzny (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Christian Ruoff (Tax, Hamburg), Tanja Walter-Yadegardjam (Tax, Frankfurt), Michael Ramb (Public Law, Düsseldorf/Berlin), Ulrich Scholz (Energy Law, Düsseldorf), Julia Haas (Real Estate, Frankfurt)
• Counsel: Uwe Salaschek (Foreign Investment, Berlin), Colin Costello (CFIUS, Washington), Sarah Rohmann (Employment Law, Düsseldorf), Sascha Arnold (Regulatory, Hamburg)
• Principal Associates: Stephan Reemts (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Ferdinand Dreher (Corporate/M&A, Berlin), Jill Rollmann (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Jan Jeram (Antitrust, Brussels), Marie-Theres Urban (Foreign Investment, Berlin), Andrea Strackerjan (Tax, Hamburg), Christian Schmidt (Tax, Frankfurt), Marlen Vesper-Gräske (Public Law, Hamburg), Sarah Kutsche (Real Estate, Düsseldorf), Hendrik Wessling (Energy Law, Düsseldorf)
• Associates: David Thüning (Corporate/M&A, Berlin), Alicja Klosok (Antitrust, London), Helen Panteli (Antitrust, London), Leonie Sage (Antitrust, London), Fabian Zöpfchen (Labor Law, Frankfurt), Fabienne Gieshoidt (Tax, Hamburg), Marlen Vesper-Gräske (Public Law, Hamburg)
• Transaction Lawyers: Stéphanie Adriaens (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Berlin), Besdegül Ünsal (Senior Transaction Lawyer, Berlin)