Global law firm Freshfields is advising DAX40 listed Continental AG and its group sector ContiTech on the sale of its Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) business field to the US private equity investment firm Regent, headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, United States.
Continental is a leading global tyre manufacturer, automotive supplier and industrial partner. The technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transport. ContiTech is a division of Continental and stands for innovative material solutions with a strong industrial focus. The division's key industries currently include off-highway mobility, mining, construction and home, energy management and automotive. The majority of its business with rubber products for automotive manufacturers is bundled in the Original Equipment Solutions (OESL) business unit. In the 2024 financial year, it generated sales of around €1.9bn in 16 countries. Around 16,000 employees will transfer to Regent as part of the business.
Regent is a global private equity investment firm dedicated to driving business transformation and focused on acquiring companies in a variety of industries, including technology, consumer products, industrial, and media and entertainment.
Freshfields is advising on all legal aspects of the transaction, including the transaction structuring and the competitive auction process, the drafting of the transaction documents, the communication and disclosure aspects, as well as coordinating all local counsels. Freshfields’ advise also included the preceding carve-out of the OESL business which was achieved by incorporating new entities in six jurisdictions and the involved companies entering into several types of intra-group agreement (such as share purchase agreements, share contribution agreements, asset purchase agreements, asset contribution and distribution agreements), as well as a vendor due diligence.
The multi-jurisdictional Freshfields team is co-led by Partner Christoph H. Seibt (Hamburg) and Counsel Arne Constantin-Krawinkel (Hamburg/Frankfurt, both Corporate/M&A). The team further comprises:
Partners: Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Christian Ruoff (Tax, Hamburg), Tobias Klose, Dominic Divivier (both Antitrust), Thomas Granetzny (Pensions, all Düsseldorf), Jan-Philip Wilde (Restructuring & Insolvency), Gerrit Beckhaus (Real Estate, both Hamburg), Dirk-Jan Smit (Amsterdam), Guillemette Burgala (Paris), Yuxin Shen (Beijing), Ludwig Hartenau (Vienna), Tomoko Nakajima (Tokyo, all Corporate/M&A), Michael Ramb (Regulatory, Düsseldorf/Berlin)
Counsel: Philipp Lehmann (Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Marlen Vesper-Gräske (Compliance & ESG, Berlin), Philipp Roos (Data Protection & IT, Dusseldorf), Olaf Ehlers (Corporate/M&A), Andrew Herman (Labor Law, both New York)
Senior / Principal Associates: Jules Troubat (Corporate/M&A, Paris), Andrea Strackerjan (Tax), Nina Gissinger (Real Estate), Julian Spatz (Commercial), Manuel Jäger (Pensions, Düsseldorf), Nicolas Sölter (Regulatory, Hamburg)
Associates: Maximilian Sander, Moritz Meyer, Jan-Willem Koldehofe (all Corporate/M&A), Benjamin Blum, Philipp Valanto (all Hamburg), Lena Minkenberg (Düsseldorf, all Commercial/IP, Düsseldorf), Severin Pretzel (Arbeitsrecht), Kevin Schröder (Tax, beide Hamburg), Christina Hinterschweiger (Vienna), Florian Heimann (Brussels, both Antitrust) Eike Jani (Real Estate), Oliver Neuner (Regulatory, both Hamburg), Vincent Fischer (Data Protection & IT, Düsseldorf), Victor Aly (Commercial, Hamburg), Valentin Weigel (Compliance & ESG, Berlin), Lukas Tiling (Restructuring & Insolvency, Hamburg), Emile Sarah (Paris), Birgit Marks (Amsterdam), Yichen Xing (Beijing), Sabeth Rivero Mendez (Vienna), Takahiro Sato (Tokyo, all Corporate/M&A).
In-house at Continental, the transaction is being handled by Michelle de Souza (Head of Central Law Tyres), Johannes Schmid (Head of M&A North America), Daniel Lippold (M&A Manager), Jennifer Brehmer (Head of Law DACH and Commercial) and Christine Ameling (Senior Legal Counsel).
