SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz advises Rettenmeier Group on the acquisition of the main business operations of insolvent Ziegler Group

SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz with a team led by partners Dr. Martin Kolbinger and Marc-Philippe Hornung provided comprehensive legal advice to Rettenmeier Group on the acquisition of the main business operations of Ziegler Group. The transaction occurred within a structured investor process initiated by the insolvency administrator Volker Böhm.

Rettenmeier Group, based in Wilburgstetten, is one of the largest wood processing companies in Europe, with six locations in Europe and 1,600 employees. By acquiring the main business operations of Ziegler Group, Rettenmeier Group will strategically expand its production capacities.

The transaction includes the business operations of Ziegler Holzindustrie GmbH & Co. KG, Ziegler Naturenergie GmbH, Ziegler Forstservice GmbH and Holz-Zentrum Ziegler GmbH as well as the shares in Prechtl GmbH Anlagen- und Maschinenbau and Ruhland Druckluft & Systemtechnik GmbH. In addition, assets and real estate will be acquired from other insolvent Ziegler companies, in particular the cargo terminal in Wiesau. The acquisition will involve the takeover of a large portion of the employees of the relevant businesses. Closing of the transaction is, inter alia, still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

In order to enable the insolvency administrator to continue business operations beyond the period during which salaries are covered by the Federal Employment Agency, the transaction was carried out under unusually high time pressure, even for comparable sales processes. The involvement of a total of eight insolvent Ziegler Group companies made the transaction particularly complex.

At SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz, the transaction was handled by an interdisciplinary team of transaction law and insolvency law specialists which, once again, demonstrated that the firm is excellently positioned for transactions in the distressed M&A sector.

SZA Schilling, Zutt & Anschütz:

Dr. Martin Kolbinger (Lead/Corporate Law/M&A, Munich), Marc-Philippe Hornung, MBA (Lead/Insolvency Law/M&A, Mannheim), Katharina Steinbrück, LL.M. (U.C. Lan) (Employment Law, Frankfurt), Dr. Christoph Allmendinger, LL.M. (LSE), (Real Estate Law, Frankfurt), Dr. Stephanie Birmanns (Antitrust Law, Brussels); Counsel/Associates: Maximilian Mersch, LL.M. (Nottingham) (Corporate Law/M&A, Frankfurt), Ludwig Lüst (Corporate Law/M&A, Munich), Philipp Pfeifer, LL.M. (London) (Employment Law, Mannheim), Dr. Gerrit Krämer (Real Estate Law, Mannheim), Dr. Ilja Baudisch (Banking and Finance law, Munich), Dr. Simon Apel, Dr. Jonathan Drescher (both Commercial Law, Mannheim), Prof. Dr. Kristian Fischer (Public Law, Mannheim), Niklas Jacobi (Antitrust Law, Brussels)