Norton Rose Fulbright advises Linamar Corp. on the acquisition of assets from the Winning Group

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Canadian Linamar Corporation on the acquisition of production sites from the German companies of the Winning Group, which are subject to self administration insolvency proceedings.

Linamar is a globally active industrial company focusing on innovative manufacturing and technology solutions for a wide range of industrial sectors.

The relevant Winning Group companies are currently undergoing self administration insolvency proceedings, supported by court appointed general representatives from the audit and advisory firm RSM Ebner Stolz. The proceedings were triggered by significant revenue declines resulting from the ongoing crisis in the automotive industry, which has affected the production sites in Remscheid, Duisburg and Penzberg.

The transaction comprises the acquisition of the Remscheid and Penzberg sites, which are being taken over by Linamar, thereby securing their continued operation.

Norton Rose Fulbright advised Linamar throughout the entire transaction process, providing cross practice support, in particular on transactional, insolvency and employment law matters. The transaction represents a further strategic step for Linamar and serves to strengthen its operational business in the automotive sector in Germany. The Remscheid and Penzberg sites are to be integrated into Linamar's existing structure.

Karsten Kühnle, Lead Partner and Head of Corporate, M&A and Securities Germany (Frankfurt), commented:

"We are pleased to have supported Linamar once again on this strategically important transaction. The deal once more underlines our experience in advising on complex carve-out and asset transactions with a distressed component in the automotive sector."

The Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by partner Karsten Kühnle (Corporate, Frankfurt) and counsel David Schrader (Restructuring, Frankfurt). They were supported by partner Dr Sylwia Bea Pulverich (Restructuring, Frankfurt), partner Dr Jens Steger (Antitrust, Frankfurt), partner Dr Frank Weberndörfer (Employment, Hamburg), counsel Jan-Peter Heise (Corporate, Frankfurt), senior associates Anna Maria Baorda (Restructuring, Frankfurt) and Sven Klüppel (Antitrust, Frankfurt), and associates Felix Reiner, Andre Hartmann (both Corporate, Frankfurt) and Jörn Twisselmann (Employment, Hamburg).

On behalf of Linamar, the transaction was led by Dr Kristin Grimm (Group Legal Counsel).

On the seller side, Julia Siedhoff (Taylor Wessing) advised the RSM Ebner Stolz team led by Jan Hendrik Groß on transactional and insolvency matters.

The insolvency administrator (Sachwalter) of the affected Winning Group companies is Dr Jens M. Schmidt of RUNKEL Rechtsanwälte.