Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advises Aetna Partners GmbH and Demmel AG on the acquisition of WAFA Kunststofftechnik GmbH’s assets

With a team led by Prof. Dr. Georg Streit, the commercial law firm of Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek advised Swiss financial investor Aetna Partners GmbH on acquiring the assets of insolvent WAFA Kunststofftechnik GmbH, based in Augsburg, from insolvency administrator Joachim Exner. The acquisition was carried out jointly with German automotive supplier Demmel AG.
 
WAFA Kunststofftechnik GmbH is a leading manufacturer of plastic trim elements and is engaged in finishing elements by electroplating. In February 2014, WAFA Kunststofftechnik GmbH’s general managers had to file for insolvency. Joachim Exner of the insolvency law firm of Dr. Beck & Partner, Nuremberg, managed the company’s business as liquidator on a transitional basis.
 
"By acquiring WAFA’s business operations, we will maintain access to this technology," said Thomas P. Holderried, CEO of holding company Demmel AG. "This will allow us to develop, manufacture, and finish trim elements from material combinations."
 
The purchase agreement was notarized on November 30, 2015 in Munich, with closing on December 30, 2015.
 
Numerous jobs were saved through the acquisition. Workers who could not be taken over, however, are not unemployed: As part of the transaction, it was possible to finance a transfer company.
 
Swiss-based Aetna Partners GmbH is an investment company acquiring small businesses in the manufacturing, capital goods, and consumer goods sectors. Those companies typically have annual revenue of between 7 million and 80 million euros.
 
Demmel AG, headquartered in Scheidegg, is part of Demmel group, an association of medium-sized family businesses. Demmel group employs some 1,000 worldwide and has sites in Germany, China, and Singapore. Demmel AG specializes in the business areas Automotive and Industrial Decoration, as well as human machine interfaces, keyboards, and input systems.

Counsel to Aetna Partners GmbH
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Prof. Dr. Georg Streit (Lead, Lead Reorganization)
Astrid Wellhöner, LL.M. (Employment)
Dr. Fabian Bürk, LL.M. (Reorganization)
Kai Uwe Büchler (Reorganization)
Dr. Stephan Degen (Reorganization)