Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek Provides Counsel to HPI AG on Acquiring A Majority Stake in MRL Mannesmannröhren Logistic GmbH
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek provided counsel to HPI AG, listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange's Open Market, to acquire a majority stake in MRL Mannesmannröhren Logistic GmbH.
Seller of the controlling interest was Induser Industrieservice GmbH & Co. KG, which will remain a minority shareholder. MRL's two other shareholders, Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH and Vallourec & Mannesmann Deutschland GmbH, have maintained their holdings in MRL.
HPI AG was created from the merger of ce Global Sourcing AG (formerly ce Consumer Electronic AG) and HPI GmbH, the former central purchasing arm of the Hoechst Group. In the last fiscal year, HPI AG had already expanded its business through the acquisition of two other purchasing service providers, 3KV GmbH and AZEGO Components AG. At a managed purchasing volume of nearly EUR 4 billion, about 800 customers, 4,000 negotiated contracts and over 100 employees in 20 locations, including 15 in Europe, 2 in North America and 3 in Asia, the resulting group is the largest European independent provider of strategic supply management.
MRL Mannesmannröhren Logistic GmbH is also providing procurement management services and offers its manufacturing industry customers the outsourcing of the entire C parts procurement through an Internet platform. The company was formed from the former Mannesmann Services GmbH. With 40 employees and about 1,000 customers, MRL Mannesmannröhren Logistic GmbH generated sales of about EUR 22 million in 2010.
The team led by Partner Boris Dürr has advised HPI Partner AG for several years, particularly in matters of stock corporation law and securities law, acquisitions and restructuring. Already in 2010, counsel was provided on a number of successfully completed transactions such as the merger of former ce Global AG with HPI GmbH, the acquisition of all shares in AZEGO Components AG and in 3KV GmbH.
Counsel to HPI AG: Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, Munich:Boris Dürr (Lead, M&A/Corporate), Astrid Wellhöner, LL.M. Eur. (Employment Law), Dr. Philipp Gantenberg (M&A/Corporate), Alice Ballwieser (M&A/Corporate)
