News
LARK advises Afinum on exit of FAST LTA
Munich-based private equity firm Afinum has sold its portfolio company FAST LTA GmbH. The buyers are funds advised by Summa Equity Advisory GmbH. The management team of FAST LTA will remain on board and reinvest together with Summa.
FAST LTA is a leading provider of highly secure archiving, storage and recovery of business-critical and sensitive personal data. The company's solutions are used in particular in the healthcare, medical technology and public sectors. Under Afinum's leadership, FAST LTA has more than tripled its EBITDA and consolidated its market-leading position.
Business law powerhouse LARK advised Afinum on this transaction. The team included Dr. Ludger Schult and Eva-Maria Bayer (both Private Equity/M&A) as well as Dr. Anselm Lenhard and Philipp Büchler (both Finance). LARK was supported in antitrust matters by Dr. Andreas Boos from the law firm Buntscheck.
The LARK team had already advised Afinum on the acquisition of FAST LTA in 2019 and regularly assists Afinum.
LARK advises Egeria on the acquisition of Meyer Menü
Private equity investor Egeria has acquired the Meyer Menü Group. The sellers are Thomas Meyer, majority shareholder and member of the founding family, and the two co-CEOs Marcel Hoffmann and Christian Seidel, who are re-investing. Completion of the transaction is still subject to the usual approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
Meyer Menü was founded in 1963 and is now one of the leading providers of meals on wheels in Germany. With the help of over 1,200 employees at 26 locations, the company delivers meals to day-care centres, retirement homes, schools and companies.
Egeria is a leading investment company focussing on companies with growth and development potential in the Netherlands, Germany and the USA. The companies in the Egeria portfolio currently generate combined annual sales of more than 3 billion euros and employ more than 12,500 people.
The business law powerhouse LARK advised the buyer Egeria on all legal aspects of the transaction. The team included Dr Ludger Schult, Dr Patrick Droese, Jennifer Blümlein, Franziska Lang (all Private Equity/M&A), Dr Anselm Lenhard and Philipp Büchler (both Finance).
The team led by Dr Ludger Schult has often been at Egeria’s side. For example, it also advised the investor on the acquisition of the German sauna manufacturer Klafs in 2020.
LARK was supported by LEO SCHMIDT-HOLLBURG WITTE & FRANK on all real property, employment and IP/IT/data protection law matters with partners Lutz Hülsdunk, Tom Frank and Stefan Hennigs and their teams. Buntscheck Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH with Dr. Andreas Boos covered merger control matters while KROHN Rechtsanwälte with Dr. Tobias Teufer advised on food law.
LARK builds up tax law practice with Dr. Tobias Stuppi
The Business Law Powerhouse LARK is strengthening its team with tax lawyer Dr. Tobias Stuppi as a partner. With this addition, the law firm, which was only founded at the beginning of 2024, is expanding its range of advisory services and establishing a new tax law practice.
Dr. Tobias Stuppi specialises in advising on international corporate and transaction tax law. In particular, he advises on the tax aspects of international and national transactions in the areas of M&A, private equity and venture capital. For example, he advised General Catalyst on the merger with La Famiglia and Brookfield Asset Management on the public takeover offer for alstria office REIT-AG.
In addition, Dr Tobias Stuppi advises on the tax aspects of complex reorganisations and international fund structures and investments, such as Clearlake Capital Partners -investments, such as Clearlake Capital Partners on the formation of the Clearlake Capital Partners VII Flagship Fund with a volume of over USD 14.1 billion.
At LARK, Dr Tobias Stuppi will continue to focus on these areas of advice. He will also work closely with the firm's other practice groups and expand the range of advice in the core areas of corporate, M&A, private equity, venture capital, public companies and finance to include tax law. LARK plans to expand the new tax law practice with associates in the near future.
Dr Tobias Stuppi can look back on extensive experience in international commercial law firms: Before joining the tax team at Kirkland & Ellis in Munich in 2021, he worked for several years at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton in Frankfurt.
Dr. Daniel Gubitz once again recognized as leading expert for Venture Capital
We are delighted to announce that our partner Dr. Daniel Gubitz has again been ranked as Top Lawyer for Venture Capital in the Europe Guide by Chambers and Partners.
In addition, Chambers and Partners also ranks our partners Dr. Ludger Schult in Corporate/M&A and Dr. Anselm Lenhard in Banking & Finance as leading experts in their Europe Guide.
Congratulations to the three of you!
LARK advises investors around Deutsche Invest on the sale of Sundwiger Messingwerk Group
KME SE has acquired 100 percent of the shares in Blackhawk Holding GmbH, which holds 100 percent of Sundwiger Messingwerk GmbH as the managing holding company. The seller is a group of financial investors advised by Deutsche Invest Mittelstand GmbH (DI Mittelstand).
The transaction is subject to the approval of the competent authorities. The business law powerhouse LARK advised all investors on this transaction.
DI Mittelstand is part of Deutsche Invest, a privately owned entrepreneurial alternative asset management platform focussing on Europe. Within Deutsche Invest, DI Mittelstand pursues the strategy for special situations and targets companies that offer significant operational and financial improvement potential and where it generates sustainable value through active operational support.
Sundwiger Messingwerk is a leading European manufacturer of semi-finished bronze products and rolled brass products based in Hemer (Rhineland). With around 320 employees, the company achieved a turnover of around 245 million euros in 2022. According to the KME Group, it is one of the world's largest manufacturers of copper and copper alloy products.
The LARK advisory team included Dr Patrick Droese (Corporate/PE/M&A) and Nicholas Schildhauer (both Corporate/PE/M&A) as well as Dr Anselm Lenhard and Philipp Büchler (both Financing). The team was complemented by Georg Lindner (Corporate/M&A/Tax) and Andreas Scheidle (Tax) from GLNS. LARK worked together with Dr Andreas Boos from the law firm Buntscheck on the antitrust issues.
LARK welcomes Chiara Niestroj!
We are delighted that Chiara is joining our M&A and Private Equity team. Welcome to the LARK world! We are very much looking forward to working with you, Chiara!
WirtschaftsWoche ranks LARK as top law firms for capital markets law
Business Law Powerhouse LARK has been ranked by WirtschaftsWoche as one of the top law firms for capital markets law in Germany. Further, our capital markets partner Dr. Tobias Nikoleyczik is recognized as one of the most renowned lawyers in Germany in this area.
Congratulations Tobias and team!
LARK advises WEKA Group on the sale and carve-out of its subsidiary Spitta GmbH
Business Law Powerhouse LARK has advised WEKA Group, a portfolio company of Paragon Partners, on the sale and carve-out of its subsidiary Spitta GmbH to FORUM MEDIA GROUP and Recber Asset Management GmbH.
Spitta GmbH is a leading provider of premium media, professional training services, software and online solutions for the dental industry. WEKA Group is a leading omnichannel provider for expert information, high-reach media and effective training programms for almost all industries.
LARK comprehensively advised on the transaction with Dr. Daniel Epe and Franziska Lang (both Private Equity/M&A). Daniel Windsheimer from PwC accompanied the transaction with respect to tax aspects. Antitrust law aspects were covered by Dr. Andreas Boos from Buntscheck. M&A adviser to WEKA Group was Concentro Management AG led by Sebastian MINK and Sönke Storm.
LARK welcomes Taoran Sun!
We are very happy that Taoran further strengthens our M&A and private equity team.
Taoran grew up in China and has successfully completed her studies in the USA. Prior to joining the Business Law Powerhouse, she already has gained extensive experience in working in international law firms in Germany.
We are very much looking forward to working with you, Taoran!
Christin Stender christin.stender@lark.de