Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised German financial investor HQ Equita (“HQ Equita”) on the acquisition of a majority share in Steindl-Group, which comprises packaging machine manufacturers FAWEMA GmbH (“FAWEMA”) and HDG Verpackungsmaschinen GmbH (“HDG”). Going forward, the group will operate as The Packing Group (“TPG”). The parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the transaction.
Founded in 1992, HQ Equita, the mid-cap buyout firm of HQ Capital, has investments of over €1bn in 30 companies. One of the most experienced equity capital providers in Germany, it focusses on acquiring entrepreneurial equity interests in small and mid-sized enterprises. Investors in HQ Equita include financial institutions, family offices, foundations and trusts, most notably its founder the Harald Quandt family office, one of the oldest and largest independent multi-family offices in Germany
Located in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region, FAWEMA, founded in 1920, and HDG, founded in 1984, specialise in the development and production of tailor-made packaging machines to fill dry, free-flowing bulk materials into paper and plastic bags. Both companies enjoy leading competitive positions in their sector.
The WFW Munich team advising HQ Equita was led by Corporate Partner Dr Simon Preisenberger. He was supported by Tax Partner Verena Scheibe and Employment Partner Anne Kleffmann. Managing Associate Nicolaj Faigle (Tax), Senior Associate Marian Wieczorke (Corporate) and Associates Maximilian Koch(Employment) and Silvia Rava (Corporate) assisted.
Simon comments: “We are delighted to have advised our long-standing client HQ Equita on another strategically important transaction, demonstrating once again the strength of our experienced legal and tax teams”.
