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Transactions
JULY 2013
ARAG SE MERGES EURoPEAn SUBSIdIARIES In BELGIUM, tHE nEtHERLAndS, ItALY, AUStRIA, SLoVEnIA And SPAIn
the düsseldorf-based insurance group ARAG has successfully completed a cross-border merger of six of its European units. the former subsidiaries in Belgium, Italy, netherlands, Austria, Slovenia and Spain with a premium volume of 408 million Euros were merged into ARAG SE one by one last year and transformed into branches. As in the past, they operate independently in their national markets with due regard to their country specifics.
“We are pursuing a long-term strategy that corresponds to our international corporate reality: this reorganization has reduced the complexity in the group significantly, enabling us to manage our international units more directly and flexibly,” says Dr Paul-Otto Faßbender, Chairman of the Management Board of ARAG SE. “This extremely complex undertaking is true pioneering work because no other German insurance company has yet completed a cross-border merger of six subsidiaries,” he adds.
Odvetniki Šelih & partnerji worked as Slovenian legal counsel to the group, in particular with respect to the cross-border merger of the Slovenian insurance company into the German insurance company, and subsequent establishment of a Slovenian branch office. This transaction was the first Slovenian cross-border merger in a regulated industry, and thus required rather complex corporate and insurance law advice. Nataša Pipan Nahtigal led the team of Odvetniki Šelih & partnerji for this transaction. LM
CHARtERHoUSE CAPItAL
PARtnERS ACQUIRES ARMACELL FRoM InVEStCoRP
Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, has agreed the sale of Armacell to Charterhouse for more than EUR 500 million. Based in Germany, Armacell is a global market leader in the development, production and sale of flexible technical insulation materials.
Investcorp acquired Armacell in 2007 for EUR 400 million and since then has worked alongside the management team to grow the business organically and expand into new geographic markets. Armacell now operates 19 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries and serves 30 countries around the world. Completion of the sale is subject to competition authority clearance.
Under Investcorp's ownership, Armacell increased sales by 30 percent to approximately EUR 430 million and increased the number of employees to over 2,300 while significantly increasing investment in R&D and product development.
Gilbert Kamieniecky, Principal in Investcorp's European corporate investments team, commented: "With our support, Armacell has achieved significant growth despite operating in an industry disproportionately impacted by challenging economic conditions. By focusing on the development of new technologies and extending its geographic footprint, around 60 percent of Armacell's group sales now come from outside of Europe and the company has evolved to become the global market leader in elastomeric insulation foams." LM
Armacell
Arag SE