Latham & Watkins Advises BayWa AG on Largest Transaction in the Company’s History
Latham & Watkins LLP advised BayWa AG on the capital increase at BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH. Funds advised by Swiss Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP), formerly Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners, will acquire a 49% stake in the company. BayWa r.e. will receive an equity contribution of €530 million. With a stake of 51%, BayWa AG will remain BayWa r.e.’s majority shareholder. This is the largest transaction in BayWa’s company history. The implementation of the capital increase is still subject to customary regulatory approvals.
As part of the capital increase, the share capital of BayWa r.e. will be increased accordingly through the issue of new shares. Only the investor is permitted to subscribe to the new shares. BayWa r.e. will continue to be fully consolidated within the BayWa group. After registration of the capital increase, BayWa r.e. GmbH will be converted into a stock corporation. The CEO of the newly formed BayWa r.e. AG will be Matthias Taft, the member of the BayWa AG Board of Management currently still in charge of the Energy Segment.
Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) specializes in long-term investments in the energy sector. The team at EIP has an extensive industry network, many years of experience in transactions, a strong performance record, and solid partnerships with energy utility companies and the public sector.
BayWa r.e. is a leading global developer, service specialist, wholesaler, and provider of energy solutions in the fields of renewable energies. The company has a very strong project pipeline of over 13 gigawatts, primarily in Europe, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Latham & Watkins LLP represented BayWa AG on its transaction with a cross-border team led by Munich partner Rainer Traugott and associate Stephan Hufnagel, with Düsseldorf partner Tobias Larisch, Hamburg partner Nils Röver, Munich associates Anja Schindler, Jeremias Bura, and Rieke Klie, Düsseldorf associates Steffen Augschill, Jan Danelzik, and Jaschar Mirkhani, and Hamburg associate Carolin Roßkothen. Advice was also provided by Munich partner Thomas Fox and Hamburg associate Simon Pommer on tax matters; Munich partner Thomas Grützner on compliance matters; partner Anne Kleffmann and associate Kristina Steckermeier on employment matters; partner Thomas Weitkamp and associate Ludwig Zesch on finance matters; Frankfurt associate Wolf-Tassilo Böhm on data security matters; counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Alexander Wilhelm on regulatory matters; and partner Max Hauser and associate Anne Haas on antitrust matters.
The transaction was also supported by colleagues from Latham's offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, Singapore, and Washington D.C.