December 09, 2020
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.