Ashurst advised Capvis Equity IV LP, a fund advised by Swiss based private equity firm Capvis Equity Partners AG, in relation to the financing of the acquisition of a majority interest in Felss Group, a global technology leader in cold forming of hollow parts. Capvis acquired the shares from the previous sole shareholder Christine Kienhöfer, who will retain a substantial shareholding in the company.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial modalities of the transaction.

The Ashurst team was led by partner Dr Bernd Egbers and associate Isabell Pöller. They were assisted by counsel Carsten Endres, senior associate Dr Karsten Raupach and paralegal Franziska Nebolieff (all finance, Munich). Partner Dr Martin Bünning (Frankfurt) advised on tax aspects, finance partner Kim Desmarais and associate Samir Ahuja from the New York office on US law aspects.

In Switzerland Ashurst was supported by NKF Niederer Kraft & Frey with partner Dr Ulysses von Salis and in Luxemburg by Bonn & Schmitt with partner Frédéric Lemoine.

Ashurst advises Capvis for the third time within a few months in relation to an acquisition financing, most recently on the acquisition of the polyurethane machine manufacturer Hennecke and of the B2B online marketplaces Wer liefert Was GmbH and Europages SA.

Capvis is the leading private equity firm based in Switzerland and one of the leading companies in German-speaking Europe.

Headquartered in the German city of Königsbach-Stein, the Felss Group produces machines for metal processing as well as components for various industries such as the automotive industry. With more than 600 employees in Germany, Switzerland, the USA and China, the group currently generates annual sales of approximately €125 million.