DLA Piper has advised NASDAQ-listed DASAN Zhone Solutions (DZS), a global leader in fiber access transformation for enterprise and service provider networks, on its intended acquisition of KEYMILE, a leading solution provider and manufacturer of telecommunication systems for broadband access. The current shareholders are the Private-Equity investors Riverside and Haller. With this strategic acquisition, DZS further expands its global presence and accelerates its global orientation.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and required regulatory approvals. Following the close of the acquisition, KEYMILE CEO, Mr. Lothar Schwemm, will continue to serve as General Manager of KEYMILE.
DZS is a global provider of network access solutions for service providers and enterprise networks. The Company provides a wide array of networking technologies, including broadband access, mobile backhaul, Ethernet switching, Passive Optical LAN, and software-defined networks, to a diverse customer base that includes more than 1,000 of the world’s most innovative network operators. DASAN Zhone Solutions is headquartered in Oakland, California, with operations in more than 20 countries worldwide.
The international DLA Piper team was led by Hamburg-based Corporate partner Dr Nils Krause and counsel Dr Jan-Philipp Meier, assisted by Intellectual Property & Technology partners Dr Burkhard Führmeyer in Frankfurt and Dr Jan Geert Meents in Munich. Further team members included Employment partners Dr Marco Arteaga, Frankfurt, and Dr Kai Bodenstedt, Hamburg, Litigation & Regulatory partners Dr Christian Schoop, Frankfurt, and Guido Kleve, Cologne as well as Tax partner Dr Bjoern Enders in Frankfurt. They were supported by Employment counsels Dr Henriette Norda, Hamburg, and Annekatrin Veit, Munich, Intellectual Property & Technology counsel Dr Fabian Klein, Frankfurt, Litigation & Regulatory counsel Dr Thilo Streit, Cologne, as well as Frankfurt-based Finance, Projects & Restructuring counsels Robert Hofbauer and Sven Seibold, IPT senior associates Wiebke Jakob, Munich, and Dr Nico Brunotte, Hamburg, Tax senior associate Andreas Habig, Frankfurt, Corporate associate Dr Jasper von Georg, Hamburg, Employment associate Nils Grunicke, Hamburg, Pensions associate Georg Haberkorn, IPT Associate Fabian Hafenbrädls and Corporate associate Dr Christian Lindner, all Munich, Litigation & Regulatory associate Hauke Tammert, Cologne, White Collar Crime Associate Dr Marius Haak, Frankfurt as well as Hamburg-based Corporate transaction lawyer, Dan Li.
International colleagues included Corporate partners Yunus Maka, Manchester, Markus Vinicius Bitencourt, Rio de Janeiro, Louis Lehot, San Francisco, and London-based Finance, Projects & Restructuring partner, Tony Lopez.
