Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance advises Musashi on the acquisition of all shares in Hay Group
9 May 2016
- Jörg Rhiel, , Masafumi Shikakura, , , Felix Mühlhäuser, , Stefan Simon, , , , Marc Besen, , Ulrich A. Pfeffer
- Frankfurt
Clifford Chance advises Musashi on the acquisition of all shares in Hay Group
A joint German and Japanese Clifford Chance team advised Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co., Ltd., Japan, on the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Hay Group.
The shares are sold by The Gores Group, a global investment firm, which had acquired the Bad Sobernheim, Germany, based forging and metal processing company Johann Hay GmbH & Co KG in 2012. The transaction is still subject to approval from the competition authorities and is expected to close by the end of June 2016.
As a manufacturer of high-end transmission and engine parts, Hay Group today employs over 2,500 people at 9 production sites worldwide generating revenues of around EUR 600 million.
The prospective shareholder Musashi Seimitsu Industry Co., Ltd., is publicly listed in Japan and specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of high-end parts primarily for the powertrain of automotive vehicles, including motorcycles. Currently, Musashi employs around 13,000 people in a global network of 20 group companies generating revenues of EUR 1.3 billion. Musashi’s list of customers includes amongst others Honda, Toyota, FCA, Ford, General Motors as well as Audi and ZF. The acquisition of Hay Group constitutes a key step in Musashi’s expansion into Europe.
The joint German and Japanese Clifford Chance team consisted of the partners Dr. Jörg Rhiel (Frankfurt) and Tatsuhiko Kamiyama (Tokyo, both lead), senior associate Masafumi Shikakura (Corporate/Antitrust, Tokyo), partner Joachim Hasselbach, senior associate Carmen Büker, transaction lawyer Ömer Cilingir (all Corporate), partner Dr. Felix Mühlhäuser and counsel Dr. Marie-Theres Rämer (both Tax), partner Dr. Stefan Simon, senior associate Jens Peters (both Employment Law), associates Ayleen Hermann and Susanne Werry (both Corporate) – all Frankfurt – as well as partner Marc Besen (Antitrust, Brussels, Düsseldorf), senior associate Dr. Florian Wiesner and associate Ulrich A. Pfeffer (both Antitrust, Düsseldorf). Further lawyers of Clifford Chance's Madrid and Beijing offices were involved.
