Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises 3i Group plc on the acquisition of Hans Anders

Clifford Chance advised private equity firm 3i Group plc on its acquisition of Hans Anders from Alpha Private Equity and Alpinvest. Hans Anders (founded in 1982) is a market leading, value-for-money optical retailer in the Benelux with a presence in Sweden and France. Hans Anders operates 253 stores in the Netherlands, 105 in Belgium, 62 in France and 36 in Sweden and achieved sales of €192m in the last fiscal year ending January 2017. 3i has agreed to invest €200m in Hans Anders. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Hans Anders offers a range of private label and branded spectacles, as well as hearing aids, contact lenses and sunglasses. The company is the most well-known optical retailer in its core markets and has achieved average annual revenue growth of 10% since 2013.

The team was led by Greg Crookes and furthermore consisted of Floor van der Steenstraten, Tim Heerschop, Sebastiaan Witkam and Shila Ruff. Jelle Hofland, Folko de Vries, Boudewijn Vermeer and Ellen Römkens assisted 3i on obtaining debt financing for this transaction. Frances Dethmers, Frans Muller and Jurre Jurriëns provided advice on antitrust matters, Floris van de Bult, François Farmine, Alban Tourneux, Isabelle van Kronenburg, Sanne Blankestijn and Willemijn de Wit advised on the employment aspects of this transaction, Michiel Sunderman and Stern Flik advised on tax matters and Mark Jan Arends and Leen Kranenburg provided notarial assistance. 

The team included lawyers from the Corporate, Banking, Employment, IP, Pensions and Real Estate teams of Clifford Chance in Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.