Skadden and Other Firms Advise on Metro's Sale of Real Hypermarkets Unit to Investor SCP
The deal is part of the wholesaler's strategy to focus on its cash-and-carry business.
February 24, 2020 at 05:25 PM
3 minute read
Note: This story has been updated to clarify the respective roles played by the firms on the deal.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom had the lead role advising on the sale of the German Real hypermarket chain to SCP, a Luxembourg-based investment firm focused on asset-heavy opportunities in Europe and the U.S.
Hengeler Mueller, CMS Hasche Sigle, and Clifford Chance also worked on the deal.
Real's parent company, Düsseldorf, Germany-based Metro AG, will see a cash inflow of €300 million ($324 million) from the deal. Frankfurt-based X+Bricks Group, which is to place the properties on the market, is a strategic partner.
The sale had been drawn out over the better part of a year. A bid by real estate investor Redos was scuttled, giving SCP the chance to step in. SCP had been passed over as a bidder earlier last year.
Skadden partner Jan Bauer said after the Redos deal was rejected, Skadden jumped in, having worked with SCP over an eight-month-period to bring the deal back on track by completely reorganizing the bidding consortium around SCP and developing a new antitrust strategy. In December, the company entered into a memorandum of understanding with METRO which gave SCP exclusivity to get a deal done by the end of January.
The German offices of CMS was then retained to advise on German legal due diligence, and the German firm Goerg advised on certain real estate and other matters.
Daniel Kamke, CMS lead partner, said the size of CMS Germany made it possible for the firm to bring the complex and transaction to a successful conclusion.
Hengeler Mueller advised its longtime client Metro. The Hengeler team was led by partners Christof Jäckle and Nicolas Böhm, both on corporate and M&A, as well as Matthias Scheifele on tax, Hendrik Bockenheimer on employment law and Christoph Stadler on antitrust. Counsel Gunther Wagner advised on taxes.
Metro's in-house team was led by Christoph Kämper, general counsel and head of M&A.
Skadden Arps' team was led by Bauer and Holger Hofmeister, who handled corporate and M&A. Partners Johannes Kremer advised on banking, Johannes Frey on tax law. Mark Darley on banking, as well as Frederic Depoortere on antitrust, were also part of the team.
CMS's team included Kamke, as well as Heinz Joachim Kummer and Philipp Schönnenbeck on real estate, Thomas Glaesmann, Andreas Hofelich and Sören Langner on labor and employment, as well as Markus Deck on intellectual property, Ulrich Becker on commercial, Joachim Natterer on banking and finance, as well as Thomas Gerdel on tax law.
Clifford Chance advised Metro on seller due diligence on 276 properties throughout Germany, including both Metro's owned and leased properties. The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Reinhard Scheer-Hennings and included partners Gerold Jaeger, Olaf Mertgen on tax and Christoph Holstein on corporate law, as well as Mathias Elspaß on public law.
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