DLA Piper, Gütt Olk Feldhaus, Görg, Blomstein and Kind & Drews advised on a deal in which GM Cruise, General Motors' self-driving vehicle subsidiary, acquired a German producer of radar sensors for cars.

The management of the radar technology company Astyx, as well as ZF Friedrichshafen, a German car parts makers, quietly sold their stakes in Astyx to GM Cruise for an undisclosed sum earlier this year. The news was first reported by the technology website The Information.

Self-driving cars rely on sophisticated sensor technology to detect objects and people around them. Astyx, based outside of Munich, Germany, supplies a number of self-driving car programs with sensors, The Information said.

Astyx, founded in 1997, is a spinoff of Daimler Benz Aerospace. It produces high-frequency radar sensors and modules, primarily for customers and partners in the automotive industry, providing a key technology for autonomous driving. ZF bought a 45% stake in the company in 2017.

The deal involved the carve-out of some business units and real estate holdings, according to a person familiar with the transaction. This includes the company's headquarters outside of Munich.

GM Cruise, which is majority-owned by General Motors and which specializes in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, was advised by DLA Piper. The transaction was led by Nils Krause on corporate and M&A, while corporate partner Gerald Schumann was responsible for managing the carve-out transactions.

The transaction team also included partners Jan Pohle, Burkhard Führmeyer on IPT, Kai Bodenstedt on employment, Marco Arteaga on pensions, Guido Kleve on regulatory, Florian Biesalski on real estate, Semin O on antitrust, Dietmar Schulz on restructuring and Christian Schoop on compliance.

The U.S. end of the transaction was led by corporate and M&A partner Eric Wang.

ZF Friedrichshafen was advised by a trio of firms. Gütt Olk Feldhaus advised ZF Friedrichshafen on the main aspects of the deal, led by corporate and M&A partners Sebastian Olk and Adrian von Prittwitz.

Blomstein, based in Berlin, advised on foreign trade law, led by Roland M. Stein and Leonard von Rummel.

Kind & Drews, based in Düsseldorf, advised on tax and real estate, led by Ernesto Drews.

Görg, led by Andreas Peter, advised Astyx management, according to a person familiar with the deal.

|

Read More:

Former Big Law Partner and US Diplomat Named Chief Legal Counsel of GM's Self-Driving Tech Startup Cruise