Wolf Theiss has advised MAHLE in its acquisition of the Slovenian car parts manufacturer Letrika, conducted as part of Slovenia’s ongoing privatization process.
MAHLE’s acquisition of shares representing a 53.99% majority in Letrika (formerly “Iskra Avtoelektrika”) closed on September 10, 2014. The consortium of sellers — which consisted of the state-owned BAMC, the Slovenian State Holding (SDH), Modra zavarovalnica, the largest Slovenian bank NLB, Alpen Invest, and Triglav skladi — sold their combined shareholding in the automotive parts manufacturer Letrika to MAHLE Holding Austria, which is fully owned by MAHLE GmbH in Germany.
The sale was part of the ongoing privatization process of a number of important companies in Slovenia. According to Wolf Theiss, “in the next step, MAHLE will launch a public takeover bid for the outstanding shares. Assuming that all shares will be acquired, the entire deal value is approximately EUR 108 million.”
Letrika is based in Sempeter pro Gorici, in Slovenia, and is listed on the Ljubljana stock exchange. It develops and manufactures innovative electric motors, starter motors, generators, and electrical drive systems for customers in the passenger car, commercial vehicle, and agricultural and construction machinery market segments, as well as other industrial applications. In 2013, Letrika generated sales of EUR 242.5 million, and it has more than 2,600 employees at seven production and development locations in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, China, and Brazil.
MAHLE is a leading global development partner for the automotive and engine industry, and it offers unique systems competence in the combustion engine and engine peripherals. With its three business units — Engine Systems and Components, Filtration and Engine Peripherals, as well as Thermal Management — the MAHLE Group ranks among the top three automotive systems suppliers worldwide, and it is present in all major world markets. In 2014, some 65,000 employees at 140 production locations are expected to generate sales of around EUR 10 billion.
Wolf Theiss acted as lead counsel for the buyer, providing full-scope advice, including due diligence (Wolf Theiss covered Slovenia and Bosnia and also coordinated the due diligence for jurisdictions outside of Slovenia), negotiations, signing, and closing, along with advice on corporate law, competition law, and takeover law aspects.
The transaction team was coordinated by Partners Markus Bruckmuller and Laura Struc, and other team members included Senior Associate Teja Balazic and Associates Peter Zorin, Laura Siftar, and Petra Jermol. KPMG was financial advisor to the sellers, while UniCredit CAIB provided financial advice to MAHLE. The Slovenian law firm Kavcic, Rogelj & Bracun acted as Sellers’ legal counsel.
