Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Chinese Zhejiang Sanhua Co. Ltd. on the acquisition of AWECO Group. In addition to customer contracts, the technology and the production facilities in Germany, Austria, Poland, China and Slovakia were acquired by means of a mixed asset and share deal.
Zhejiang Sanhua Co. Ltd. is a leading global manufacturer, inter alia, of components for privately and commercially used refrigeration and air-conditioning units. It is part of the Sanhua Holding Group with approximately 7,000 employees globally and a turnover of RMB 7.5 billion (€ 945 million). Zhejiang Sanhua is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China.
AWECO Group, with a turnover of approximately €10 million, develops, produces and markets mainly components for household appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerators. As a market leader, the company has supplied all well-known white goods producers for decades.
For Sanhua, the purchase of AWECO is the company’s first major acquisition in Europe and, therefore, an important step in its internationalization strategy. In 2011 Sanhua acquired from AWECO its cooling appliances unit.
‘This successful and complex takeover is further proof of our cross-border and China expertise,” said Munich White & Case partner Prof. Dr. Christoph von Einem.
The international White & Case team consisted of partner Prof. Dr. Christoph von Einem and local partner Florian Hirschmann (both taking the lead, M&A, Munich), partners Alex Zhang (M&A, Shanghai), Dr. Börries Ahrens (Antitrust, Hamburg), Leïla Röder (Bank Finance, Munich), James Black (M&A, Frankfurt), Dr. Tobias von Tucher (IP/IT, Munich), local partners Dr. Ines Buermeyer (M&A, Munich), Sylvia Ebersberger (M&A, Munich), Silvia Belovičová (M&A, Bratislava), Andrzej Sutkowski (M&A, Warsaw), as well as the associates Silvio Rheinwald (M&A), Dr. Susanne Weckbach (IP/IT), Andreas Kössel (Labor law), Sven Hentschel (M&A, all Munich), and the associates Christine Andree (Antitrust, Hamburg), Jakub Gubański, Małgorzata Mroczek (both M&A, Warsaw), Katarzyna Czwartosz-Liber (Real Estate, Warsaw), Amy Yang, Aileen Li (both M&A, Shanghai), Alfredo García-Villarreal (M&A, Monterrey), Marcela Gamiño Vázquez (Real Estate, Monterrey), Artur Kloc (M&A, Warsaw) and Ladislav Záhumenský (M&A, Bratislava). The Vienna office of law firm Eisenberger & Herzog under leadership of Dr. Peter Winkler was responsible for Austrian legal matters and the legal due diligence part relating to Austria.
