Overview
McDermott Will & Emery advises HyoSeong on the acquisition of the business operations of HKR Seuffer. HKR Seuffer was taken over by a German–Korean bidder consortium consisting of HyoSeong and KRAH Group. The transaction also includes the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the Chinese joint venture Shanghai Krah Seuffer Electronics Co. Ltd, and is expected to be closed in April 2019. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
HyoSeong and KRAH plan to continue and successfully expand HKR’s business operations by contributing their expertise. All jobs at the HRK sites in Kupferzell and Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, as well as all customer and supplier relationships will be preserved.
HKR Seuffer Automotive GmbH & Co. KG has been developing and producing power electronics for high-voltage applications in the automotive sector for more than 20 years. HKR’s customers include well-known OEMs and system suppliers in Europe, Asia and the US. The company filed for insolvency in November 2018 and was now sold to the bidder consortium in a structured M&A process.
HyoSeong Electric Co., Ltd is a family-owned automotive supplier headquartered in Busan, South Korea. Founded in 1973, the company manufactures blower motors for HVAC and EC applications as well as motors for use in power steering, ABS and parking brakes. HyoSeong employs counts more than 1,200 staff at seven locations in Asia, Europe and North America.
KRAH Unternehmensholding GmbH & Co. KG is a medium-sized family business based in Drolshagen, Germany, that produces electronic components for automotive, e-mobility and industrial applications. KRAH employs more than 1,900 people at ten sales, development and production sites in Europe, Asia, South and North America.
McDermott advised in HyoSeong with an international team of lawyers from the Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Seoul and Shanghai offices, where the firm has maintained a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices for many years.
The McDermott team advising HyoSeong was led by Frankfurt Corporate partners Michael Cziesla and Norman Wasse and included Oliver Hahnelt (Finance, Frankfurt), Thomas Gennert (Employment), Alexa Ningelgen (Public Law), Marc Oberhardt (Restructuring), Jens Ortmanns, Jessica Hanke (both Real Estate, all Düsseldorf), Paul J. Kim (Corporate M&A, Seoul); Associates: Tobias Riemenschneider, Isabelle Müller, Marion von Grönheim (all Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Mirjam Büsch (Public Law), Sakai Shabo, Sara Brinkmann (both Real Estate), Josepha Afra Hettich (Employment, all Düsseldorf). From MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai Molly Quin, Wendy Wu and Yi Liu were part of the team.
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