Clifford Chance advises Rea Group on acquisition of WKW.group

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Rea Group on the acquisition of the German business operations of WKW.group and three of its foreign subsidiaries. The acquisition by WKW Automotive Deutschland GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rea Automotive GmbH, secures the future of key parts of insolvent automotive supplier WKW.

The transaction includes WKW’s German production sites in Wuppertal (Korzert), Velbert and Sprockhövel, with 1,050 jobs, as well as its production sites in the US, France and Tunisia. The investor plans to continue operating and further developing the German sites on a long-term basis. The necessary investments are intended to sustainably restore their competitiveness.

Insolvency administrator Joachim Exner implemented the sale following a structured international investor process. The creditors have approved the sale and the transfer of the business has already taken place. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

WKW.group manufactures decorative and functional components as well as roof rail systems made of aluminium, steel and plastic. Its customers include numerous major German automotive manufacturers.

“The German and international sites of WKW.group are an ideal addition to our automotive portfolio,” said Nat Rea, Managing Director of Rea Automotive GmbH. “The acquisition of WKW forms the foundation for the future of Rea Automotive. WKW brings an established international manufacturing presence, a global sales network, long-standing customer relationships and, above all, experienced and highly motivated employees. We will invest in technology, operations and processes to make WKW a first-class international Tier 1 supplier and take it to the next level with solutions developed in Germany.”

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Stefan Sax (Restructuring, Frankfurt) and comprised counsel Diana Schoch (Frankfurt) and Harald Amer (Munich) as well as associates Vildana Halilovic and Simon Heinrich (both Frankfurt, all Restructuring), partner Simon Schmid, counsel Ribana Piontek, senior associates Tobias Jenne, Laura Theresa Stehl and Yannick Heginger Niedergethmann and research assistant Leonie Kim Roth (all Corporate, Düsseldorf), partner Sebastian Ritz, counsel Alexander Stemmler and associates Sophia Sahle and Mara Gnanko (all Employment, Düsseldorf), partner Olaf Mertgen and counsel Steffen Waadt (both Tax, Frankfurt), partner Fabian Böhm (Frankfurt), counsel Amrei Fuder (Frankfurt) and associate Miriam Sax (Munich, all Real Estate), and partner Dimitri Slobodenjuk and associate Patricia Trapp (both Antitrust, Düsseldorf).