Latham & Watkins has advised Ara Partners (Ara), a private equity firm that specializes in industrial decarbonization investments, on the acquisition of Vacuumschmelze (VAC), a leading global producer of advanced magnetic materials and the largest producer of rare earth permanent magnets in the Western Hemisphere, from funds managed by Apollo. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Latham & Watkins LLP represents Ara Partners in the transaction with a deal team led by Munich partner Sebastian Pauls, Houston partner Justin Stolte and Frankfurt partners Susanne Decker and Oliver Felsenstein, with associates Andreas Holzgreve, Julia Schöfer, Lena Hummel, Shawn Beloin, Mya Lemseffer, Maximilian Kuchernig, Alexandre de Puysegur, and Erik Thompson. Advice was also provided on financing matters by London partner Tania Bedi and Frankfurt partner Alexandra Hagelüken, with counsel Cora Grannemann and associates Martina Eisgruber, Julie Van der Meersche, Luca Brandi, and Daniel Ovadia; on tax matters by Munich partner Stefan Süß and Houston partner Jared Grimley, with associate Johannes Lieb; on antitrust and FDI matters by Frankfurt partner Max Hauser, with counsel Jana Dammann De Chapto and associates Nicolas Jung, Markus Welzenbach and Victoria Pfaff; on regulatory/environmental matters by Milan partner Cesare Milani, with Frankfurt counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Edoardo Cassinelli.