Latham & Watkins LLP has advised the current shareholders of Ankerkraut Holding GmbH (Ankerkraut), including Stefan Lemcke (together with Anne Lemcke, the founder of Ankerkraut), the senior management team, Freigeist Capital, Knälmann Ventures, and European private equity firm EMZ Partners (EMZ) on the sale of shares in Ankerkraut, one of the leading spice brands in the DACH region. The buyer is the Swiss food conglomerate Nestlé. The transaction is subject to antitrust clearance, and parties have agreed not to disclose the terms.
A team led by partner Burc Hesse previously advised EMZ on the acquisition of a participation in Ankerkraut in July 2020. Latham & Watkins has advised the German team of EMZ on several investments in the last two years, most recently on the acquisition of a majority stake in Hermann Pipersberg. The sale of EMZ’s shares in Ankerkraut marks the debut exit of the German team of EMZ.
The Latham team was led by Munich private equity partner Burc Hesse; with corporate partner Sebastian Pauls and corporate associates Corinna Freudenmacher, Chris Freitag and Philipp Gärtner. Advice was also provided on tax matters by Munich partner Stefan Süß and Hamburg partner Verena Seevers, on employment matters by Munich partner Tobias Leder; on compliance matters by partner Thomas Grützner and associate Christoph von Laufenberg; on IP matters by Frankfurt partner Susan Kempe-Müller and associate Daniela Jäger; on real estate matters by counsel Sven Nickel; on regulatory matters by counsel Joachim Grittmann and associate Alexander Wilhelm; on antitrust matters by Düsseldorf partner Jan Höft and associate Tobias Becker.
