Under the lead management of partner Dr. Oliver von Rosenberg, GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB advised infrastructure investor ARDIAN on the purchase of 26 per cent of the shares in EWE AG. The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the transaction. Completion is subject to the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office and is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020.
After completion of the transaction, the following companies will hold stakes in EWE AG: EWE-Verband with 74 per cent (59 per cent Weser-Ems-Energiebeteiligungen GmbH, 15 per cent Energieverband Elbe-Weser Beteiligungsholding GmbH) and ARDIAN with 26 per cent.
The partners intend to jointly accelerate EWE's growth and in particular to invest in the strategic areas of renewable energies, telecommunications and networks.
Advisors ARDIAN
GÖRG Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB
Dr. Oliver von Rosenberg, LL.M., Partner, Corporate/M&A, Cologne
Dr. Alexander Jüngst, Counsel, Corporate/ M&A, Cologne
Dr. Kerstin Goeck, Associate, Corporate/M&A, Cologne
Maximilian Spitzhorn-Stork, Associate, Corporate/M&A, Cologne
Dr. Christian Bürger, Partner, Compliance/ Antitrust, Cologne
Miroslav Georgiev, Associate, Compliance/ Antitrust, Cologne
Thoralf Herbold, Partner, Energy Law, Colongne
Dr. Ilka Mainz, Associate, Energy Law, Cologne
Dr. Thomas Lange, Partner, Financing, Cologne
Marc Zimmermann, Associated Partner, Financing, Cologne
Dr. Wolf zur Nieden, Partner, Real Estate, Cologne
Sarah Theus, Associated Partner, Real Estate, Cologne
Katharina Meeser, Associate, Real Estate, Cologne
Dr. Thomas Christner, Partner, Public Commercial Law, Cologne
Dr. Benedikt Walker, Associate, Public Commercial Law, Cologne
Dr. Marcus Richter, Partner, Labour Law, Cologne
Pia Pracht, Associated Partner, Labour Law, Cologne
Dr. Hanna Jansen, Associated Partner, Labour Law, Cologne
Dr. Florian Schmitz, Partner, IT Law, Frankfurt
Dr. Clemens Jestaedt, Associate, IT Law, Frankfurt
Neuland legal Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB
Danielle Herrmann, Partner, Regulatory Telecommunications Law, Frankfurt
Advisors EWE
White & Case LLP
Dr. Jörg Kraffel, Partner, Berlin
About ARDIAN
ARDIAN is one of the world's leading independent investment companies, managing approximately US$ 96 billion in assets for its investors in Europe, South and North America and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees and generates sustainable, attractive returns for its investors. The Company has a global network of more than 620 employees and 15 offices in Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), South America (Santiago de Chile), North America (New York and San Francisco) and Asia (Beijing, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo). ARDIAN manages the assets of its approximately 970 investors in five investment areas: Direct Funds, Funds of Funds, Infrastructure, Private Debt and Real Estate.
About EWE AG
As an innovative service provider, EWE is active in the fields of energy, telecommunications and information technology. With over 8,500 employees and a turnover of around 5.7 billion euros in 2018, EWE is one of the largest energy companies in Germany. The company is headquartered in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, and is predominantly owned by municipalities. It supplies around 1.4 million customers in north-western Germany, Brandenburg, Rügen and parts of Poland with electricity, around 0.8 million with natural gas and around 0.7 million with telecommunications services. Various companies in the EWE Group operate electricity, natural gas and telecommunications networks with a total length of over 190,000 kilometres. In the coming years, EWE intends to invest more than 1.2 billion euros in a comprehensive fiber optic expansion project and thus create the basis for the digitalization of the Northwest.
