Ashurst advises on financing for the €212,5m acquisition of Kalle by Silverfleet Capital

Ashurst advised a consortium of six banks led by the Bank of Ireland as global coordinator on financing for the acquisition of Kalle. Kalle, a Wiesbaden-based artificial sausage skin and sponge cloth manufacturer, was acquired by private equity house Silverfleet Capital from Montagu Private Equity for €212.5m. The transaction, which is still subject to an examination under antitrust law, is one of the largest private equity deals of the year in Germany.

The syndicate of banks, which provided loans totalling €133.4m, comprises, in addition to the Bank of Ireland, Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A. (Frankfurt am Main branch), DZ Bank AG Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, GE Corporate Finance Bank SAS, Lloyds TSB Bank Plc and NIBC Bank N.V.

The Ashurst team was led by Frankfurt partner and head of International Finance Germany Dr Stephan Kock, and comprised

For German law:
Miriam Petri (senior associate), Richard Schulze-Muth (associate), Dr Werner Gumpp (associate) as well as Dominique Blaurock and Carina Bechstedt (both paralegals), all International Finance, Frankfurt.

Dr Klaus Herkenroth (partner) and Nina Siewert (senior associate), both Tax, Frankfurt.

For English law:
Anne Grewlich (partner), Esther Budding (associate), both International Finance, Frankfurt.

For American law:
Rich Davis (partner), Mark Fiekers (senior associate), both  Washington DC.

In Austria, Eisenberger & Herzog (Dr Peter E.J. Winkler, partner; Philipp Baubin, associate) and in the Netherlands Van Doorne (Stefan van Rossum, partner; Geert Drese, Ronald Mik, associates) provided advice.
 
Kalle is one of the world's leading producers of viscose-, plastic- and textile-based artificial sausage skins. The Group, with its headquarters in Wiesbaden, currently has over 1300 employees and turnover in excess of €200m.