POELLATH advises GFOS Group on investment by Riverside
Global growth investor The Riverside Company (“Riverside”) has acquired a majority stake in GFOS Group (“GFOS”), a market leader in professional workforce management and personnel planning. Riverside will support GFOS in key strategic value creation strategies, in particular, additional internationalization and cloud migration. The management of the company remains unchanged. POELLATH advised the shareholders of GFOS on legal and tax matters in connection with the transaction.
Founded in 1988 and based in Essen, GFOS Group is an internationally recognized provider of innovative software solutions for workforce management, smart manufacturing and access control, as well as secure and flexible cloud & IT infrastructures. GFOS has more than 200 employees, an office in Hamburg and a subsidiary in Switzerland (GFOS Schweiz AG), in addition to its headquarters in Essen. The company’s customer base comprises 4,500 customers in 30 countries. These include ARI Armaturen Albert Richter GmbH & Co. KG, Arthrex GmbH, Feller AG, IMS Gear SE & Co. KG, MANN + HUMMEL International GmbH & Co. KG, Transgourmet Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, NOWEDA Apothekergenossenschaft eG, Schwan Cosmetics Germany GmbH & Co. KG and Senneiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG.
Riverside is a global investment firm focusing on partnerships with companies to drive transformational growth and lasting value. Since its inception, Riverside has made more than 1,000 investments and currently holds 140 portfolio companies. The company employs more than 350 people at 15 locations on three continents.
POELLATH advised the GFOS shareholders on the legal and tax aspects of the transaction with the following team:
- Otto Haberstock (partner, lead, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Gerald Herrmann (associated partner, tax, Munich)
- Daniel Wiedmann (associated partner, antitrust law, Frankfurt)
- Dr. Andreas Reuther (associated partner, employment law, Munich)
- Daniel Zhu (counsel, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Dr. Verena Stenzel (counsel, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Moritz Löffler (Senior Associate, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Stefan Schmuck (Senior Associate, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Florentine Wagner (Associate, M&A/private equity, Munich)
- Daniel Hoppen (associate, antitrust law, Frankfurt)
- Jannis Lührs (associate, tax, Munich)
