P+P advises Brockhaus Private Equity on sale of J&S Automotive

Brockhaus Private Equity III has sold its majority shareholding in J&S GmbH Automotive Technology. Seafort II-Fund, the new majority shareholder, prevailed over the other bidders in the M&A process led by investment bank Rothschild. In the context of the change of ownership, Norbert Janz, founder and CEO of J&S Automotive, has reinvested significantly in the company.

J&S GmbH Automotive Technology, headquartered in Wustermark near Berlin, is one of the leading international providers of security and protection components for the automobile industry.

Brockhaus Private Equity III acquired the majority shareholding in August 2014 from Finatem, a fund specialized in mid-cap investments, in the course of a secondary buyout. P+P advised Brockhaus on all legal aspects of that transaction (purchase agreement, tax and investment structure, advice on complex transaction financing). At that time, the investment firm Idinvest Partners granted an unitranche loan as arranger and underwriter. The acquisition of J&S was the first transaction for the cross-sectoral fund Brockhaus Private Equity Fonds III; P+P was significantly involved in this fund's structuring.

Brockhaus Private Equity was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2000. As an independent investor for buyouts and expansion financing, Brockhaus Private Equity concentrates on innovation and technology leaders in German-speaking regions.

P+P Pöllath + Partners again advised Brockhaus Private Equity on the current transaction with the following team:

• Philipp von Braunschweig (partner, lead, M&A/private equity, Munich)
• Tobias Jäger (counsel, M&A/private equity, Munich)
• Alexander Pupeter (partner, tax, Munich)
• Dr. Jens Linde (counsel, financing, Frankfurt am Main)
• Dr. Sebastian Rosentritt (associate, M&A/private equity, Munich)
• Andrea Streifeneder (associate, M&A/private equity, Munich).