Latham & Watkins Advises Capvis on €230 Million Continuation Vehicle Transaction

Latham & Watkins advised Capvis AG (Capvis) on a €230 million continuation vehicle transaction co-led by affiliates of Committed Advisors SAS and Eurazeo IM. As part of the transaction, existing investors in Capvis III were provided with the choice to receive full liquidity or to fully or partially re-invest into the new vehicle, which will hold the shares in three companies, namely hessnatur, arena and Kaffee Partner.

hessnatur is Germany’s number one eco-fashion company with a focus on sustainability and a rapidly growing e-commerce business, arena is a global producer of swimwear and equipment for competitive swimmers and enthusiasts alike, and Kaffee Partner is the market leader in distribution of coffee and water dispensing machines in the DACH region.

Capvis is a Swiss private equity investor with a focus on mid-market companies in the DACH area. With over 40 employees, the firm draws on the international experience of its team in Zug (Switzerland), Frankfurt, Shanghai, Jersey and Luxembourg. Since 1990, Capvis has completed over 60 transactions with a total invested capital of more than €3 billion.

Latham & Watkins regularly advises Capvis on transactions and in this case advised with an international team on M&A and portfolio level aspects as well as the structuring and implementation of the continuation vehicle.

The Latham team was co-led by London partner Nick Benson and Hamburg partner Stefan Widder, with Frankfurt partner Susanne Decker, Milan partner Giovanni Sandicchi and Hamburg associates Jacob Ahme and Lorenz Koffka, London associates Clare Scott and Thea Crawshaw, and Milan associate Giulio Palazzo. Advice was also provided on finance matters by Hamburg partner Ulrich Klockenbrink; on tax matters by partner Tobias Klass and associate Simon Pommer; on antitrust matters by counsel Jana Dammann de Chapto; and on employment matters by Munich associate Kristina Steckermeier.