Dr. Rainer Traugott advises German and international companies, private equity firms, and infrastructure investors on complex transactions and general corporate issues, often in a multijurisdictional context.

Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Rainer delivers pragmatic and creative counsel to clients in a range of corporate matters. He handles both public and private transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures, public takeover offers, and mergers. Rainer also regularly advises executive and supervisory boards on critical corporate governance issues. His comprehensive corporate guidance extends to business transformations, including spin-offs, separations, and carve-outs.

Rainer harnesses his sophisticated understanding of the needs of corporate, private equity, and infrastructure clients to help parties negotiate successfully and execute transactions efficiently. A versatile practitioner, he advises on transactions across industries and jurisdictions. His distinguished deal work includes a number of precedent-setting matters involving novel structures. 

Rainer previously served as Global Co-Chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and on the firm’s Strategic Client Committee.

Rainer’s experience includes advising:

Corporate M&A

  • Barkawi on the sale of Barkawi Management Consultants to Genpact
  • BayWa AG on the:
    • €530 million minority investment of EIP in BayWa r.e. AG
    • €1.7 billion ESG-linked syndicated facilities agreement
    • Majority interest in TFC Holland*
    • Acquisition of a 49% share in the Dutch company Agrimec*
    • Acquisition of the Dutch grains trader Cefetra B.V.*
    • Acquisition of MHH Solartechnik from Sunways*
  • B/E Aerospace on the:  
    • Acquisition of the consumables solutions business from Honeywell International for a cash and equity consideration of US$1.05 billion*
    • Acquisition of F+E Fischer + Entwicklungen GmbH & Co. KG*
  • CDH Investments on the:
    • Investment in WOW Tech Group
    • Merger of WOW Tech Group with Lovehoney
  • Congatec on the acquisition of Real-Time Systems, a Germany-based software company
  • Families Dürrmeier, Goldschagg, and von Seidlein on the disposal of the Germany-based publishing company Süddeutscher Verlag GmbH*
  • Euro Risk Holding GmbH and Euroassekuranz Versicherungsmakler AG in their strategic partnership with Hyperion Insurance Group
  • Metall Zug on the acquisition of a 70% stake in leading Swiss medical technology company Haag-Streit Holding AG
  • Migros on their investment in retail chain Depot*
  • OSRAM Licht AG on the spin-off and sale of its lighting business Ledvance to a Chinese consortium comprising of IDG, MLS and Yiwu
  • Owner of Messerschmitt Technologie AG on the sale of Messerschmitt Systems to IK Investment Partners
  • Siemens AG on the: 
    • Winding down of all its business activities in Russia including transactions, compliance with sanctions and reorganization measures
    • €2.2 billion acquisition of Invensys Rail from Invensys Plc*
    • €950 million acquisition of Rolls-Royce Energy’s gas turbine and compressor business*
    • Joint venture Primetals Technologies Ltd. with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the field of metallurgical industry*
  • Siemens Financial Services in the minority investment in Electrify America

Public M&A

  • B/E Aerospace on the spin-off of its consumables management segment businesses to KLX and certain legal aspects of the internal corporate restructuring related to same*
  • Bank Syndicate on the IPO of SUSE S.A.
  • BayWa AG on the taking private of Renerco Renewable Energy Concepts AG*
  • Brandl on the taking private of Etienne Aigner AG*
  • Erwin Hymer Vermögensverwaltungs AG on the public offer for shares of Hymer AG and its subsequent squeeze-out*
  • Goldman Sachs as financial advisor to the Supervisory Board of Linde in connection with the merger of Linde/Praxair
  • GoodMills Group GmbH on the increase of its shareholding in VK Mühlen AG and the subsequent squeeze-out*
  • PMG on its strategic partnership with Pro4all
  • ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG on block purchase by KKR/Permira and €5.6 billion public takeover offer for ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG*    
  • RENK on its listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
  • Siemens AG on the: 
    • US$10 billion acquisition of Altair Engineering
    • US$1.575 billion acquisition of Brightly Software
    • Spin-off of Siemens Energy
    • IPO of its healthcare business Healthineers
    • Intended €15 billion merger of its Mobility business with Alstom
    • US$4.5 billion acquisition of Mentor Graphics
    • Merger of its wind power business with Gamesa*
  • Siemens Healthineers on the US$16.4 billion public takeover offer for Varian    
  • Sumida Corporation on the public takeover offer for Vogt Electronic AG*
  • Temasek on its US$200 million PIPE investment in BioNTech, a Germany-based biotech company listed on NASDAQ
  • Triton on the:
    • Merger squeeze-out of minority shareholders of RENK AG
    • Block purchase from Volkswagen AG and €740 million public takeover offer for RENK AG shares and the subsequent taking private

Private Equity

  • 3i on strategic investment in process automation specialist xSuite
  • AMADEUS Global Travel Distribution, S.A. on its takeover by Cinven and BC Partners as well as Air France SA, Lufthansa AG, and Iberia*
  • Apax on: 
    • Its contemplated acquisition of synlab group from BC Partners*
    • The €1.25 billion acquisition of the Takko Fashion Group from Advent International*
  • Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) on the: 
    • Acquisition of a stake in von Poll Immobilien GmbH
    • Merger of duagon Holding AG with MEN Mikro Elektronik
    • Sale of Formel D Verwaltungs GmbH to 3i
    • €408 million sale of Coperion Group to US-based Hillenbrand*
    • Acquisition of Coperion Group*
    • Acquisition of the Heytex Bramsche GmbH*
    • Acquisition of Dahlewitzer Landbäckerei GmbH (Dahlback) from Steadfast Capital*
    • Acquisition and recapitalization of Preh GmbH*
    • Disposal of Preh-Group to Joyson*
    • Sale of its stake in Heytex
  • DBAG Fund VII on the sale of Pmflex Group
  • EMERAM Capital Partners on the acquisition of the confectionary chain Hussel from Douglas Holding AG*
  • EQT/Bank Syndicate on IPO of SUSE
  • EQT / OMERS on the acquisition of Deutsche Glasfaser Group from KKR
  • Fischbach on the sale of a majority stake to Onex Partners
  • FSN Capital on acquisition of Altium’s TASKING business unit
  • HCP Capital on the sale of the SGB Group to BC Partners*
  • Heytex Bramsche GmbH on the acquisition of TenCate
  • Hg on the: 
    • Acquisition and sale of SimonsVoss to Allegion*
    • Sale of Addison Software to Wolters Kluwer*
  • IK Investment Partners on the: 
    • Acquisition of Granite Holding GmbH (SCHOCK) from HQ Equita
    • Sale of Minimax Viking Group to Kirkbi A/S and Intermediate Capital Group for an estimated consideration of €1.4 billion*
    • Tertiary buyout of Trans-norm Group from Equita*
  • Montagu Private Equity on the acquisition of ADB Airfield Solutions-Group from Siemens*
  • NORD Holding and BayBG on the sale of RHODIUS Group*
  • Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) on the: 
    • Direct investment in Zalando GmbH*
    • Direct investment in Dafiti Latam Group*
  • Partners Group on the acquisition of Rosen Group
  • Plastech Beteiligungs GmbH on the acquisition of 74.9% of the Kautex Maschinenbau Group, a leading global supplier of extrusion blow molding technology
  • TASKING on the acquisition of iSYSTEM
  • Triton on the: 
    • Acquisition of Trench, the high-voltage equipment business of Siemens Energy in a spin-off transaction 
    • Merger squeeze-out of minority shareholders of RENK AG 
    • Block purchase from Volkswagen AG and €740 million public takeover offer of RENK AG shares and the subsequent taking private
    • Intended acquisition of the methacrylates business from Evonik
    • Sale of Aventics Group to Emerson Electric 
    • Acquisition of COMPO from K+S International*
    • Separation of COMPO’s Consumers from the Expert business and subsequent sale of the COMPO Expert Group to Chinese XIO Group*
    • Sale of COMPO Consumer to Kingenta
    • Acquisition and sale of Wittur Group to Bain Capital*
    • Acquisition of the auxiliary components business of Alstom’s Thermal Power division*
    • Acquisition of the Bosch Rexroth pneumatics business from Robert Bosch*
    • Acquisition of ALPINE-ENERGIE Holding AG from Spanish construction group FCC*
  • Waterland on the:
    • Acquisition of Leupold and Schneller
    • Acquisition of Europoligrafico S.P.A. with its portfolio company Carton Group

Venture Capital and Growth Investments

  • Airbus Ventures on their Series B Investment in Quantum Systems, a leading drone manufacturer and aerial data intelligence company
  • Patient Square Capital as lead investor on the Series B Financing of Resolve Biosciences, a molecular cartography technology company
  • Siemens AG on its minority investment in Electrify America, Inc. valued at US$2.45 billion
  • Avenir Growth as lead investor on the Series B Financing of Cosuno Ventures, a platform for procurement and subcontractor management in the construction industry
  • Energize Ventures as lead investor on Series B Financing of TWAICE, a software platform for battery analytics
  • H&R on its investment in Novvic, a developer of renewable synthetic lubricant base oils and additions
  • Temasek on its US$250 million investment into German biotech company BionTech, which has been developing an experimental vaccine against the coronavirus
  • Xeraya Capital on its:
    • Investment in Allecra Therapeutics, a biopharmical company developing novel therapies to combat antibiotic resistance
    • Investment in Invendo Medical, a manufacturer and distributor of a single-use and computer-assisted colonoscopy system
  • Ontario Teachers’ Plan on its:
    • Pre-IPO investment in Zalando, an online fashion retailer
    • Investment in Dafiti Group, an online apparel merchant

Infrastructure

  • BayWa AG on the: 
    • €530 million minority investment of EIP in BayWa r.e. AG
    • Taking private of Renerco Renewable Energy Concepts AG*
    • Acquisition of MHH Solartechnik from Sunways*
  • Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG) on the:
    • Acquisition of Northern Access
    • Equity investment in STG Braunsberg Group, a Germany-based provider of telecoms service
  • Deutsche Infrastruktur und Netzgesellschaft (DING) on the: 
    • Acquisition of Triopt Group
    • Acquisition of Bergert Group
    • Acquisition of IMD Group and Iska Schön GmbH
    • Acquisition of Leinberger Bau
  • EQT / OMERS on the acquisition of Deutsche Glasfaser Group from KKR
  • KLAR Partners on the acquisition of ISS Kanal Services
  • Partners Group on the acquisition of Rosen Group, a global provider of mission-critical inspection services for energy infrastructure assets
  • vitronet on the: 
    • Acquisition of Horstmann GmbH
    • Acquisition of CR Clemens Reuschenbach
    • Acquisition of Lütkemeier

Corporate Law

  • Allgeier SE in connection with advice to executive and supervisory board regarding corporate law and stock corporation law issues*
  • BayWa AG in connection with corporate law and compliance issues, on the AGM, as well as advice to the management board and supervisory board*
  • COMPO GmbH & Co. KG regarding ongoing corporate law issues*
  • Deutsche Beteiligungs AG regarding ongoing corporate law issues*
  • FIDUCIA IT AG regarding ongoing general stock corporation law issues*
  • GoodMills Deutschland GmbH on the action brought before the Hamburg Regional Court by a former Chairman of the Management Board for benefits under the company pension scheme
  • H&R AG in connection with ongoing stock corporation law issues, on the AGM as well as ongoing advice to the supervisory board*, and on the change of the legal form into a KGaA
  • Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) regarding ongoing corporate law matters*
  • SimonsVoss Technologies GmbH regarding ongoing corporate law matters*
  • Takko Fashion GmbH regarding ongoing corporate law matters*
  • WITTUR HOLDING GmbH regarding ongoing corporate law matters*
  • RENK AG in connection with advice to the supervisory board regarding corporate law and stock corporation law issues

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • Rechtsanwalt (Germany)

Education

  • Dr. iur., Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, 1997
  • LL.M., Columbia Law School, New York, 1995
  • Second German State Exam, Higher Regional Court, Munich, 1993
  • First German State Exam, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen, 1990

Languages Spoken

  • German
  • English
  • French
  • Spanish