Another joint success: CMS advises NORD Holding on a further purchase – acquisition of fashion house Olsen

Cologne – NORD Holding Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH has acquired the business operations of fashion house Olsen as part of a cross-border mixed share and asset deal. The vendor is Switzerland’s Veldhoven Group. The purchase price was not disclosed.

An international CMS team led by Klaus Jäger and Marcus Wuntke advised NORD Holding on all legal aspects of the transaction. The transaction involved transferring Olsen’s international business operations in seven jurisdictions into a structure under a German holding company. This was achieved directly across borders by transferring the relevant stakes and assets. The associated complexity was increased by the existing close ties between Olsen and the Veldhoven Group in Switzerland, which necessitated the divestiture and carveout of Olsen.

Hanover-based investment firm NORD Holding focuses on expansion finance and corporate succession in the upper midmarket segment. NORD Holding’s investors comprise a number of north German savings banks, public-law insurers and pension funds, as well as Norddeutsche Landesbank.

The origins of Olsen can be traced back to a trading company established by the Hamburg merchant family Wolff in 1901. The Olsen brand was founded in 1995. This was followed by international expansion of the business through setting up subsidiaries outside Germany. The clothing firm has more than 480 employees across a number of international locations. Olsen expects net sales of around EUR 70 million in 2016.

CMS Germany

Klaus Jäger, Lead Partner
Marcus Wuntke, Counsel
Laura Stein
Stephan Weling, both Associates, all Corporate
Marcus Fischer, Counsel, Tax
Judith Börner
Olga Kobelev, both Senior Associates, both Commercial
Lisa-Marie Niklas, Senior Associate
Maurice Said, both Labor, Employment & Pensions
Adrian Zarm, Associate, Intellectual Property
Kai Neuhaus, Partner, Competition & EU

CMS Switzerland

Stephan Werlen, Partner, Banking & Finance
Andrea Ferchl, Associate, Corporate/M&A

CMS Poland

Błażej Zagórski, Counsel
Grzegorz Pączek, Associate, both Corporate/M&A

CMS Netherlands

Christian Delgado, Partner, Corporate/M&A

CMS France

Alexandra Rohmert, Partner, Corporate/M&A

Stikeman Elliott LLP (Canada)

Eric Bremermann
Jared Bachynski

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