CMS advises BWK and others on sale of IXXAT Holding to Swedish company HMS Industrial Networks

Stuttgart – BWK GmbH Unternehmensbeteiligungsgesellschaft, headquartered in Stuttgart, and two other shareholders have sold all the shares in IXXAT Holding GmbH of Weingarten, Germany, to Swedish company HMS Networks AB (publ). The purchase price for the IXXAT Group, which has 85 employees and branches in Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy and the US, was some EUR 32 million.

With over 25 years of experience, the IXXAT Group supplies specialist hardware and software solutions for industrial automation and automotive applications. Its sales network spans 25 countries. Last year, IXXAT generated turnover of EUR 14 million.

BWK is one of Germany's oldest private equity companies and focuses on long-term equity financing. Currently, BWK has some EUR 400 million invested in 14 German companies. These companies have a total of over 28,000 employees and sales of around EUR 6.5 billion. The largest shareholders in BWK are Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (40 per cent) and Württembergische Versicherungsgruppe (35 per cent). BWK has held a 60 per cent stake in IXXAT since 2008. A team led by lead partner and corporate law expert Dr Claus-Peter Fabian advised BWK and the other sellers on all legal aspects of the transaction in record time, enabling the deal to be completed in just two months.

HMS is a leading supplier of data communication technology for automation, the automotive industry and the medical equipment sector. Based in Halmstadt, Sweden, HMS aims to use the acquisition to expand its portfolio, strengthen its technology leadership and access new markets.

CMS Hasche Sigle

Dr Claus-Peter Fabian, Corporate/M&A, Lead Partner
Andreas Lohbeck, Corporate/M&A
Dr Oliver Simon, Employment
Dr Michael Rein, Employment
Dr Christian Haellmigk, Competition
Dr Sascha C. Pelka, Competition
Dr Marc Seibold, Finance
Dr Georg Lauster, Finance
Roland Wutzke, Tax

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