CMS advises Wilhelmsen Ship Management on joint venture with MPC Capital subsidiary Ahrenkiel Steamship

Hamburg - Wilhelmsen Ship Management AS, a Singapore-based provider of ship management services belonging to the Norwegian Wilhelmsen shipping group, and Hamburg-based asset and investment manager MPC Capital AG have agreed to cooperate closely in the technical container ship management. Wilhelmsen Ship Management will acquire a 50 percent stake in Ahrenkiel Steamship GmbH & Co KG, the technical container ship manager within the MPC Capital Group. The transaction is still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

An international CMS team led by Hamburg based Partner Jan Graf von Spee provided comprehensive legal advice on the merger of the two companies. In addition to the acquisition of the shareholding, a particular focus of advice and negotiation has been on the forming of the joint venture agreement. 

The resulting joint venture will operate under the brand name "Wilhelmsen Ahrenkiel Ship Management" from the Hamburg and Rhoon (Netherlands) locations, drawing on the global network of the Wilhelmsen Group.  

Wilhelmsen Ship Management AS is a provider of ship management services and manages more than 450 ships and 9,200 active seafarers. Its service portfolio also includes technical services and crew management for various ship segments. 

MPC Capital AG is an international asset and investment manager for tangible assets. The main focus of its assets is on real estate, shipping and infrastructure. The company has been listed on the stock exchange (MPCK) since 2000 and, according to its own statements, employs around 300 people throughout the group.

CMS Germany

Jan Graf von Spee, Lead Partner
Dr Christian von Lenthe, Partner
Dr Arne Burmester, Counsel
Patrick Lühr, Counsel
Maximilian Pfaller, Senior Associate, all Corporate/M&A
Jan Wölper, Partner
Dr Jenny Buchner, Counsel, both Commercial 
Dr Markus Schöner, Partner
Dr Denis Schlimpert, Senior Associate, both Competition & EU
Jürgen Siemers, Partner
Dr Philipp Nonnenmühlen, Senior Associate, both Labor, Employment & Pensions
Martin Kilgus, Senior Associate, TMC
Birgit Wagner, Senior Legal Consultant
Tagrid Chahrour, Legal Consultant
Anke Clippingdale, Legal Consultant 
Conrad Gräwe, Legal Consultant, all Smart Operations

CMS Netherlands

Roman Tarlavski, Partner
Paulus van den Bos
Isabelle van den Hoogen
Lisanne van den Velden
Nigel Henssen
Barbara Veldmaat

Wilhelmsen Ship Management

Karoline Kreyberg

MPC Capital AG

Salmeh Liedloff

Weisner Partner

Dr Sönke Friedrichsen

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