audalis Berlin: Into the New Corona-Year with an interesting cross-border transaction

Everything was different in 2020. Even the Christmas season. And the turn of the year. Also for the Berlin team of lawyers led by audalis partner and lawyer Patrick Geißler LL.M.

While most of us spent particularly quiet holidays due to the Corona restrictions, the Berlin team of lawyers in the transaction department instead countered the “prescribed” contemplation with an extensive transaction.

When the new mandate came up at the end of November, it was already clear to all parties involved that they would only be able to reach a successful conclusion by joining forces. Patrick Geißler’s team was to handle the sale of R&P Ruffert Ingenieurgesellschaft to the BKW Group, an internationally active energy and infrastructure company based in Bern/Switzerland, within a few months.

The special thing about this transaction was the multitude of different interests that had to be tied up into one package: eleven participating shareholders (sellers) at different international locations and with different points of view had to be brought to a common understanding in a relatively short time.

In the course of this, interdisciplinary work was carried out at the Berlin office, the employment law team was brought on board, contracts were negotiated, co-drafted, drawn up and discussed again. This is not the first time Patrick Geißler has led his team through this process and he knows that experience and expertise alone are no guarantee of success: “A mandate of this size and with such a tight schedule is always a challenge that can only be mastered well as a team. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank Svenja Steitz, Alexander Struß and Vincent Lorenzen once again. The joint effort and the equally professional and good-humoured cooperation definitely contributed to the success of this mandate. I would also like to thank our clients who, despite the large group of sellers and the high time pressure, made the cooperation very pleasant and goal-oriented. Even though such transactions are our core business, the transactions are always different and remain interesting and exciting until the signature under the contract is dry.” (The (aging) Christmas biscuits certainly helped a little bit with this too…)

In the end, everyone’s hard work paid off and the transaction was signed on time. The clients were also impressed. They expressed their appreciation for the competent and competent work with words of appreciation and great thanks for the tireless commitment and for the nerves of steel that were demonstrated until the early hours of the morning.

Jörg Holl (managing partner R&P RUFFERT): “The audalis team supported us in the drafting of the contract in a goal-oriented and professional manner with an unbelievably high level of commitment. Due to the Corona situation, the essential coordination had to take place in video conferences that went on until late at night. Our thanks go to the entire audalis team for their outstanding professional work, for their tact and sensitivity at all times and for their patience and nerves of steel.”

Following the expected approval of the antitrust authorities, the closing of the transaction could also be completed in the meantime.

The buyer was advised by the law firm Rödl & Partner under the leadership of partner Thomas Fräbel (Munich).

R&P Ruffert Ingenieurgesellschaft looks back on more than 40 years of tradition. The initial 5 employees have now grown to 130 employees at 11 locations nationwide, generating a turnover in the low double-digit million range.

Always striving for permanent development and innovative solutions, the engineering company now joins the BKW Group, following its own company motto, in order to expand the competences of its network and to strengthen its joint position in competition with multidisciplinary market leaders.