KATEK SE Acquires Business Operations of Leesys – Leipzig Electronic Systems GmbH out of Insolvency with Heuking
January, 2021 - Germany
A team led by Boris Dürr, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s Munich office, legally advised KATEK SE on its acquisition of the business operations of insolvent Leesys – Leipzig Electronic Systems GmbH. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities and agreements with the works council and IG Metall trade union. By way of KATEK Leipzig GmbH, which was specifically established for this purpose, KATEK is expected to take over the assets and employees of the long-established Leipzig-based company, including its German and foreign subsidiaries, in February 2021. As part of the transaction, KATEK will explicitly take over the Leipzig electronics site with some 250 employees, the Leesys site in Lithuania, and TeleAlarm Group with sites in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Insolvency proceedings in self-administration with respect to the Leesys assets, characterized by significant staff reduction, were initiated on October 1, 2020. The acquisition by KATEK serves to ensure the interests of employees, customers. and suppliers alike and to achieve a satisfactory solution for creditors.
By acquiring the Leipzig company, Munich-based electronics service provider KATEK is continuing on its expansion path. KATEK Leipzig GmbH and its subsidiaries, particularly Switzerland-based TeleAlarm S.A., will form an independent division of KATEK group in the future.
Internationally operating KATEK group is one of Europe’s leading electronics service providers. The group generates sales of about EUR 350 million with some 2,400 employees at sites in Germany and in various Eastern European countries. Its range of services covers the entire lifecycle of electronic assemblies and devices, ranging from development, materials and project management, production, test engineering, and logistics to after-sales service.
KATEK SE’s parent company is Munich-based Primepulse SE. As an investment holding company, Primepulse SE focuses on technology-oriented companies in promising markets. Primepulse group’s portfolio companies employ over 5,000 people in more than 30 countries and generate annual sales in excess of EUR 1 billion.
Leesys – Leipzig Electronic Systems GmbH, a company with close to 100 years of history, has about 370 employees. In 1990, the company (then named VEB Nachrichtenelektronik) was acquired by Siemens AG. This division was then sold to financial investor Quantum Capital in 2014. Leesys acquired TeleAlarm Group, a market leader in hardware and software solutions assisting the elderly and people with physical disabilities to lead a self-determined life in their familiar environment, from Bosch Group in 2015. Today, Leesys group is mainly operating in the automotive, healthcare, telecommunications, and industrial electronics sectors and has shareholdings in Switzerland and Lithuania.
The Heuking team led by Boris Dürr regularly advises Primepulse and its portfolio company Katek on M&A transactions, most recently on the acquisition of HUF group’s production site in Düsseldorf and on the acquisition of bebro electronic and eSystems MTG.
Counsel to KATEK SE
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Boris Dürr (Lead Overall Transaction)
Prof. Dr. Georg Streit (Lead Restructuring)
Dr. Ulrich Jork (Lead Asset Deal)
Astrid Wellhöner (Employment)
Christian Schild, LL.M. (Corporate/M&A)
Dr. Reinhard Siegert (Antitrust)
Dr. Arnold Büssemaker (Finance)
Peter M. Schäffler (Tax)
Steffen Wilberg (Real Estate)
Dr. Ruth Schneider (Antitrust)
Stephanie Wurm (Employment),
Sarah Kraft, LL.B., (Finance)
Dr. Ralf Nobis (both Corporate/M&A)
Maximilian Dengler (Antitrust), all Munich
