Düsseldorf - Orrick advised IMPERIAL Logistics International Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH, a subsidiary of IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V., in the sale of its majority shareholding in the port and transport logistics provider Neska Schiffahrts- und Speditionskontor GmbH (Neska) to Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln AG (HGK). As a result of this transaction, HGK will become the sole shareholder of Neska. The transaction is subject to the approvals of the antitrust authorities and the municipal supervisory authority.
With six hinterland container terminals in the Rhine-Ruhr region, Neska constitutes an important hub for the flow of goods throughout Europe and offers transshipment, storage and transport of diversified goods on both national and international levels. In addition to the sale of shares of other subsidiaries of IMPERIAL Logistics-Group in Germany and the Netherlands, the transaction also includes the transfer of business segments operationally assigned to Neska by means of an asset sale.
IMPERIAL Logistics International B.V. is a subsidiary of IMPERIAL Holdings Limited, a JSE-listed, South African-based international group of companies active in the areas of consumer and industrial logistics, vehicle import, distribution, dealerships, retail, rental and aftermarket parts and vehicle-related financial services. IMPERIAL employs around 52,000 people.
HGK, which is majority owned by the Stadtwerke Köln (infrastructure and services company of the City of Cologne), operates seven ports through its subsidiary RheinCargo, four of which are located in the City of Cologne. In addition, the company runs one of the biggest freight railway infrastructures in Germany, with more than 100 kilometers of rail track and own rail connections.
With this transaction IMPERIAL Logistics – for the first time – trusted in Orrick. The Düsseldorf-based Orrick Corporate team was led by Partner Dr. Oliver Duys and included Partner Dr. Kerstin Henrich, Senior Associate Dr. Nikita Tkatchenko, and Associates Julia Overhage and Johannes Rüberg, with additional support from Merger Control/Antitrust Partner Dr. Till Steinvorth and Tax Partner Dr. Stefan Schultes-Schnitzlein.