August 20, 2009
Firm assists Commerzbank in its role as largest lender.
On August 18, Schaeffler Group, a leading global bearing manufacturer and automotive component supplier, announced it has reached an agreement with a consortium of five banks, including Willkie client Commerzbank AG, on a general mid-term financing plan valued at approximately €12 billion. The plan is designed to secure sustainable financing for the Schaeffler Group for several years to come and accounts for the eventual transformation of the existing legal structure into a capital-market oriented structure. Willkie advised Commerzbank in its role as largest lender.
The Willkie team, led by Prof. Dr. Michael Schlitt (Corporate/Capital Markets), included Dr. Patrick Meiisel (Tax), Christopher Peters (U.S. Tax), Dr. Bettina Bokeloh (Tax), Dr. Susanne Schäfer (Corporate/Capital Markets), Dr. Andreas Hautkappe (Restructuring) and Rolf Hünermann (Commercial). Additional assistance was provided by Dr. Christian Ries (Corporate/Capital Markets), Dr. Thorsten Becker (Corporate/Capital Markets), Carsten Ludwig (Tax), Sabine Weber (Tax), Jan Wilms (Finance), Lior Hendler (U.S. Tax), Stephanie Schmidt-Ehemann (Restructuring), Dr. Matthias Werner (Restructuring), and Tanja Ziriakus, Pascal Salomon and Marcel Gellings (all Corporate/Capital Markets).
