Ulrich Ziegler

Dr. Ziegler has significant experience with the employment-related aspects of M&A and cross-border transactions, and restructuring measures, such as site closures and plant relocations, including mass terminations. His tasks include advising on hiring and terminating employees; drafting service agreements with managing directors and board members; negotiating with employee representatives and representation bodies; drafting, implementing and amending bonus, commission and compensation plans; and representing undertakings in tariff and collective bargaining agreements, including the negotiation of company tariffs.

Representative clients, cases and matters include:

• International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. in the reconciliation of interests with its works council in connection with various operational changes and carve-outs resulting from the sale of its Pharma Solutions and nitrocellulose businesses, associated production facilities and the Walsrode Industrial Park to the Czechoslovak Group A.S.
• United Talent Agency (UTA) in its acquisition of European soccer agency ROOF Group GmbH, UTA’s largest M&A transaction to date
• the founders of Berlin-based communications specialist and FRITZ!Box manufacturer AVM in the sale of a majority stake in the company to European family office Imker Capital Partners and the founders’ reinvestment into the new ownership structure
• SDCL Edge Acquisition Corporation, an NYSE-listed SPAC, in its business combination with cunova GmbH, a leading global manufacturer of high-end specialty copper alloy products
• MorphoSys AG in its €2.7 billion sale to, and public takeover by, Novartis and the simultaneous disposition of the worldwide marketing rights of its antibody drug Monjuvi to Incyte Corporation
• WT Microelectronics Co., Ltd., a semiconductor components distributor headquartered in Taiwan, in its $3.8 billion acquisition of Future Electronics Inc., a Canada-based global distributor of electronic components
• Trimble in:
  • the sale and contribution of its agriculture business to a joint venture with AGCO Corporation, as well as AGCO’s US$2 billion acquisition of an 85% stake in the joint venture
  • its €1.9 billion acquisition of Transporeon, a leading cloud-based transportation management software platform, from Hg
• advising Samsung SDS, Mercuri Urval AB, Celonis SE, Canyon Bicycle GmbH, Covatec SE and Sompo International in connection with employment issues
• Hg in connection with its significant minority investment, alongside EQT and TA Associates, in IFS and WorkWave, two cloud-based software services businesses, at a US$10 billion valuation
• Dell GmbH in its sale of Boomi Business and negotiations with a German works council
• Færch Group and its owner, A.P. Møller Holding, in the acquisition of PACCOR Group from U.S. private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg
• Cardinal Health in its sale of the Cordis Business
• Silver Lake in its strategic partnership and investment in German publicly listed company Software AG via the purchase of €344 million aggregate principal amount of subordinated unsecured convertible notes. This is the first PIPE by any U.S. technology investment firm in a German public company
• The KraftHeinz Company in its acquisition of an 85% stake in Just Spices GmbH
• Armira and Boxine in Boxine’s €1 billion business combination with 468 SPAC I SE, one of the first de-SPAC transactions in the market involving a German-listed blanc cheque company
• funds advised by Energy Infrastructure Partners AG in a €530 million investment for a 9% stake in BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH
• the shareholders of Canyon Bicycles, Roman Arnold and TSG Consumer Partners, in the sale of a majority stake in Canyon Bicycles to Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
• Black Diamond Capital Management, L.L.C., along with InvestIndustrial, in their US$425 million acquisition of the phenolic specialty resin, hexamine and European forest products resins businesses of Hexion Inc.
• Coty Inc. in its strategic partnership with KKR & Co. Inc., including the carveout sale of 60% of its professional beauty and retail hair businesses to KKR with an enterprise value of US$4.3 billion
• Airbnb, Inc. in its acquisition of Germany-based fewoVista S.L. & Co. KG and Vacaleo GmbH
• I Squared Capital in its acquisition of PEMA from Société Générale
• Air-Cure Dynamics Inc. in the restructuring of its German subsidiary
• Doughty Hanson and Quadriga Capital in connection with acquisitions and restructurings
• funds managed by Castik Capital S.à.r.l. in the acquisition of the acquisition of Customs Support Group B.V. (CSG) from Mentha Capital B.V. and Oscar Driessen, the founder of SG
• Deutsche Bank AG in its acquisition of the Global Agency Securities Lending business of Dresdner Bank AG from Commerzbank AG
• Dean Foods Company in its US$449 million acquisition of Alpro NV from Vandemoortele N.V.
• BlackRock, Inc. in its US$20 billion acquisition of Barclays Global Investors from Barclays Bank PLC. The transaction created the world’s largest asset management firm, with combined assets under management of over US$3.2 trillion
• Quadriga Capital in the leveraged buyout of Punker GmbH & Co.
• PrimaCom AG in connection with the sale of cable networks in Aachen and Wiesbaden, Germany, to Unitymedia Hessen GmbH & Co. KG
• Jost Luxembourg S.à r.l. as majority shareholder of JOST Holdings GmbH in the leveraged buyout of JOST Holdings by Cinven Limited. The sellers were Silverfleet Capital Partners LLP
• Merck KGaA, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company; a distributor of laboratory products; and a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, food additives and cosmetics, in the US$6.7 billion sale of its worldwide generic drugs business to Mylan Laboratories Inc.
• Kwintet AB, Europe’s leading provider of professional clothing, in its acquisition of the Mercatura Group, a leader in service wear, from Primondo Specialty Group GmbH (a mail order division of Arcandor AG, formerly KarstadeQuelle AG)
• Continental AG in the sale of its combined cooling fan and electric motor drive business to Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG

Dr. Ziegler has given numerous presentations on topics related to collective labour law, corporate restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions. He also has been repeatedly named to Best Lawyers and has contributed to several publications.