Allen & Overy corporate partner Jeremy Parr and Hamburg-based partners Hans Schoneweg and Rheinhard Hermes advised Imperial Tobacco Group on its £385m acquisition of shares in Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken from Tchibo Holdings, giving it almost total control of the company. This acquisition takes the UK-based cigarette manufacturer’s stake in the German rival from 90.01% to 99.2%. Hengeler Mueller Frankfurt-based partners Klaus-Dieter Stephan and Thomas Mueller advised the vendor. The London team, led by Parr, included corporate associates Alison Hamer and Ian Borman. Individuals holding the remaining shares have an option to sell by the end of July.
Osborne Clarke (OC) advised water services and infrastructure management group AWG on the £34.5m disposal of its vehicle leasing business, Powermarque, to Venson Holdings – a subsidiary of fleet management company Venson Group. The OC team was led by corporate partner Alisdair Livingstone and corporate assistant Charles van der Lande. The acquirer was advised by Wallace & Partners corporate partner Rex Newman, with support from fellow corporate partner John Woodhouse and property partner Barry Shaw.
