Baker McKenzie advises VINCI Energies on the acquisition of the German Fernao Group

Baker McKenzie has advised VINCI Energies on the acquisition of Fernao Group, one of the leading cybersecurity services providers in Germany and Switzerland. This acquisition will enable VINCI Energies to strengthen and complement its expertise in cybersecurity, IT services and cloud services, in particular, in these two countries with the Axians brand. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant competition authorities.

"With the successful acquisition, we were able to support our client in gaining additional expertise and cybersecurity capabilities to better protect its customers and their infrastructures from cyberattacks," commented Dr. Peter Wand, lead partner of this transaction.

Fernao Group has been a provider of IT security services and solutions for over 35 years, identifying risks and threats for its clients and protecting their companies and data. Furthermore, Fernao Group offers system integrator services in the field of IT and OT infrastructure monitoring and application management. It is qualified to implement the European Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2 requirements in Germany) for the protection of industrial facilities and critical infrastructures. Headquartered in Cologne, Fernao Group has a comprehensive presence in 26 locations in Germany and Switzerland.

VINCI is a global acting group, active in the concessions, energy and construction sectors with a presence in more than 120 countries. The aim of the group is to promote the transformation of buildings, infrastructure and mobility required for climate protection, as well as the digitalization in these sectors, and to contribute to social and societal progress as a humanistic, inclusive and solidarity-based group. VINCI Energies generated a total turnover of over 4 EUR billion in Germany and Switzerland in 2023.

Baker McKenzie's Corporate/M&A practice regularly advises on domestic and international transactions. Most recently, Baker McKenzie advised Gienanth Group on the sale of its Austrian, German and Czech entities in the course of their restructuring, GNMI on the agreement to acquire Merck's surface solutions business, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma on the divestment of its Argatroban business, KD Pharma Group on the acquisition of the marine lipids business from dsm-firmenich in exchange for a minority stake in the company; Haier Smart Home, a China headquartered home appliance company, on the acquisition of the commercial refrigeration business of Carrier, Saab on a new investment in Helsing, Trane Technologies on strategic investment in Trailer Dynamics, AURELIUS on the acquisition of Dayco Propulsion Solutions, Knorr-Bremse on the sale of a majority stake in Kiepe Electric and Sika on its acquisition of MBCC Group from Lone Star and the sale of MBCC's concrete admixtures business to Cinven.

Legal advisor to VINCI Energies:

Baker McKenzie

Lead:

Corporate/M&A: Dr. Peter Wand (partner, Frankfurt)

Team:

Corporate/M&A:Denise Tayler (senior associate, Frankfurt), Dominic Boeschen and Rouven Reuter (both associates, Frankfurt), Dr. Daniel Bork (partner, Düsseldorf), Moritz Jander (associate, Düsseldorf), Dr. Manuel Meyer (partner, Zurich), Jasmin Vögtli (associate, Zurich), Christophe Reitze (associate, Zurich)
Banking & Finance:Kathrin Marchant (partner, Frankfurt), Diren Aksu and Kieran Verdano (both associates, Frankfurt), Jan Lusti (associate, Zurich)
Public Law:Dr. Andreas Schulz (counsel, Berlin), Dr. Alexander Ehrle (senior associate, Berlin)
Commercial & Trade:Katharina Spenner (partner, Munich), Joachim Fröhlich (counsel, Munich), Hannah Mack (associate, Munich)
Employment:Katja Häferer (partner, Frankfurt), Dr. Benjamin Durst (associate, Frankfurt), Andreas Becker (associate, Zurich)
IP/IT:Patrick Wilkening (partner, Düsseldorf), Anela Winzig (associate, Frankfurt), Dr. Julia Schieber (partner, Zurich), Johanna Moesch (associate, Zurich)
Data Protection/IT:Simone Rieken (partner, Frankfurt), Aileen-Sophie Zengler (associate, Frankfurt)
Litigation:Dr. Heiko Haller (partner, Düsseldorf), Julia Watson (associate, Frankfurt), Christoph Stutz (partner, Zurich), Cédric Pittet and Dr. Kaspar Projer (both associates, Zurich)
Antitrust & Competition:Dr. Nicolas Kredel (partner, Düsseldorf), Dr. Florian Kotman (senior associate, Düsseldorf), Roger Thomi (partner, Zurich), Nicole Schön (associate, Zurich)
Real Estate:Samuel Turtschi (associate, Zurich)