KWM advises Kingenta Ecologial Engineering on the acquisition of COMPO Consumer

By King & Wood Mallesons

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised Chinese Kingenta Ecological Engineering Co., Ltd. (Kingenta) on its acquisition of COMPO Consumer from financial investor Triton.

Following the sale of the Expert division of COMPO last year, Triton has now sold the COMPO Consumer division to Chinese fertiliser producer Kingenta. COMPO Consumer is predominantly active in the field of manufacturing and marketing of fertilisers and pesticides, as well as potting soil, in particular in Germany and France, but also in many other European countries. The transaction is still subject to the necessary registrations in China and is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2016.

COMPO Consumer is one of Europe’s market leaders for consumer potting soils, fertilisers and plant care products. The company employs over 600 people with operations across 15 European locations and has sales in excess of € 250 million. COMPO is headquartered in Münster, Germany. Since March 2011 it had been one of the portfolio companies of financial investor Triton.

Kingenta is the leading producer of plant nutrition and crop solution products in China and develops, produces and sells chemical fertilisers. Kingenta employs more than 8,000 people and generated sales revenues of RMB 17.7 billion and a net profit of RMB 1.12 billion in 2015. The company’s core business lies mainly in specialty fertilisers including compound fertilisers slow/controlled-release fertilisers, water soluble fertilisers and other advanced solutions. The Kingenta shares are traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company is headquartered in Linyi, Shandong Province. Earlier this year, Kingenta acquired the Dutch company Ekompany Agro BV.

This KWM team was led by Beijing-based Corporate partner Xu Ping together with Frankfurt-based Corporate partner Christian Cornett and Corporate counsel Sandra Link, supported by a global team in Beijing, Germany, Paris and Luxembourg with close cooperation between the European and Chinese teams.

Commenting on the deal Xu Ping said, “We are delighted to support Kingenta to successfully complete its overseas acquisition. With the obvious growth trend of China outbound investment, KWM China corporate and M&A team has worked closely with other KWM regional teams to jointly provide one-stop service to more and more clients. During our cooperation, the clients benefit from our advantage both in combining local depth with a global platform and our world-class practice capability.”

Christian Cornett added, “This cross-border transaction once again proves KWM’s ability to work together in a global team and demonstrates our China outbound capabilities. We are delighted to have been able to assist Kingenta to extend its footprint into Europe.”

Advisors Kingenta Ecological Engineering:

King & Wood Mallesons, China

King & Wood Mallesons, Germany

Corporate/M&A:

• Christian Cornett (lead partner), Sandra Link (lead counsel), Christian Ostermöller (associate), Marc Oliver Stock (associate, all Frankfurt), David Leonte (associate, Munich), Xin Li (PSL, Frankfurt)

Banking and Finance:

• Sabine Schomaker (partner), Ulf Gosejacob (counsel), Michael Beyer (associate, all Frankfurt)

IP/IT:

• Manuela Finger (partner), Miriam Siegle, Timo Conraths (both associates, all Frankfurt)

Employment:

• Franziska Fiedler, Daniela Gudat (both associates, Frankfurt)

Real Estate:

• Lars Reubekeul (partner, Frankfurt/Munich), Lukas Weidner (associate), Christina Konzelmann (associate, both Frankfurt)

EU/Competition:

• Tilman Siebert (partner), Helge Aulmann (associate, both Munich)

Dispute Resolution & Litigation:

• Tillman de Vries (counsel, Frankfurt)