Gleiss Lutz has advised funds advised by private equity investor Apax Partners on the acquisition of the Belgian logistics service provider Contraload NV by their US portfolio company Tosca Services. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Tosca’s business focus is reusable packaging and supply chain solutions, primarily in the food industry. It employs more than 1,200 people and operates 29 service centres worldwide. Tosca was acquired by funds advised by Apax in 2017. The funds will commit additional capital to fund the acquisition of Contraload. Tosca’s intention in acquiring Contraload is to enhance its international presence and product portfolio.
Contraload has grown to become the expert and market leader in pooling load carriers in a B2B environment across Europe with service centres to support customers in over 15 countries. Its markets include food ingredients, food packaging, hygiene products, infant nutrition and beverage can.
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of approximately $50 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across the global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer.
Simpson Thacher advised as lead counsel on the transaction.
The following Gleiss Lutz team headed by Dr. Christian Cascante (partner, Frankfurt) and Dr. Jan Balssen (partner, Munich, both M&A/private equity, both lead) advised Apax on the German aspects of the transaction: Dr. Michael Ilter, Andrej Popp (both Frankfurt, both M&A/private equity), Dr. Doris-Maria Schuster (partner, Hamburg), Dr. Daniela Mayr (Munich, both employment), Dr. Marc Ruttloff (partner), Rebecca Miederhoff (both public law, Stuttgart).
A Gleiss Lutz team already advised Apax last year in connection with the bidding process for AutoScout24 and Finanzcheck.
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