HÄNIGSEN, LOWER SAXONY, GERMANY (5 December 2018) – The investor recruitment process has come to a successful conclusion at the KÖTTERMANN Group, which specialises in German-made laboratory equipment. Insolvency administrator Dr Christian Willmer (from law firm WILLMERKÖSTER) and the BLOCK Group (a leading international clean-room solutions provider) have agreed on a takeover deal. FalkenSteg Corporate Finance provided advisory support to Dr Willmer in his capacity as Köttermann GmbH & Co. KG’s insolvency administrator, helping him to conduct the global investor search.

A purchase agreement has now been signed, allowing 120 employees to stay on at the company’s German headquarters. The parties involved have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. In close collaboration with the works council and trade unions, a transitional-employment company has been set up for the employees not switching to the BLOCK Group to help them move on to new professional endeavours.

On 21 August 2018, KÖTTERMANN applied to enter recovery proceedings under debtor-in-possession management, which was subsequently changed in favour of regular insolvency proceedings. The investor recruitment process began in September 2018, and the insolvency proceedings were officially opened on 1 December 2018.

“Even though the initial situation was anything but straightforward in the midst of a restructuring process, KÖTTERMANN is living proof that a successful recovery is possible during insolvency proceedings. With the new strategic partner in place, KÖTTERMANN once again has a stable outlook for the future. As a company operating in the same industry, BLOCK is well acquainted with the market and the portfolios complement each other very well. We wish the company and the KÖTTERMANN team all the best for their fresh start under this new set-up. At the same time, our thanks go out to all those involved in the process, but in particular to the works council and the representatives from the IG Metall union for their highly constructive cooperation. Setting up the transitional-employment company was an important part of a well-designed overall package and an important support system to ensure the smoothest possible process for finding new work”, says Dr Christian Willmer, who acted as the insolvency administrator.

About WILLMERKÖSTER
WILLMERKÖSTER is a law firm with a consistent focus on insolvency administration and has established itself as one of northern Germany’s leading law firms in the insolvency space. The firm is also regularly ranked among the top thirty law firms in Germany based on the number of insolvency proceedings completed.

About BLOCK
The BLOCK® Group was founded in the Czech Republic in 1991 and has since become an internationally successful group of companies with more than 400 employees in seven countries. The group focuses on planning and implementing turnkey clean-room solutions, working for clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, health technology, healthcare, microelectronics and research industries.