PwC Legal advises Joint Venture held by Signal Capital Partners and Eurofund Group regarding the acquisition of Rhein-Ruhr-Zentrum, Mülheim

Frankfurt am Main, 11th August 2023

A team from PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal AG Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft (PwC Legal) advised Savannah Propco 1 S.à r.l., Savannah Propco 2 S.à r.l. and Savannah Propco 3 S.à r.l., joint venture companies held by Signal Capital Partners, a London based private equity firm, and Eurofund Group, a pan-European investment and development company, on the acquisition of Rhein-Ruhr-Zentrum (“RRZ”) in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. The property was sold by way of an asset deal.

The RRZ belongs to the largest and oldest shopping centers in Germany. The new owners intend to realize the full development potential of the RRZ and will reposition and transform the RRZ to create an enduring place to socialize and spend time for the people in the Rhein-Ruhr region. The purchasers are known for having modernized and transformed shopping centers in other countries very successfully.

The transaction was led by Hans Thomas Kessler, who started to advise the purchasers on the acquisition jointly with a team of HSF lawyers when still at Herbert Smith Freehills. In conjunction with Hans Thomas Kessler joining PwC Legal on 1 May 2023, the transaction lead transferred to PwC Legal, certain work streams such as finance advice, remained with Herbert Smith Freehills, and both firms jointly advised the purchasers swiftly until completion.

PwC Tax advised on the tax due diligence aspects of the transaction. The instruction of PwC Tax was unrelated to the later transition of Hans Thomas Kessler to PwC Legal.

Hans Thomas Kessler commented: “This was a very complex transaction, which took a long time to close and complete. I am grateful that the working relationship with my former team and colleagues at HSF allowed a smooth transition of the mandate to PwC Legal and a seamless continuation of the transaction jointly with them to the benefit of our clients and the transaction as a whole. For the newly established and growing real estate team at PwC Legal, this was the first large transaction of such complexity and format and we were delighted and grateful to have been given the opportunity to demonstrate our abilities.”

Ian Sandford, Founder and Chairman of Eurofund Group commented: “The PwC legal team provided invaluable counsel throughout the acquisition of Rhein-Ruhr-Zentrum in Mülheim, and with their guidance we are delighted to have been able to complete this transaction – and begin realizing our vision for the future of the centre.”

Advisors to Signal Capital Partners and Eurofund Group

PwC Legal:
Hans Thomas Kessler, Dr. Tobias Nuss (Lead), Georg Friedhelm Buchenhorst (Real Estate), Dr. Jutta Mues and Aleksandar Todorov (Public Law), Dr. Philipp Pröbsting (Construction)

PwC Tax:
Sven Behrens, Alexander Weber

Herbert Smith Freehills:
Hans Thomas Kessler (Overall Lead until transitioning to PwC), Kai Liebrich (Lead Finance, Insolvency), Dr. Hannes Jacobi, Dr. Steffen Hoerner (Lead Tax), Wladimir Leonhard, Dr. Marius Boewe (Lead Public Law), Dr. Marcel Nuys (Lead Merger Control), Maximilian Reinhardt and Dr. Sven Wortberg (Lead Real Estate), Dr. Mathias Sušnik, Gelena Minkov, Dogan Urun, Christina Friess

Advisors to Harko Group (Sellers)

Dentons:
Sebastian Schmid (Lead), Andreas Ziegenhagen, Dr. Jan Seelinger, Dr. Michael Seppelt, Hauke Thieme, Dr. Stefan Dittmer, Philipp Becker, Laura Appel, Dr. Andrej Latinović, Dr. Michael Bayliss, Dr. Arndt Dobroschke, Dr. Christoph Blotenberg, Yasmin Mohammadi, Franziska Nordmann, Konrad Böning, Dr. Benjamin Lotz

Advisors to Sellers’ Lenders

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP:
Mike Danielewsky (Lead, Restructuring & Insolvency), Robert Hofbauer (Finance Transactions), Heiko Stoll (Tax), Christian Lonquich (Real Estate), Christian Spatz (Restructuring & Insolvency), Daniel Odenthal (Restructuring & Insolvency)

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