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Erber Group goes to Royal DSM, with the support of CERHA HEMPEL

The sale of the Erber Group to the Dutch DSM, signed in June 2020, has now been successfully completed following approval by the competent competition authorities and the carve-out of the SANPHAR and EFB divisions.

The sale of the Erber Group to the Dutch DSM, signed in June 2020, has now been successfully completed following approval by the competent competition authorities and the carve-out of the SANPHAR and EFB divisions.

In June 2020, the shareholders of Erber AG, namely San Pacific In-vestment Pte. Ltd. ("San Pacific"), San Venture Biotech Pte. Ltd. ("San Venture") and Erber IT GmbH & Co KG, all owned by the Erber family, concluded a share purchase agreement with Koninklijke DSM NV ("Royal DSM") to acquire all shares in Erber AG. The sale was subject, inter alia, to approval by the competent competition authorities and completion of the acquisition of the Erber business divisions SANPHAR and EFB by San Venture. CERHA HEMPEL planned and structured the transaction and provided legal support to San Pacific and San Venture during the transaction, working together with the transaction team at San Pacific led by Dr. Christoph Rauch and Gentiane Gorlier. The founder of Erber AG, Dr. Erich Erber, and San Venture also relied on the expertise of the CERHA HEMPEL team led by Managing Partner Dr. Albert Birkner in connection with the acquisition of the SANPHAR and EFB divisions from Erber AG and for obtaining the approval of the competent competition authorities.

Despite extremely difficult circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to complete all of the steps involved in this transaction, which is very significant for the Austrian and European market, both efficiently and according to plan. This was only possible due to the excellent collaboration, both on a professional and personal level, between CERHA HEMPEL and the highly professional teams involved in the transaction.

With its headquarters in Getzersdorf, Lower Austria, the ERBER Group is a leading group of companies in the field of food and feed safety, focusing on natural feed additives, feed and food analysis, as well as plant protection. In the 2019 financial year, it generated sales of over EUR 340 million. Including sales partners, the ERBER Group is represented in over 130 countries.

CERHA HEMPEL acted as lead and transaction counsel for San Pacific and San Venture. The team at CERHA HEMPEL consisted of Albert Birkner, Wolfgang Sindelar, Nadine Leitner, Martin Eichinger, Alistair Gillespie, Jakob Weber (all Corporate/M&A, Takeovers), Bernhard Kofler-Senoner, Anna Wolf-Posch, Michael Mayer, Zakar Stepanyan and Philipp Schaubach (all Antitrust).