Esch­born — Rödl & Part­ner has provi­ded compre­hen­sive finan­cial and tax advice to Viess­mann Refri­ge­ra­tion Solu­ti­ons (VRS) on the closing of a joint venture with Epta S.p.A. (Epta), a family-owned company and leading provi­der of commer­cial refri­ge­ra­tion solu­ti­ons for the retail, HoReCa and food & beverage sectors, head­quar­te­red in Milan, Italy. The closing of the tran­sac­tion is expec­ted to be appro­ved by the anti­trust autho­ri­ties in the fourth quar­ter of 2023.

The new part­ner­ship will enable Viess­mann to streng­then its growth course and market posi­tion. The newly formed joint venture between Epta and VRS aims to jointly create a leading commer­cial refri­ge­ra­tion supplier in Central and Nort­hern Europe. The merger includes all of VRS’s commer­cial refri­ge­ra­tion acti­vi­ties in Germany, Poland, the Czech Repu­blic, Slova­kia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Baltic States, as well as Epta’s busi­ness acti­vi­ties in Germany, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Norway. With over 1,600 employees, both compa­nies gene­rate total sales of over 400 million euros.

Viess­mann was advi­sed on the tran­sac­tion by a Rödl & Part­ner team specia­li­zing in corpo­rate tran­sac­tions, led by part­ner Jochen Reis. He is respon­si­ble for compre­hen­sive support in finan­cial matters throug­hout the entire tran­sac­tion process. This included the prepa­ra­tion of a finan­cial fact­book and assis­tance with finan­cial issues during contract nego­tia­ti­ons. Tax advice was provi­ded by an inter­na­tio­nal M&A tax team led by part­ner Florian Kaiser. Tax part­ner Timo Huhtala provi­ded support from the Finnish office in Helsinki.

About the Viess­mann Group 

The Viess­mann Group says it is one of the world’s leading suppli­ers of sustainable heating, cooling, water and air quality solu­ti­ons. In 2022, the family-owned company, foun­ded in 1917, employed 14,500 people and gene­ra­ted group sales of around 4 billion euros.

About Epta

The multi­na­tio­nal company, head­quar­te­red in Milan, says it is the Euro­pean market leader for commer­cial refri­ge­ra­tion tech­no­logy in the food retail sector. Epta employs more than 6,000 people, has seve­ral produc­tion plants in Italy and abroad, and has a world­wide distri­bu­tion network with over 40 dedi­ca­ted sales and tech­ni­cal centers. In Germany, the company employs almost 500 people and most recently gene­ra­ted sales of more than 150 million euros.

Advi­sor Viess­mann Group: Rödl & Partner

Jochen Reis (Photo © Roedl), Part­ner, Head of TVS Esch­born, Over­all Project Manage­ment — Financial
Simon Nieder­mann, Mana­ger, Esch­born — Financial
Maresa Hoeter, Senior Asso­ciate, Esch­born — Financial
Florian Kaiser, Part­ner, Nurem­berg — Tax
Timo Huhtala, Part­ner, Helsinki — Tax
Mimoun Houbani, Asso­ciate Part­ner, Esch­born — Tax
Lukas Fischer, Mana­ger, Nurem­berg — Tax
Jendrik Dohr, Asso­ciate, Nurem­berg — Tax