Toronto, Frankfurt, Löbau — Canadian intelligent transportation systems provider Quarterhill Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary International Road Dynamics Inc. (“IRD”) acquired all shares in VDS Verkehrstechnik GmbH, a German-based provider of high-precision traffic monitoring equipment.
VDS, based in Löbau, Germany, develops, manufactures and distributes stationary and mobile traffic monitoring devices that measure vehicle speed and record red light violations. VDS’s devices are currently the only radar-based products certified under the new regulations in Germany, allowing direct tracking of traffic violations. VDS has a production facility and two service centers in Germany and will be integrated into Sensor Line GmbH, which was acquired by Quarterhill/IRD in January 2021. Sensor Line is one of the largest suppliers of VDS for optoelectronic sensors (www.vds-verkehrstechnik.de).
Quarterhill is a growth-oriented company in “Intelligent Transportation Systems” and a leader in intellectual property licensing (for more information: www.quarterhill.com). IRD is a dynamic ITS technology company engaged in the development of key components and advanced systems for the next generation of transportation networks (for more information: www.irdinc.com).
In the transaction, the shareholder and the managing director of VDS were comprehensively legally advised by an M&A team of the commercial law firm Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner (FGvW) in Freiburg and Frankfurt under the leadership of partner Dr. Hendrik Thies. The shareholder was extensively advised in the area of commercial, strategic and organizational M&A transaction advice by MNI Partners LLC under the leadership of partner Dominik Lutz. FGvW regularly carries out complex, often international M&A projects together with MNI Partners.
Advisor Quarterhill: Norton Rose Fulbright
Paul Amirault (Partner, Corporate, Ottawa), Nils Rahlf (Partner), Dr. Ariane Theissen (Associate) and Andre Hartmann (Associate) (Corporate, Frankfurt); Claudia Posluschny (Counsel), Michaels Zenkert (Associate); Olivia Reinke (Associate) (Employment, Munich); Michael Mehler (Counsel), Daniela Kowalsky (Senior Associate) (Real Estate, Frankfurt); Tino Duttiné (Partner), Sarah Heufelder (Associate) (Tax, Frankfurt); Tiffany Zilliox (Senior Associate, Intellectual Property, Munich).
Advisor to shareholder and managing director VDS Verkehrstechnik GmbH: Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner, Freiburg and Frankfurt
Dr. Hendrik Thies (Lead Partner, Corporate Law, M&A)
Dr. Till Böttcher (Real Estate Law)
Annette Rölz (Labor Law)
MNI Partners LLC
Dominik Lutz, Partner (Lead Partner, M&A Transaction Advisory)
About MNI Partners: MNIP is a specialized boutique M&A strategy and transaction advisory firm in the U.S., Germany and India with a focus on smaller and mid-sized transactions that are hand-picked, often cross-cultural and below the radar of typical market participants and investment banks. MNIP’s clients, primarily on the sell side, are profitable companies owned by families and founders or smaller corporate spin-offs with $3 — $30 million in annual revenues.
About Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner
Friedrich Graf von Westphalen & Partner is one of the leading independent German commercial law firms. The firm’s approximately 100 lawyers, 35 of whom are partners, advise companies worldwide from offices in Cologne, Freiburg, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Alicante and Brussels. In total, the firm has around 250 employees. www.fgvw.de.