Gleiss Lutz advises DMK on merger with DOC
Gleiss Lutz has advised DMK Deutsches Milchkontor eG (DMK) on its cross-border merger with the Dutch cooperative Drents Overijsselse Coöperatie Kaas U.A. (DOC) to form a European Cooperative Society (Societas Cooperativa Europaea, SCE).
Deal Details
The general assemblies of DMK and DOC, which together make up the DMK Group, approved the transaction. Full integration of the DMK Group into Arla will follow a two-year transition period, which began after the European Commission cleared the merger. The transaction represents a step in the combination of the DMK Group with Arla Foods amba (Arla) to create a dairy cooperative group in Europe.
Advisory Teams
The Gleiss Lutz team advising DMK was led by partner Stephan Aubel (corporate/capital markets, Frankfurt) and Julius-Vincent Ritz (corporate/capital markets, Stuttgart). The lineup also included partner Martin Hitzer (Düsseldorf), counsel Thorsten Gayk (Hamburg), counsel Christina Aye (Frankfurt) and counsel Melanie Barwich (Frankfurt) on corporate matters, alongside Charlotte Evers (Düsseldorf), Silke Hoffmann (Frankfurt) and Walter Andert (Berlin). On competition and antitrust matters, the team included partner Wolfgang Bosch, partner Alexander Fritzsche, counsel Birgit Colbus and Juliane Langguth, all based in Frankfurt. The tax team comprised partner Ocka Stumm, counsel Dominik Monz, Julian Kettemer and Johannes Heck, also all from Frankfurt. The team also included counsel Tobias Abend (employment, Frankfurt) and counsel Aylin Hoffs (foreign trade law, Düsseldorf) rounded out the team.
On matters of Dutch law, the DMK Group was advised by a team from Stibbe, while Gorrissen Federspiel was engaged on matters of Danish law.
