Cross-border team advises bp on the acquisition of GETEC Energie

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised bp on the acquisition of GETEC Energie GmbH. The acquisition is subject to approval by the European Commission and the German authorities. GETEC Energie GmbH is a German company with an international focus based in Hanover that supports energy consumers, suppliers and producers with services relating to the procurement, supply and distribution of energy. The company and its subsidiaries and associated companies employ around 400 people.

The transaction marks a successful collaboration between the teams of Norton Rose Fulbright from Germany, the UK, Poland and the Netherlands. Dr Valerian von Richthofen, who has been a partner in the firm's Dusseldorf office since 1 January 2024, was also involved in the transaction with his team of energy regulation specialists.

The Norton Rose Fulbright core team was led by Chris Grieves (London, Partner, Corporate), Dr Klaus Bader (Munich, Partner, Corporate / M&A, Head of Energy Europe) and Dr Wenzel Richter (Munich, Counsel, Corporate / M&A). Tino Duttiné (Frankfurt, Partner, Tax) and Julia Gallinger (Hamburg, Senior Tax Associate) advised on the tax aspects of the share purchase agreement. The team was supported by Agnieszka Braciszewska (Warsaw, Partner, Corporate / M&A) and Tomasz Rogalski (Warsaw, Partner, Projects) as well as Wouter Hertzberger (Partner, Banking) and Matthijs van Leeuwen (Consultant, Energy) from the firm's Amsterdam office. bp is supported in the approval process by Ian Giles (Brussels, Partner, Head of Antitrust and Competition EMEA), Dr Tim Schaper (Hamburg, Partner, Head of Antitrust and Competition Germany) and Dr Tobias Teichner (Hamburg, Senior Associate, Antitrust).

The legal due diligence team consisted of the following employees:

Norton Rose Fulbright Germany: Dr Wenzel Richter, Max Zeisler, Sebastian Eisenhut, Tobias Grans, Isabella Schmidt, Marianne Milovanov (all Corporate / M&A, Munich), Dr Frank Weberndörfer, Jörn Twisselmann, Dr. Max Mahlmann (all Employment, Hamburg), Dr Christoph Ritzer, Ingemar Kartheuser (both IT and Data Protection, Frankfurt), Tiffany Zilliox, Manuel Merling (both IP, Munich), Oliver Beyer, Michael Böger (both Real Estate, Munich), Hannes Lubitzsch, Johannes Brehm, Clara Naujack (all Compliance, Frankfurt) and Dr Stefan Schramm (Finance, Frankfurt).

Norton Rose Fulbright Warsaw, Poland: Agnieszka Braciszewska, Piotr Strawa, Tomasz Rogalski, Cezary Zawislak, Martyna Orlowska, Paula Stepien, Aleksandra Szostak and Jan Nowjalis.

Norton Rose Fulbright Amsterdam, Netherlands: Saskia Blokland, Matthijs van Leeuwen, David de Roos and Marit van den Elshout.

External counsel: In addition to the team of Dr Valerian von Richthofen (formerly Pinsent Masons, Dusseldorf), Dr Christoph Herbst, Dr Alexander Lotz and Dr Valerie Mayer of Herbst Kinsky Rechtsanwälte, Vienna, provided support on all aspects of Austrian law and a team led by Peter De Ryck and Louise Berrier of Lydian LP provided support on questions of Belgian law.