International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has advised Siemens AG on the sale, announced today, of its 50 percent share in their joint venture Fujitsu Siemens Computers to Fujitsu Ltd. The purchase price will be approximately €450 million.
Fujitsu Siemens Computers was established in 1999 as a 50-50 joint venture based in Maarssen (Netherlands). Siemens and Fujitsu plan to complete the transaction in March 2009 following approval by the relevant regulatory institutions.
Freshfields advises Siemens on a regular basis in Germany as well as in relation to a wide range of international projects taking place in various jurisdictions including Spain, Italy, India, Russia and France.
Siemens’ in-house team consisted of Christoph Kniehase, Karin Flesch (M&A), Wolfgang Heckenberger (competition), Thomas Jacob, Sabrina Wendorff and Kathrin Tauber (IP).
The international Freshfields team was lead by corporate partner Christopher Bown and included partners David Taylor (tax) and David Aitman (competition), and associates Michael Crichton (corporate), Graham Wrenn (tax), Alexandra Brown (competition) (all London) as well as lawyers from Freshfields’ offices in Amsterdam and Tokyo.