bpv Hügel’s tax team advises Ring International Holding on the sale of coatings manufacturer Helios Group to Kansai Paint, Japan

Ring International Holding AG (RIH) was advised by bpv Hügel’s tax team on the EUR 678 Mio sale of Helios Coatings Group by RIH, GSO and Templeton to Kansai Paint, Japan.

Vienna/Mödling, 31 March 2017. bpv Hügel’s tax team advised Ring International Holding AG (“RIH”) on the EUR 678 Mio sale of Helios Coatings Group (“Helios Group”) from RIH, GSO Capital Opportunities Fund II (Luxembourg) S.à r.l. and Templeton Strategic Emerging Markets Fund IV, LDC to Kansai Paint Co Ltd. (“Kansai Paint”), Osaka (Japan).

Kansai Paint acquired the Helios Group by way of purchase all of the shares of the group’s top holding company, Annagab S.A. Signing of the transaction took place in December 2016. After competition authority approvals in Austria and other countries the transaction was closed in 31 March 2017.

RIH is one of the leading corporate groups in the areas of stationery products and coatings, and comprises 64 companies. Worldwide, RIH employs 3,000 employees on three continents.

Based in Austria (Vienna) and Slovenia (Domžale close to Ljubljana), the Helios Group is a leading manufacturer of coatings in South Eastern Europe operating in 18 countries worldwide. Helios Group is one of the top ten coating companies in Europe.

Kansai Paint is a coatings and chemicals group headquartered in Osaka and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The group is involved in the manufacture and sale of automobile paints and industrial paints among others. With more than 12,000 employees worldwide, Kansai Paint is one of the world’s top ten paint manufacturers with production sites in over 43 countries.

bpv Hügel acted as tax counsel for RIH, providing comprehensive tax structuring advice. The team of bpv Hügel already advised RIH in 2014 on its acquisition of the Helios Group.

The bpv Hügel team advising RIH led by Gerald Schachner (Partner, Tax) and included Hanns Hügel, Kornelia Wittmann, Roland Juill and Stanislav Nekrasov.

The sellers were advised by investment bank Houlihan Lokey, and the law firm Brandl & Talos. Nomura International acted as financial adviser to Kansai Paint. Schoenherr acted as legal advisers to Kansai Paint alongside Oh-Ebashi LPC & Partners, Osaka, Japan.

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