Austria: Schoenherr advises PALFINGER AG on reversal of cross-shareholding with Sany

Schoenherr advised Palfinger AG, a leading provider of innovative crane and lifting solutions, on the reversal of the cross-shareholding with the SANY Group, a Chinese equipment manufacturing group.

Schoenherr already advised PALFINGER AG in 2014 on the initial implementation of such cross-shareholding structure by way of a capital increase by PALFINGER AG and hybrid in-kind contribution by SANY. In December 2020, the parties started detailed negotiations on the reversal of such cross-shareholding, which resulted in a successful signing of a share sale and purchase agreement between PALFINGER and SANY on 15 December 2021. Under such agreement, PALFINGER and SANY agreed to swap their respective shareholding and PALFINGER will also receive an additional cash payment.

"Congratulations to the PALFINGER team on a successful completion of complex negotiations and multi-jurisdictional structuring (involving legal and tax regimes in Austria, Germany, Singapore and the People's Republic of China) with a view to simplifying its cooperation with SANY. We are proud to have been entrusted with the role of lead counsel on this project", said Robert Bachner, who led the Schoenherr team.

Palfinger is the global leader for innovative crane and lifting solutions. With a workforce of over 11,600, 34 manufacturing sites and a worldwide network of dealerships and maintenance centres at over 5,000 locations, Palfinger is always close to the customer. PALFINGER AG has been listed on the Vienna stock exchange since 1999 and in 2020 achieved revenue of EUR 1.53bln.

Sany Group is a leader in high-end equipment manufacturing with over 20 R&D centres and manufacturing bases around the world. Sany's market cap exceeded USD 20bln in 2019, ranking among the top three global construction machinery manufacturers. Sany Heavy Industries is China's largest and the world's fifth largest engineering machinery manufacturer.

The Schoenherr team advising on the transaction was led by Robert Bachner (partner) and Sascha Schulz (counsel), and further consisted of Gabriel Ebner (associate).