Dr. Tobias Heinrich
Biography
Overview
Tobias advises on major international M&A and Private Equity transactions, takeover law, reverse mergers, joint ventures and core corporate matters, having led significant buy and sell-side representations of public and private technology companies with deal sizes ranging from small to large cap. He also specializes in advising high-tech companies at early-through-exit stages of their growth cycle, as well as venture capital and sponsors that focus on investing in technology companies. Clients also benefit from his deep experience in advising on multi-jurisdictional Foreign Direct Investment Reviews, Securities Regulation and Corporate Reorganizations. Tobias is a widely recognized expert in the technology, media, automotive and industrials sectors.
Tobias is co-head of the Firm's global Auto Tech practice. He is also a member of the leadership teams of the White & Case Global Tech Industry Group and National Security Practice Group.
Tobias is often sought by the media and industry conferences to speak on various issues, such as Takeover Law and Securities Regulation, Technology M&A, Cyber Security, Foreign Direct Investment Reviews and regularly contributes to professional journals on those topics. Recent representations include M&A transactions for Intel, Luxoft, Clariant, Daimler, Nidec Corporation, SGL Carbon Group and AIXTRON.
Tobias has been recognized as a leading M&A practitioner by several publications, including Legal 500 and JUVE.
Experience
Faurecia, 2023
Advised Faurecia, part of the FORVIA Group and one of the world's largest automotive equipment suppliers, on the sale of its SAS Cockpit Modules division, a global provider of assembly and logistics services for the automotive industry, to automotive supplier MOTHERSON Group.
Gorillas, 2022
Advised Gorillas, one of the world’s largest on-demand grocery delivery companies, on its sale to Getir.
Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., 2022
Advised Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp., a technology-enabled consumer focused special purpose acquisition company led entirely by women founders, CEOs, board members and other executives (NYSE: ACAQ), on its entry into a definitive business combination agreement with Next.e.GO Mobile SE, an innovative producer of urban electric vehicles based on disruptive production systems headquartered in Germany.
Zalando, 2022
Advised Zalando on the acquisition of a majority stake in Highsnobiety, one of the world's most influential street style and new luxury culture media brands.
Zalando, 2022
Advised Zalando SE on its investment in the Series A financing round of Ambercycle Inc., a US-based textile recycling company & operator.
dSpace, 2021
Advised dSPACE, a leading provider of solutions for the development, testing and validation in the autonomous driving and e-mobility industries, on its series seed investment in neurocat, an AI-software based Berlin start-up engaged in AI safety, security and privacy.
HDT Automotive Solutions, 2021
Advised US-based HDT Automotive Solutions, the main shareholder in which is private equity investor Ardian, on the acquisition of German automotive components group Veritas. The transaction includes all four Veritas sites in Germany and all its subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and North America.
INPOSIA, 2021
Advised the founders of INPOSIA Solutions GmbH, a German software company focused on e-invoicing, digital tax reporting and data integration, on the sale of their shares to a subsidiary of US-listed Avalara, Inc.
SoftBank Vision Fund II, 2021
Advised SoftBank Vision Fund II and Mubadala Capital on their investments as lead investors in the US$200 million Series D financing of TIER Mobility.
dSPACE, 2020
Advised dSPACE on the acquisition of Intempora, a French company providing real-time multisensor software solutions for the automotive industry, from its founders. This acquisition strengthens the comprehensive dSPACE product portfolio for autonomous driving.
DBAG, 2020
Advised Deutsche Beteiligungs AG on the acquisition of a majority stake in Multimon AG by way of a management buy-out. Multimon is a leading provider of fire protection systems.
ADO Properties, 2020
Advising ADO Properties S.A in connection with its voluntary public takeover offer for ADLER Real Estate AG as well as the acquisition of a minority stake in CONSUS Real Estate AG.
TIER Mobility, 2020
Advising TIER Mobility, a leading European provider of micro-mobility solutions, on the acquisition of around 5,000 e-mopeds and related charging infrastructure from Coup Mobility, a subsidiary of Bosch.
Clariant AG, 2019
Advising Clariant AG, the Swiss specialty chemical group, on the CHF308 million sale of its Healthcare Packaging business to New York-based private equity fund Arsenal Capital Partners in a bidding process.
Outbrain Inc., 2019
Advising Outbrain on its acquisition of native advertising provider Ligatus GmbH. Seller is Gruner & Jahr GmbH, part of the Bertelsmann Group, which has owned the Cologne-based company since 2008.
VI-grade, 2018
Advising the shareholders of the VI-grade group on the sale to the UK-based technology company Spectris plc.
AIXTRON, 2018
Advising AIXTRON SE on a joint venture with South Korean IRUJA Co. Ltd. to invest in APEVA, AIXTRON's subsidiary for OLED deposition tech, which makes APEVA a complete OLED deposition system provider.
Toyota Industries Corporation, 2017
Advising Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) on the EUR 1.16 billion acquisition of Vanderlande Industries Holding B.V. Vanderlande is the global market leader for value-optimized automation of logistics processes at airports and for the parcel market.
Autonomos, 2017
Advising the founders and shareholders of Autonomos GmbH, a Berlin-based autonomous driving start-up, on the sale of all shares in Autonomos GmbH to TomTom, a global leader in traffic, mapping and navigation products and solutions. Autonomos specializes in research and development services in the areas of automotive software, digital image processing and 3D sensor technology.
Chinese conglomerate, 2017
Advising a Chinese conglomerate on the acquisition of a stake in a Europe-based leading international travel retailer.
SGL Technologies Composites, 2017
Advising SGL Technologies Composites Holding GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of SGL Carbon SE, on the acquisition of the 50% stake of BENTELER Carbon Composites Beteiligungs-GmbH in the joint venture BENTELER-SGL.
AIXTRON, 2016
Advising TecDAX and NASDAQ listed Aixtron SE on the intended approx. €670 million takeover by the Chinese financial investor Fujian Grand Chip Investment. Germany-headquartered Aixtron is a leading provider of deposition equipment for the semiconductor industry. The transaction had to be abandoned by prohibitive order of US President Obama regarding Aixtron's US business.
Luxoft, 2016
Advising Luxoft Holding, Inc (i) on the acquisition of Symtavision GmbH, a provider of software tools and services for real-time system design and development for the automotive industry, and (ii) on the acquisition of Pelagicore AB, a leader in open source software platforms services for in-vehicle infotainment and human machine interface development.
Ziylan Group, 2016
Advising Ziylan Group, a Turkven Private Equity holding, on the acquisition of the German HR Group, parent company of the shoe chain Reno, from the Hamm family, the former Metro manager Siegfried Kaske and further shareholders. Other investors include capiton AG, the Germany-based private equity firm, and the current Reno management.
A leading global technology company, 2016
Advising a leading global technology company (i) on the acquisition of a drone manufacturer and (ii) on the acquisition of a manufacturer and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles and software systems.
Store Electric Systems, 2016
Advising Store Electronic Systems SA (SES-imagotag), the global leader in electronic shelf labels for retail, in connection with its strategic partnership with the German start-up company findbox GmbH.
Avid Technology, 2015
Advising Avid Technology, Inc., on the €66 million acquisition of all shares in Frankfurt-listed Orad Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., Israel, by way of a reverse triangular merger.
Nidec, 2014
Advised the Japanese Nidec Corporation on the acquisition of the Germany-based automotive supplier GPM from several private shareholders. This transaction represented one of the largest Japanese direct investments in Germany in recent years.
Chinese Walls – Transgressing borders between national security and technology protectionism – The reform of the CFIUS process through FIRRMA as well as latest initiatives in Germany and Europe („Chinese Walls“ – Grenzgänge zwischen nationalen Sicherheitsinteressen und Technologie-Protektionismus Zur Reform des US-amerikanischen CFIUS-Verfahrens durch FIRRMA und aktuellen Initiativen in Deutschland und Europa) , Die Aktiengesellschaft, Issue 5, Pages 145-160, 2019 (co-author with Jakob Staudt and Farhad Jalinous)
Violations of reporting obligations becoming costly – Federal Ministry of Finance presents draft bill for the implementation of the EU Transparency Directive, Börsenzeitung, Issue 46, p. 9, 2015, (co-author with Lutz Krämer)
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority’s (BaFin) new guidelines on fines pursuant to the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) – critical observations and European perspectives, ZIP, Issue 33, p.1557 et seqq., 2014, (co-author with Lutz Krämer and Ole Mückenberger)
Commentary on §§ 10, 15a, 15b, 25, 25a, 27a of German Securities Trading Act as well as Introduction, Kölner Kommentar WpHG, Ed, Heribert Hirte and Thomas Möllers, 2nd ed., 2014
Issuers Guidance ‘reloaded’ – A Review of BaFin’s Issuers Guidance dated November 8, 2013 with an outlook on future changes of the supervisory practice by the Transparency Directive 2013, CORPORATE FINANCE Law, Issue 5, p. 225 et seqq., 2013, (co-author with Lutz Krämer)
Commentary on § 32, Kommentar Investmentgesetz mit Bezügen zum Kapitalgesetzbuch, Ed, Thomas Emde et al, 1st ed., 2013
Introduction, Kölner Kommentar WpÜG, Ed, Heribert Hirte and Christoph von Bülow. 2nd ed., 2010
Highly Recommended Lawyer: M&A / Corporate, JUVE 2021/2022 ("outstanding and pragmatic", "strong team", client cited)
"Strong project manager" who has "extensive technical experience"
The Legal 500
"Best Lawyer" for Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Handelsblatt 2022
Best Lawyer Germany in Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Handelsblatt 2021-2023
Who's Who Legal: Global Elite Thought Leader (EMEA) - M&A and Governance 2019: Foreign Investment Review
Highly Recommended Lawyer: M&A, JUVE 2018/2019
