Deloitte Legal advises Experience Brands on the sale of Hess GmbH Licht + Form to the French Ragni Group

Hess is a leading international manufacturer of designed outdoor lighting and high-quality site furnishings with its headquarters in Villingen-Schwenningen. The transaction affects all business activities and markets of the German subsidiary Hess GmbH Licht + Form worldwide - with the exception of the American market (USA, Canada and Latin America), which will continue to be served by Hess USA, which remains part of the Experience Brands Group. 

The strong, traditional Vulkan brand was also sold as part of the transaction. The roots of this premium supplier and pioneer in the illumination of streets, traffic junctions, parking lots, pedestrian zones and public facilities using LEDs date back to 1898.

The Ragni Group has been managed by the family of the same name since it was founded in Cagnes-sur-mer almost 100 years ago and its turnover forecast for 2023 is around 100 million euros. With this acquisition, the Ragni Group is continuing to pursue its clear strategic direction of growing in Europe and internationally and consolidating its position as the market leader in street lighting and site furnishings.

For Experience Brands, the sale of Hess GmbH Licht + Form marks a further building block in the realignment of the Group and its focus on the (North) American market. "This transaction is a significant step for our group," says Christopher Stockton, CEO of Experience Brands, "It enables us to focus our resources more strongly on growing markets and thus better retain our customers. Deloitte Legal has contributed significantly to this great success. The team there developed an optimal sales strategy under great time pressure and then successfully implemented the transaction. The excellent cooperation and professional expertise were decisive in this complex transaction."

With the cross-office team, Deloitte Legal provided comprehensive advice on all key issues relating to the transaction, once again demonstrating the firm's clout in the M&A sector. The members of the team were able to draw on their experience from numerous jointly advised transactions; the well-coordinated cooperation between experts from the M&A, business recovery and business tax advisory areas ensured that the transaction was completed quickly and efficiently.

Consultant Experience Brands:

Deloitte Legal Germany: Frank Tschentscher, LL.M. (Partner, Lead, Business Recovery), Dirk Hänisch, LL.M. (Partner, Corporate/M&A), Marcus C. Spangenberger, M.B.L. (Senior Associate, Business Recovery)

Deloitte: Stefanie Brecht (Partner, Business Tax Advisory) Volker Wößner (Senior Manager, Business Tax Advisory)

Carlsquare Limited: Arnold Holle (Managing Partner), Griffin Steele (Senior Associate), Christoph Margotti (Associate), Gregory Bondarenko (Senior Analyst)

_{Published: December 2023}