Deloitte Legal advises SICK on strategic partnership with Endress+Hauser with implications for 42 jurisdictions

An international Deloitte Legal team led by Michael K. Schneider has advised SICK, an international provider of sensor-based automation solutions headquartered in Germany, on the implementation of a strategic partnership with the Swiss measurement technology specialist Endress+Hauser. With this partnership, the two companies involved are joining forces in the field of process automation in order to provide their customers with even better support and to drive forward new technological solutions for the decarbonisation of the process industry.

Since April 2023, morethan 90 professionals from Deloitte Legal and Deloitte in Germany, as well as numerous Deloitte and Deloitte Legal professionals in other European and non-European jurisdictions, have supported the SICK Group in building the strategic partnership with Endress+Hauser. The successful cooperation between Deloitte Legal's lawyers and Deloitte's tax and financial advisory experts illustrates Deloitte's interdisciplinary advisory approach, which enables it to provide holistic support for complex transactions and offer tailor-made solutions from a single source.

The signing of the agreement took place in summer 2024 and has now been completed following the merger control approvals. As a result, the global players SICK and Endress+Hauser each hold a 50% stake in the joint venture 'Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG' based in Germany.

The joint venture company Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG will strengthen the development and production of analytical instrumentation and gas flow measurement and will further expand the partners' range of solutions. The development and production of analytical measurement technology and gas flow measurement of the former SICK business unit 'Cleaner Industries' with its approximately 730 employees will be continued by the joint venture in the future. In the future, the distribution of the product solutions manufactured by Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG will be handled by Endress+Hauser Group’s sales centers.

In planning and implementing the strategic partnership, the SICK Group was able to draw not only on the expertise of Deloitte Legal and Deloitte in Germany, but also on the global Deloitte/Deloitte Legal network. Under the leadership of Deloitte Legal Germany, Deloitte Legal teams from more than 40 jurisdictions supported the transfer of around 800 sales and service employees from SICK's sales and service units in 42 countries to the respective sales centers of the Endress+Hauser Group.

In this project, the SICK Group relied on the legal advice of Deloitte's legal practice led by the Stuttgart partner Michael K. Schneider, who has an excellent network in the south-west German SME sector. ‘We are very pleased to have relied on Deloitte and the Deloitte Legal team for this complex international project. The experience and expertise of the Deloitte professionals helped us to identify all relevant aspects and find a solution in good time, and their interdisciplinary approach saved us a lot of coordination work.' says Dr Matthias Rebmann, Vice President Legal, Governance & Compliance at SICK. ‘Michael K. Schneider's prudent leadership enabled a smooth and rapid implementation in the 42 countries concerned.’

SICK AG’s advisors:
Deloitte Legal Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH: Corporate/M&A: Michael Schneider (Lead, Partner, Stuttgart), Josefin Wiedmann (Senior Associate, Stuttgart), Marc Albrecht (Associate, Stuttgart), Dr. Johannes Kappler (Associate, Stuttgart); Corporate/M&A | Chinese Law: Alexander Fischer (Partner, Frankfurt Main), Xinyi Wang (Senior Legal Advisor, Chinese Attorney at Law, Frankfurt Main); Employment Law: Claus Wilker (Counsel, Hannover); Antitrust: Felix Skala (Partner, Hamburg), Katharina Zickermann (Counsel, Hamburg); Data- and Data Protection: Nikola Werry (Partner, Frankfurt Main), Alina Scheja (Associate, Frankfurt Main); Foreign Trade Law: Bettina Mertgen (Partner, Frankfurt Main), Jan-Michael Mergler (Senior Associate, Frankfurt Main)
Deloitte GmbH: Tax: Christian Himmelsbach (Project Lead, Partner, Stuttgart), Björn Neumann (Director, Stuttgart), Wladimir Petri (Senior Manager, Stuttgart); Financial Advisory | M&A Operational Transaction Services: Ihsan Ugurlu (Partner, Cologne), Iven Krause (Director, Munich), Stefan Nguyen (Senior Manager, Dusseldorf); Financial Advisory | Valuation, Modelling & Economics: Stefan Brauchle (Partner, Stuttgart), Henrik Scharnowski (Senior Manager, Stuttgart)

About SICK
SICK is one of the world's leading suppliers of sensor-based solutions for industrial applications. Founded in 1946 by Dr Erwin Sick and headquartered in Waldkirch in Breisgau near Freiburg, Germany. The company is a technology and market leader with 60 subsidiaries and affiliates as well as numerous agencies around the globe. SICK employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and generated consolidated sales of EUR 2.3 billion in the past financial year.

About Endress+Hauser
Endress+Hauser is a leading supplier of measurement and automation technology for processes and laboratories. Founded in 1953 by Georg H. Endress and Ludwig Hauser, the company is headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland, and generated sales of EUR 3.7 billion in fiscal year 2023 with almost 17,000 employees.

Publisehd: March 2025