Lawyer Monthly Magazine - July 2019 Edition

108 Transactions www. lawyer-monthly .com JUL 2019 This announcement appears as a matter of record only Fosun International Acquires The FFT Group From ATON Legal adviser to Fosun International: Legal adviser to ATON: Fosun International Acquires the FFT Group Fosun International has announced an agreement to acquire FFT GmbH & Co. KGaA, a global provider of automated and flexible turn-key production systems. FFT is to be acquired from ATON GmbH, a German family-owned private investment company, through the funds managed by the subsidiaries of Fosun International. Fosun was founded in 1992 in Shanghai and is listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company is a leading investment group taking roots in China with a global foothold. Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Fulda, Germany, FFT provides flexible automation turn-key solutions, customised engineering designs, and various smart factory solutions for renowned first-line original equipment makers (OEMs) in Germany, the USA, Japan, China and other countries. FFT also provides non-automotive solutions for clients in many countries including the USA, Sweden and Germany. FFT's solutions can enable full production and specific aspects of manufacturing. The group has the strong ability and potential to expand the use of its capabilities in numerous sectors outside of the automotive industry, as successfully proven during the business expansion into white goods in recent years. In 2017, FFT recorded revenues of over €850 million and employed over 2,600 people. This acquisition of FFT supports Fosun's strategy of investing in companies which support "makers" and have strong market positions. Through this acquisition, Fosun significantly upgrades its capacity to offer new manufacturing solutions for its own portfolio companies such as Nanjing Nangang Iron & Steel United, Eurocrane and Zhejiang XCC Group. This announcement appears as a matter of record only Authenticate Secures GBP2.3M Funding From The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund Legal adviser to Authenticate: Legal adviser to the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund: Authenticate Secures GBP2.3m Funding From The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund Authenticate secured a new funding round of GBP 2.3 million, which includes GBP 1.5 million from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and the remainder from existing shareholders including Summit Alpha. Authenticate stated: “With new resources and recruitment afoot, this most recent round of investment will allow us to substantially grow our in-house software and data teams in Harrogate, and accelerate development of our platform into a solution that enables food businesses to combat the industry’s greatest technical challenges.” Authenticate’s mission remains simple: To establish a joined-up approach to supply chain transparency, facilitate more efficient compliance and bring added technical insight to the world of food and drink production. Raymond Taylor of Solomon Taylor & Shaw provided legal advice to Authenticate while Adrian Ballam of Schofield Sweeney advised the Fund. Stephen Moore of Princelet Partners and Jonathan Davis of Saffery Champness provided fundraising and financial advice to the company. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.