Deloitte Legal supports KIND in sale to Demant A/S

A cross-location and cross-functional Deloitte team under the joint leadership of Hanover-based Deloitte Legal partners Dr. Harald Stang and Dr. Maximilian Habel has advised the Kind family on the sale of their shares in KIND GmbH & Co. KG and audifon GmbH & Co. KG to the Danish hearing aid and technology group Demant.

Deloitte Legal provided comprehensive legal support throughout the entire sales process: from the planning and implementation of preparatory carve-out measures to the preparation and legal structuring of the transaction to the drafting of the transaction documentation and support during the contract negotiations.

The transaction volume, calculated on a cash & debt free basis, amounts to a total of EUR 700 million - according to the Demant Group, this is the largest acquisition made by Demant to date. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

The carve-outs included the transfer of various group companies in Germany and abroad. The measures abroad were also coordinated by the Deloitte Legal team led by Dr. Harald Stang and Dr. Maximilian Habel. Here, the client benefited from the close international cooperation within the Deloitte Legal network.

The Deloitte Legal team also advised the Kind family on the structuring of the transaction and supported the transaction process from a legal perspective. The advisory services provided in this context included the preparation of a legal fact book, support during the sales process and the due diligence phase, the drafting of the purchase agreement and advice during the contract negotiations.

The Kind family relied on the services of Deloitte Financial Advisory and Tax to provide the necessary financial and tax support for the transaction, enabling Deloitte to offer comprehensive advice from a single source.

"As a family business, it has always been our top priority to ensure the long-term success and stability of the company. In Demant, we have found the ideal partner to continue our life's work. Our company is now stronger, more sustainable and in the best possible hands. As a family, we know that the values on which our company was built will live on in the future. We are delighted that we were able to take this important step with the support of Deloitte Legal, with whom we have been working together for more than 20 years," says CEO and owner Dr. Alexander Kind.

Advisors to KIND:

Deloitte Legal: Dr. Harald Stang, Dr. Maximilian Habel (both lead, Corporate/M&A Hanover), Anna Bethmann (Corporate/M&A Hanover), Dr. Charlotte Sander, Daniela Wasseram (both Employment Law, Hanover), Lars Hinrichs (Employment Law, Hamburg), Johannes Passas, Julia Meyer (both Commercial Law, Hanover), Gunnar Fehringer (Real Estate, Hanover), Nikola Werry, Alina Scheja (Digital Law/Data Protection, Frankfurt), Sebastian von Rueden (Digital Law/Trademark Law, Frankfurt), Felix Skala (Antitrust Law, Hamburg)

About KIND
KIND, headquartered in Großburgwedel near Hanover, is Germany's leading owner-managed company in the fields of hearing acoustics and ophthalmic optics. Founded in 1952, the company now operates 642 specialist stores in Germany and abroad and employs around 3,000 people.

About Demant
Demant is a global hearing care and technology group built on a tradition of care, health and innovation since 1904. The Group offers innovative technologies, solutions and knowledge to improve people's health and hearing. Demant is active in all areas from hearing care and hearing aids to diagnostic equipment and services. Headquartered in Denmark, the Group employs around 22,000 people worldwide and is present in 130 countries with solutions for better hearing health and thus a better quality of life. The William Demant Foundation holds the majority of shares in Demant A/S, which is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen as a blue chip share.