News
LARK advises FSN Capital on the acquistion of the UHL Bau GmbH
The FSN Capital Compass I Fund has acquired a majority stake in the Austrian company UHL Bau GmbH. The previous co-owners, Jürgen and Sabine Uhl, will retain a minority stake and continue to serve on the supervisory board of the company.
The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant authorities. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025.
Based in Wiener Neustadt, UHL Bau GmbH is a leading specialist in civil engineering works relating to electricity, gas, water, wastewater, district heating and telecommunications networks. In 2024, the company generated revenue of more than €80 million and employed around 460 people.
The transaction also includes UHL Elektro GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of UHL Bau GmbH which focuses on installation and energy technology in the low-to-high voltage range, as well as transformer and charging stations.
The FSN Capital Compass I Fund, established in 2022, focuses on investments in Northern Europe. The fund currently has a volume of €410 million.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK provided comprehensive advice to FSN Capital on this transaction with Dr Ludger Schult and Dr Daniel Epe (both co-leads) and Franziska Lang (all Private Equity/M&A). Michael Lind, Daniel Hoehnl and Dominik Pflug from PwC Legal Austria covered the Austrian aspects of the transaction. Dr Andreas Boos from Buntscheck supported LARK in the area of antitrust law.
LARK advises WEKA Group on the sale of fotocommunity GmbH
The media company WEKA Group has sold fotocommunity GmbH to Five Monkeys Media. fotocommunity GmbH operates an online platform for photo and video projects as well as photo and video sharing, where amateur and professional photographers, image editors and photo artists can exchange ideas.
The Cologne-based company, which also offers the platform in English, French, Spanish and Italian, is the largest online community for photography in Europe with over 1.7 million members.
The WEKA Group is Germany's leading omni-channel provider of specialist information and training. Headquartered in Kissingen, the company employs around 900 people in three countries.
Five Monkeys Media is a young media company whose publications include the technology magazines Chip and Chip Foto-Video.
The Business Law Powerhouse LARK provided comprehensive advice to the WEKA Group on this transaction with Dr Daniel Epe and Franziska Lang (both Private Equity/M&A) as well as Dr Anselm Lenhard and Philipp Büchler (Finance). Daniel Windsheimer of PwC advised on all tax matters.
The LARK team led by Dr Daniel Epe regularly advises the WEKA Group on M&A transactions.
LARK advises Capmont on the financing for the acquisition of Deutsche Fertighaus Holding
The private equity investor Capmont has acquired Deutsche Fertighaus Holding, Germany's leading manufacturer of prefabricated houses, under its 'Special Opportunities' investment approach in a leveraged buyout transaction.
Deutsche Fertighaus Holding employs approximately 1,500 people at three production facilities in Germany and the Czech Republic. With its five brands (Massa, Allkauf, OKAL, Ein SteinHaus and DFH Wohnungsbau), the company covers all segments of the prefabricated house market.
Capmont is an entrepreneurial private capital investment manager with four offices in Europe and two investment strategies: private equity and technology. Through its private equity strategy, Capmont invests primarily in medium-sized companies in the DACH region, Northern Italy and Poland.
With an investment portfolio of more than 35 companies, Capmont currently has over €1 billion of assets under management. The 'Special Opportunities' team invests as part of Capmont's private equity strategy primarily in medium-sized companies with significant potential for revenue and earnings growth.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK advised Capmont on the acquisition financing and all other financing aspects of the transaction with Dr Anselm Lenhard, Philipp Büchler and Valentina Groll (all finance) as well as Dr Tobias Stuppi and Jakob Heimrich (both tax).
Arendt & Medernach acted as Luxembourg counsel to Capmont. LARK further involved Proskauer Rose (London) as English counsel for certain aspects of the acquisition financing.
LARK advises Paragon Partners on the acquisition of Schell
Paragon Partners has acquired Schell GmbH & Co. KG. The sellers are the two current shareholders, who want to secure the succession and growth of the company with the sale. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in May 2025.
Schell, headquartered in Olpe, Germany, is an international specialist for faucets, innovative sanitary products and digital solutions for maintaining drinking water quality. The company is the global market leader in water management systems and angle valves. It employs around 450 people and is active in more than 80 countries.
Paragon Partners invests in medium-sized companies in various industries in German-speaking countries. The investment company is headquartered in Munich and manages equity capital in excess of €2.4 billion.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK provided comprehensive advice to Paragon Partners on this transaction with Dr Ludger Schult, Dr Daniel Epe, Christine Schneemann, Franziska Lang and Chiara Niestroj (all Private Equity/M&A) as well as Dr Tobias Stuppi and Jakob Heimrich (Tax).
In labour law, LARK was supported by Dr. Martin Fritzsche and Katrin Scheicht from ELP and in IP/IT/data protection by Dr. Thomas Schafft from SSH Rechtsanwälte. Dr Tatjana Mühlbach of Buntscheck covered all antitrust issues.
Chambers Germany Awards 2025: LARK is "Newcomer of the Year"
We are beyond thrilled to be recognized as "Newcomer of the Year" at Chambers Germany Awards 2025! This award is an important milestone in our incredible journey. It celebrates LARK's remarkable success in our very first year and is a powerful endorsement that we're on the right track - with so much more to come.
A heartfelt thank you to our outstanding team – your dedication, passion, and drive make LARK a very special place. Every day, you go above and beyond for our clients, and this award belongs to all of you.
We’re also deeply grateful to our clients for your trust, and the inspiring collaboration.
And of course, a big thank you to Chambers and Partners for this incredible recognition an unforgettable evening.
We can’t wait for what’s next. Fly high, LARK!
Pro Bono: LARK advises on the establishment of the non-profit organisation treibstoff e.V.
LARK advised the founders of the Munich-based costume rental company treibstoff on the establishment of a non-profit organisation. treibstoff e.V. is a costume warehouse that collects costumes from theatre and film productions as well as industrial fabrics and makes them available for new art and culture projects. In this way, treibstoff not only saves the used materials from disposal, but also makes an important contribution to environmental and climate protection as well as to the promotion of art and culture.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK advised treibstoff together with Munich-based law clinic Start Right e.V. The team included Nadja Crombach and Franziska Lang (both Corporate) as well as Jakob Heimrich (Tax).
Social commitment is part of who we are. As part of our pro bono commitment, we regularly provide free support to people and institutions who cannot afford legal advice. In particular, we provide corporate and tax advice to non-profit organizations in the fields of education, human rights, nature conservation and environmental protection.
LARK advises MoonPay on acquisition of Iron
MoonPay Inc has acquired Iron, an API-first stablecoin infrastructure platform, through a takeover of all shares of Unstoppable Finance GmbH.
Unstoppable Finance GmbH, a Berlin-based start-up backed by, among others, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Speedinvest, develops decentralized finance solutions, in particular a cutting edge stablecoin API.
Miami-based MoonPay Inc is one of the world's leading developers of crypto payment infrastructure. In its last financing round, a Series A in 2021, it raised USD 555 million based on a valuation of nearly USD 3 billion.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK comprehensively advised MoonPay Inc on this transaction with Dr. Daniel Gubitz, Max Hentrich, Fabienne Pflug and Dr. Janosch Engelhardt (all M&A/Corporate Law) as well as Dr. Tobias Stuppi and Jakob Heimrich (Tax). In the areas of labour law, LARK was supported by Dr. Marius Fritzsche of the law firm ELP.
azur100 recognizes LARK as Top Employer in Corporate Law
In the azur100 magazine, JUVE Verlag has recognized LARK as top employer in corporate law. Alongside our ‘remarkable training system’, the azur team particularly highlighted the extremely high level of satisfaction among LARK associates.
Actually, among all German law firms researched by the azur team, LARK's associates report the highest level of satisfaction.
⭐‘LARK received top marks in the azur survey for the quality of work content, personnel management by superiors, and the overall working atmosphere.’
⭐‘LARK also scored above average in key categories such as salary and career opportunities.’
⭐‘Participants praise the ‘start-up feeling’, the ‘genuine team spirit’, and the ‘welcoming environment’ at LARK.’
⭐‘One participant also emphasized that ‘professionalism and flexibility are not just promises but a lived reality every day’.’
At LARK, our values – respect and tolerance, excellence and passion – are at the heart of everything we do. We are very pleased that this is also reflected in the azur ranking.
LARK advises Econocom Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in bb-net media GmbH
Econocom Deutschland Holding GmbH has acquired a majority stake in bb-net media GmbH from Synapsion GmbH and CEO Marco Kuhn.
bb-net media GmbH is a German market leader for IT refurbishment. It will continue to be managed by Marco Kuhn. Michael Bleicher, founder of bb-net media GmbH, will remain a shareholder via its investment company Synapsion GmbH.
Econocom Deutschland, headquartered in Frankfurt, is part of the international Econocom Group. The group has been supporting SMEs, corporations and the public sector with IT procurement, financing and services for almost 40 years. Econocom claims to be the first digital general contractor in Europe.
Business Law Powerhouse LARK provided comprehensive advice to the Econocom Group on this transaction with Dr. Daniel Epe, Chiara Niestroj (both Corporate/M&A) and Dr. Tobias Stuppi (Tax), supported in particular by LARK's finance team.
On Econocom's side, the transaction was led in-house by Jérôme Lehmann (General Counsel M&A/Head of Corporate Affairs) and Benjamin Pehau (Head of M&A).
Christin Stender christin.stender@lark.de