Corporate finance and tax teams advised A-Gas on the acquisition of Arthur Friedrichs Kaeltemittel GmbH

Background to deal

A-Gas International (“A-Gas”) announced the acquisition of Arthur Friedrichs Kaeltemittel GmbH (“AFK”) a German refrigerants supplier based near Hamburg. AFK is a key player in the German automotive industry with a history back to 1955.
A‑Gas is a leading company in the supply and lifecycle management of refrigerant and industrial gases, fire suppressants and blowing agents. A‑Gas is an international company with headquarters in the UK and trading subsidiaries all over the world.
The acquisition gives A-Gas access to the European automotive market. A-Gas plans to further invest in AFK by building a refrigerant reclamation facility.

The target

AFK has supplied refrigerants for more than 60 years and is an important automotive supplier within the European automotive market and also provides its products to the OEM market, services equipment and offers expertise on new installations. In 1955 the refrigerants business of AFK was established by Werner Oelkers, who acquired the (predecessor) company in 1937. In 2002 the refrigerants business was separated from the other business units of the company into one separate company – today AFK. In the following years AFK was faced with a strong growth and supplies its products to many well-known player in the German automotive industry. AFK developed an efficient warehousing and transport logistics, which guarantees short reaction times and a high security of supply.

Our solution

In close collaboration with the Finance team of A-Gas and involved advisors our integrated corporate finance and tax team in Hamburg and Bristol supported the transaction process with a broad range of services including financial and tax due diligence, development of tax efficient acquisition structures and SPA support with regards to the tax clauses and price adjustment mechanism.

Contact the project team

Hamburg
Corporate Finance

Hanno Hepke
Partner
T +49 (0)40 43218 6235
E hanno.hepke@de.gt.com

Alex Refec
Senior Manager
T +49 (0)40 43218 6216
E alex.refec@de.gt.com

Tax

Dr. Marion Frotscher
Partner
T +49 (0)40 43218 6237
E marion.frotscher@de.gt.com

Lukas Vienenkötter
Manager
T +49 (0)40 43218 6251
E lukas.vienenkoetter@de.gt.com

Grant Thornton Germany – About us

Grant Thornton AG is a leading German financial and business adviser, operating out of 10 offices. Led by more than 90 partners and employing about 900 highly skilled professionals, we provide personalised assurance, tax and specialist advisory services to start-ups, mid and large cap companies as well as public entities.
Our national transaction team works with entrepreneurial businesses, their owners and management teams in the mid-market at various stages of their lifecycle including growth capital and refinancing solutions, buy-side due diligence, strategic acquisitions, management buy-outs and company sales.
From exploring the strategic options available to you as a business or shareholder, advising and project managing the chosen solution, we provide a truly integrated corporate finance offering.
We are a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading international organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms. Clients of member and correspondent firms can access the knowledge and experience of more than 47,000 experts in over 130 countries and consistently receive a distinctive, high-quality and personalised service wherever they choose to do business, adding real value on cross-border M&A transactions.