Taylor Wessing advises the Kleffmann Group on a merger with Kynetec

Led by the Düsseldorf-based Partner Ernst-Albrecht von Beauvais, Taylor Wessing has advised the Kleffmann Group, one of the world’s most important market research companies for agricultural products, on the sale of Kleffmann GmbH to the British company Kynetec, a world leader in market research for agricultural and animal health. The opposite party was advised by the London and Hamburg offices of Addleshaw Goddard.

With the merger of their complementary market research businesses, both companies expect to achieve synergies so that they can successfully take on the challenges of client consolidation in animal health and agriculture. In the future, the two companies will also jointly invest in digital technologies and the monetization of big data. With the sale and the resulting spin-off of his My Data Plant division, CEO Burkhard Kleffmann is leaving the company group in order to focus on satellite-based cartography for agricultural use.

The transaction is characterised by numerous cross-connections with Taylor Wessing: The Kleffmann Group, consisting of Kleffmann Holding, Kleffmann Management and CEO Burkhard Kleffmann, is 50 percent owned by NRW.Bank, a private equity client of the law firm. The situation is similar on the British buyer side: Kynetec is a 100 percent portfolio company of Inflexion, also a private equity client of Taylor Wessing UK.

About Kleffmann:

The Kleffmann Group was founded in 1990 and is a leading international market research institute for agricultural products with over 300 employees. With more than 18 international branches in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and Latin America, the company is a full-service agency offering a comprehensive portfolio of market research solutions in areas such as crop protection, digital agriculture, seeds, animal health and agricultural machinery in over 70 countries worldwide.

About Kynetec:

Based in Newbury (UK), Kynetec has many years of experience in market research in the areas of animal health and agricultural animal nutrition, crop protection, agricultural machinery and equipment, seeds/biotechnology and fertilisers. Around 900 employees work across the globe in the 24 most significant countries for agriculture and animal health and are regularly involved in research projects in more than 80 countries.

Legal Advisers to the Kleffmann Group

Taylor Wessing Germany: Lead Partner Dr. Ernst-Albrecht von Beauvais (Partner), Dr. Kathrin Monen (Partner), Daniel Mursa (Associate), Dr. Dennis Häger (Associate), Dr. Marcel Leines (Associate), all M&A, Dr. Michael Pils (Partner), Nadine Pott (Associate) both Employment, Pensions & Mobility, Dr. Bert Kimpel (Partner, Tax Law), Mareike Gehrmann (Salary Partner, IT), Johanna Göbel (Associate, IP/IT), all Düsseldorf, Clemens Niedner (Partner), Dr. Michael Beyer (Senior Associate), both Banking & Finance, both Frankfurt am Main, Patrick Alexy (Partner, Commercial Real Estate, Berlin)