Baker & McKenzie has issued a press release explaining its role in the Giesecke & Devrient joint venture with the German Bundesdruckerei (the Federal Printing Agency), reported in CEE Legal Matters yesterday.
The new joint venture, operating under the name Veridos, will be headquartered in Berlin. Bundesdruckerei and Giesecke & Devrient will, however, continue to independently pursue business in Germany, their business activities on the private sector market, and in banknote printing. Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) will hold a 60 percent share in Veridos and 40 percent in Bundesdruckerei. The supervisory bodies of both companies, the G&D shareholders, and the Federal Ministry of Finance as owner of Bundesdruckerei, have all approved the establishment of this joint venture. Subject to approval under cartel law, Veridos will commence business operations in mid-2014.
G&D is a leading global technology provider with its headquarters in Munich, Germany, and with 58 subsidiaries, joint ventures, and associated companies in 32 countries across every continent. At the end of 2013, G&D had approximately 11,660 employees and in fiscal 2013 generated total sales of EUR 1.75 billion, of which around 90 percent was earned outside Germany.
Baker & McKenzie's team on the deal was led by Partner Jon Marcus Meese, assisted by Partner Steffan Scheuer, Marc Gabriel, and Nobert Mucki, and Associates Eva-Maria Worm, Katja Giese, Tino Marz, Stefanie Tuma, Johannes Teichmann, and Verena Barenbrinker.
Giesecke & Devrient's in-house team included Reinhard Warmke (Group Vice President and Head of Corporate Legal Services), Alexandra Baumgartner (Senior Legal Counsel), Jutta Hausler (Head of Employment Law/Industrial Relations), and Stefanie Kainz (Senior Legal Counsel).