The commercial law firm orka has advised the Dutch Wil Holthuijsen Beheer BV on the sale of the North Rhine-Westphalian GeHo Group to the Berlin-based financial investor KKA Partners. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The GeHo Group, based in Straelen-Herongen to the west of Krefeld, is a leading food wholesaler with a focus on confectionery, baked goods, drinks and snacks for the vending machine industry. The group combines numerous own brands, including Willis, Space, Boom and Tradition. Since its foundation over 35 years ago, the GeHo Group has been a leading full-range supplier and the first point of contact for vending machine operators, constantly setting new standards with the constant development of new, proprietary cake products.

KKA Partners, or KKA Management GmbH, is a Berlin-based private equity company founded in 2018 that invests in leading medium-sized companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The five-member orka team led by Düsseldorf corporate/M&A partner Dr. Marc Henze has provided legal advice to the founding family Holthuijsen as owner on the sale of a majority stake to KKA Partners. The family remains on board as a significant minority shareholder as well as in the operational management.

“We are delighted to have been able to advise our clients on this exciting project in the food industry and wish the company every success in its next growth steps,” comments Dr. Marc Henze.

The transaction once again underlines orka’s expertise in providing private equity advice on complex M&A transactions.

Advising lawyers orka (seller): Dr. Marc Henze (lead, partner, corporate/M&A), Dr. Tim Gießelmann (salary partner, corporate/M&A), Dr. Christina Cannistra (salary partner, corporate/M&A), Carolin Kölker (salary partner, construction and real estate law) and Thomas Krahwinkel (salary partner, employment law, all Düsseldorf)

Advising lawyers (buyers): Lupp & Partner