Milbank LLP advised the investment house Ardian on its sale of d&b audiotechnik group („d&b“). The sale took place as part of an auction process to Providence and is subject to antitrust approval. Milbank has previously advised Ardian on several matters, three of which included the previous acquisition of the d&b audiotechnik group, the sale of its stake in Schustermann & Borenstein and the sale of the Schleich group.
Ardian is a world-leading private independent investment house, managing or advising around $150 billion of assets on behalf of more than 1,400 clients globally.
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Backnang, Germany, d&b is one of the world's leading providers of professional audio technology and AVLM solutions to create unique, multisensorial experiences. d&b audiotechnik, the manufacturing side of the firm, is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system integration principles, and pioneering technological development. d&b solutions, the service-focused business entity, offers complete and flexible audio, video, lighting and xR expertise, covering system planning, installation, maintenance and managed services.
Milbank comprehensively advised Ardian on the corporate, financing and tax aspects of the transaction. The Milbank team was led by partner Norbert Rieger (Corporate/M&A) and included partners Matthias Schell (Tax), Alexander Rinne (Antitrust) and Thomas Ingenhoven (Finance), special counsels Andrea Eggenstein (Corporate/M&A) and Thomas Möller (Finance) as well as associates Alexandra Schäfer, Julian Jaschinski (both Corporate/M&A), Nils Bremer (Antitrust), Lara Milione (Finance), Jil Windau, Elisabeth Wöhrle (both Tax) and Marlies Zeck (Antitrust).
