The Legal 500

Ljubljana/Vienna, 9 February 2012 – WOLF THEISS advised the private equity fund H.I.G. Europe Capital Partners and Green Building Group GmbH on their investment to acquire the Slovenian market-leader in the prefabricated housing market, Lumar IG d.o.o.

Ljubljana/Vienna, 9 February 2012 – WOLF THEISS advised the private equity fund H.I.G. Europe Capital Partners and Green Building Group GmbH on their investment to acquire the Slovenian market-leader in the prefabricated housing market, Lumar IG d.o.o.

Until its sale to H.I.G. and Green Building Group, the prefabricated housing specialist Lumar was held by its founders, the Lukic family. Lumar is considered an outstanding company and has won numerous distinctions for being one of the most successful enterprises in Slovenia. Therefore, Lumar is an ideal addition to the portfolio of Green Building Group, which aims to become the European market-leader in environmentally friendly prefabrication.

In order to secure its long-term development, the Slovenian company decided to bring on board H.I.G. and Green Building Group as strategic investors; both of them have in-depth knowledge in the prefabricated housing sector as a result of their previous takeovers in this industry. Green Building Group has acquired a majority stake in Lumar and the well-established brand will be maintained by the new owners. The Lukic family, on the other hand, acquired a minority stake in Green Building Group. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

The Wolf Theiss team advising H.I.G. and Green Building Group was led by the Partners and private equity specialists Markus Bruckmueller and Clemens Philipp Schindler. Markus Bruckmueller noted: "In contrast to other companies currently on offer, Lumar is financially sound and has great potential. Lumar will gain new opportunities to develop on the basis of its cooperation with Green Building Group. This strategic decision and the foresight of the family owners, with Marko Lukic being nominated as CEO of Lumar, are remarkable." Clemens Philipp Schindler highlighted: "When an international private equity fund acquires a midsized company still held by its founding family, there are challenges for all parties involved and it is important to take a sensitive approach as well as to have the right feeling. Legal know-how alone is not enough in such case; rather a bridge must be built between the sellers and the buyers in order to get such deal done."

In addition to Partners Markus Bruckmueller and Clemens Philipp Schindler, the following Wolf Theiss lawyers made significant contributions to this transaction: Branko Cevriz, Christian Oehner and Laura Struc. H.I.G. Europe Capital Partners engaged a Wolf Theiss team led by Clemens Philipp Schindler already in 2011 for the takeover of the German-Austrian group Hanlo.

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