Rasenberger Toschek has assisted the management team of the “NEW TETENAL” initiative

RASENBERGER TOSCHEK HAS ASSISTED THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF THE “NEW TETENAL” INITIATIVE WITH THE SUCCESSFUL PURCHASE OF THE ASSETS OF INSOLVENT TETENAL EUROPE GMBH IN THE CONTEXT OF AN EBO (EMPLOYEE BUY OUT) AND THE SALE OF THE SUBSIDIARY TETENAL UK The management team of the “NEW TETENAL” initiative (www.new-tetenal.de) has successfully purchased the assets, recipes, registrations, trademarks in an asset deal and all subsidiaries of their former employer, Tetenal Europe GmbH (“TETENAL”), in a share deal out of insolvency last week. In the course of this transaction, NEW TETENAL has sold its subsidiary in England, Tetenal Ltd. (www.tetenaluk.com), as well as the rights to the SpectraJet brand name to UK’s local management team consisting of Mike Fawcett, Mark Norman, Phil Barker and Verity Adkin in a local British MBO. In view of the sharp downturn in TETENAL’s fields of operations, the production of analogue photochemistry and brand distribution, TETENAL has suffered substantial losses for the last years and ultimately the company, founded in 1847, had to file for the opening of insolvency proceedings in September 2018. Within the framework of an innovation process led by the Austrian GRANTIRO Initiative - aiming to develop new business models and ideas for the company – and initiated by the insolvency administrator of TETENAL, Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz, White & Case, four employees of TETENAL decided to take the future of their employer into their own hands and founded the "NEW TETENAL" initiative aiming to secure the future of the TETENAL brand and its unique photochemistry know-how. Swiss merchant banking boutique Rasenberger Toschek (www.r-t.com) was the exclusive advisor to the management team of “NEW TETENAL” for both transactions. The special feature of the transaction was that the EBO was planned and carried out in the opened insolvency proceedings after the decision was made to start the wind-down production and release all employees. Responsible for the transaction on RASENBERGER TOSCHEK’s side were Peter E. Rasenberger (Deal Lead), Chandran Gnanakuru (UK MBO), and Sebastian Kopsch (Senior Case Analyst). “We are delighted that the transaction was successful and that we are now able to shape the future of TETENAL by ourselves. Without the help of the RASENBERGER TOSCHEK team we would not have been able to do this”, says Stefania Grimme of NEW TETENAL. Her colleague Burkhardt Mueller adds: “TETENAL can trace its roots back to 1847. We now have the chance to adapt the company for the next 172 years.” The deal has created unexpected interest in the worldwide photo community, since industry experts revealed, that the insolvent Tetenal is system critical to the photo industry. “Despite its rather small scale, it has been one of the most time critical deals in our transaction history. Failing to find a sustainable solution for a chemical company, a large part of the industry is based on, was no option. We are very delighted by the outcome”, says Peter E. Rasenberger, co-founder of RASENBERGER TOSCHEK. Dr. Sven-Holger Undritz, representing the seller as insolvency administrator over the assets of Tetenal Europe GmbH, adds: “This is my first case in which – after the decision and official announcement to discontinue the business operations – it has come to a turnaround afterwards. The idea of an MBO around dedicated Tetenalists from Germany, England, France and Poland gained momentum, after other interested parties did not want to end up taking the risk of the photochemistry business field. Numerous contract partners of the startup have sustainably supported the restart, which can only be regarded as a good omen.”   About NEW TETENAL NEW TETENAL (www.new-tetenal.de) is an initiative of employees of Tetenal, which is planning to continue the company on own initiative.   About RASENBERGER TOSCHEK: RASENBERGER TOSCHEK (www.r-t.com) is one of the leading providers of consulting services in the field of restructuring out of insolvency in the German-speaking area. The European headquarters of the merchant banking boutique is in Lausanne, Switzerland.   About GRANTIRO Under the name GRANTIRO (www.grantiro.at), partners have joined forces to form a Social Impact Organization to help companies and organizations in meeting specific challenges. Particular emphasis is placed on companies that are well positioned in the core, have motivated employees, (still) operate economically and whose existing business foundation is threatened by digitization and transformation.   About WHITE & CASE White & Case is one of the world's leading law firms and is present in the key economic centers of the world at 44 locations in 30 countries. In Germany, there are around 200 lawyers, tax consultants and notaries in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg (www.whitecase.com). For more than 30 years, the firm has one of the most respected insolvency and restructuring practices in Germany (www.whitecaseinso.de).