Hengeler Mueller advises Groupe BPCE on acquisition of FIDOR Bank AG

On 28 July 2016, Groupe BPCE announced the signing of an agreement with the key shareholders and the founders and managers of FIDOR Bank AG related to the acquisition of their equity interests in the company. Founded in 2009 by its CEO Matthias Kröner, Fidor is one of the world's first "Fintech Bank", pioneering the collaboration between traditional financial services and technology businesses and having developed an innovative approach to retail banking and a proprietary digital banking platform.

Groupe BPCE is one of the ten largest European banking groups and the second largest banking group in France with over 30 million customers and 8.9 million cooperative shareholders. The planned acquisition of Fidor follows Groupe BPCE's strategic plan "Another Way to Grow" and will contribute to the acceleration of the rollout of the group's digital strategy.

Hengeler Mueller is advising Groupe BPCE on the acquisition in an integrated team with Best Friends law firm Bredin Prat. The Hengeler Mueller team is led by partners Matthias Hentzen (Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf) and Johannes Adolff (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and includes partners Thomas Paul, Christian Schmies (both Banking Regulatory, Frankfurt), Christian Hoefs, Hendrik Bockenheimer (both Employment, Frankfurt), Alf-Henrik Bischke (Merger Control, Düsseldorf), Martin Klein (Tax, Frankfurt) and counsel Patrick H. Wilkening (IP/IT, Düsseldorf) as well as associates Matthias Cloppenburg (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt), Tobias Keller, Maximilian Schauf (both Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Jan Steffen, Malte Wundenberg, Conrad Ruppel (Banking Regulatory, Frankfurt), Matthias Rothkopf, Benedikt Migdal (both IP/IT, Düsseldorf), Vicki Treibmann (Employment, Düsseldorf), Ralf Willer (Antitrust, Berlin) and Claudia Nees (Tax, Frankfurt).

The Bredin Prat team includes inter alia partner Patrick Dziewolski as well as associates Paul Guillemin and Laura Gabay (all Corporate/M&A).