Gerold Niggemann

Gerold Niggemann is a partner in Hughes Hubbard’s corporate department. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A, joint ventures and venture capital. His experience includes representing both strategic and financial investors in acquisitions, investments and divestitures in the United States and a multitude of international jurisdictions as well as early and late stage startups in fundraisings.

• Represented Latin American neobank Ualá in its $300 million Series E preferred equity financing at a post-money valuation of $2.75 billion, its $350 million Series D preferred equity financing as well as all of Ualá’s prior financing rounds, raising funds from Allianz X and affiliates of Tencent, Softbank, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, Soros Fund Management, Monashees, Ribbit Capital, Jefferies, Stone Ridge Holdings Group and Pershing Square Foundation, among others
• Represented Claure Group in its investment in New York City Football Club and relating shareholders’ arrangements
• Represented Rheinmetall AG (RHM) in its $950 million acquisition of Loc Performance Products
• Represented London-based Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY), the publisher of the Harry Potter series, in its acquisitions of:
  • the academic imprints and associated titles of Rowman & Littlefield, its biggest acquisition to date
  • academic publisher ABC-CLIO
• Represented Knorr‑Bremse AG (KBX) in its €630 million acquisition of the North American rail signaling business of Alstom
• Represented alternative investment firm AURELIUS in the acquisition by its portfolio company ZIM Aircraft Seating of HAECO Cabin Solutions from HAECO Group
• Represented JOST Werke SE (JST) in the acquisition of Crenlo do Brasil from Angeles Equity Partners
• Represented Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. (CYCN) in the sale of the rights to two drugs to a company newly-formed by certain existing Cyclerion shareholders and venture capital firms in exchange for cash and shares of stock in the new company
• Represented Diversified Aero Services, a leading global aircraft inventory solutions provider based in Miami, FL, in its 50% sale to Marubeni Corporation, including an exit of minority investor Fortress Investment Group, and relating joint venture arrangements
• Represented Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSGE) and TAO Group Hospitality, the home of venues such as TAO, LAVO, Hakkasan and others, in the sale of TAO Group Hospitality to global investment company Mohari Hospitality
• Represented VC-backed Julep Media GmbH, Germany's largest independent podcast monetization platform, in its sale to U.S. based Liberated Syndication Inc. (LSYN)
• Represented Daimler Truck (DTG), one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, in:
  • The formation of Greenlane, a more than $650 million joint venture with BlackRock Renewable Power and NextEra Energy Resources to design, develop, install and operate a U.S. nationwide, high-performance zero-emission public charging and hydrogen fueling network for medium- and heavy-duty battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
  • Its acquisition of a majority stake in U.S. self-driving technology company Torc Robotics (through its subsidiary Daimler Trucks and Buses Holding Inc.) and relating shareholders’ arrangements, which transaction was selected as a finalist for Most Innovative Deal of the Year in The Deal Awards Middle Market 2020
  • Its acquisition of a provider of remanufactured heavy-duty powertrain components (through its subsidiary Detroit Diesel Remanufacturing)
• Represented Grab (GRAB), Southeast Asia’s super app, in:
  • Its merger with SPAC Altimeter Growth Corp., a transaction that took Grab public in the largest de-SPAC ever, ascribing to Grab a pro-forma equity value of approximately $39.6 billion
  • Its digital banking joint venture with Singapore Telecommunications
  • A $300 million funding round for its fintech arm Grab Financial, led by Hanwha Asset Management
  • Its multi-billion Series H round, raising funds from Softbank Vision Fund, Oppenheimer Funds, Hyundai Motor Group, Booking Holdings, Ping An Capital, Yamaha Motor, and others
  • Its acquisition of Uber’s business in various Southeast Asian jurisdictions, which transaction was selected Technology, Media & Telecom Deal of the Year in The Deal’s Cross-Border Asia Awards 2019
  • A $1 billion preferred equity investment by lead investor Toyota
  • A $700 million preferred equity investment by MUFG, Japan’s largest bank
  • The formation of a strategic partnership with Microsoft pursuant to which Microsoft invested in Grab, and Grab leveraged Microsoft's expertise in machine learning and other artificial intelligence
• Represented Cantor Fitzgerald as sponsor in a de-SPAC merger with View Inc., the Silicon Valley-based smart glass manufacturer
• Represented Patrick Drahi in his $3.7 billion public takeover of Sotheby’s
• Represented Platinum Equity in its $1.9 billion public takeover of Wesco Aircraft
• Represented JD Sports Fashion, one of the world’s leading retailers of sports and fashion brands headquartered in the U.K., in:
  • Its acquisition of athletic footwear and apparel streetwear retailer DTLR Villa from Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.
  • Its acquisition of Shoe Palace and Nice Kicks for cash consideration of $325 million, the issuance to certain sellers of equity valued at approx. $356 million and relating shareholders’ arrangements
  • Its $558 million public takeover of Finish Line, a retailer of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories
• Represented ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) in its acquisition of generic drugmaker Novitium Pharma and a PIPE by Ampersand Capital Partners raised alongside the acquisition
• Represented Coupang (CPNG), the Korean e-commerce giant, in its $2 billion Series J fundraising from Softbank Vision Fund
• Represented TechOps, a Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Aeromexico joint venture for the operation of an MRO facility in Mexico, in connection with an agreement to grant MRO Holdings, one of America’s largest aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul service providers, access to TechOps’ capacity for a period of ten years
• Represented the Corporate Governance and Conflicts Committee of the Board of Directors of TerraForm Power, Inc. (TERP) in its $6.6 billion merger and sponsorship transaction with Brookfield Asset Management and the concurrent settlement arrangements with its former sponsor SunEdison
• Represented Greenbriar Equity Group LLC in its sale of transportation management firm Transplace Holdings LLC to TPG Capital
• Represented India-based IT giant Wipro in its $500 million acquisition of Appirio Inc., a VC-backed cloud computing and IT consulting company
• Represented InterVest Capital Partners (formerly Wafra Capital) in several of its acquisitions
• Represented Cenveo, a world leader in custom printing, in the restructuring of its debt profile through an offer to exchange its outstanding 11.5% senior notes due 2017 for new 6% senior notes due 2024 and warrants, and relating arrangements with certain significant noteholders (including a repurchase from Allianz Global Investors of Cenveo’s 7% senior exchangeable notes due 2017)
• Represented Nexans, a leading global cable manufacturer headquartered in Paris, France, in the divestment of its German rolling stock and wire harnesses business to Sirail, a French specialty manufacturer of rolling stock and wire harnesses
• Represented Edenred, a leading provider of expense management services headquartered in Paris, France, in its acquisition of a minority stake in UTA, a key player in the European fleet management market, and relating joint venture arrangements