HgCapital Purchases WET Automotive Systems Shares

European private equity investor, HgCapital, purchased all the issued share capital of Odelzhausen, Germany-headquartered WET Automotive Systems Aktiengesellschaft, a manufacturer of seat-heating systems, automotive cables and sensors, for approximately $260 million. The lock-ups were signed on May 28, 2003, and on September 16 HgCapital took up the shares. WET Automotive’s North American headquarters are located in Windsor, Ontario. The offer was made by a Canadian company affiliated with HgCapital.

HgCapital was represented in Canada by Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, with a team led by Richard Scott, and included David Miller, Ron Matheson, Mark Hayman and Matthew Hibbert; in Europe by Lovells, with a team led by Oliver Felsenstein, and included Julie Bradshaw, Thomas Lindemann, Rainer Suessmann and Christian Tappeiner.

Debt facilities were arranged and fully underwritten by ING BHF-Bank, which was represented in Canada by Stikeman Elliott LLP, with a team that included Nathalie Mercure and Anjali Banka; and in Europe by Linklaters, with a team that included Eva Reudelhuber and Mario Lindner.