Kirkland and Sidley Austin LLP Advise Accuride Corporation on the Acquisition of Mefro Wheels

Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin advise Accuride Corporation, a US-based supplier of components to the commercial vehicle industry, on the acquisition of Mefro Wheels GmbH. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities.

The addition of Mefro Wheels will strengthen Accuride’s position for future growth as a supplier of wheel end solutions to the global commercial vehicle industry. The combination will create a global supplier of commercial vehicle wheels and wheel end components for commercial vehicles with a total of around 5,000 employees at 15 manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Headquartered in Solingen, Germany, Mefro Wheels GmbH, produces steel wheels for commercial vehicle, off-road and automotive applications. Founded in 1991, the company employs more than 3,000 people at three manufacturing plants in Germany, two in Russia and one each in France, Turkey and China.

Accuride Corporation, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, USA, is a supplier of components to the North American and European commercial vehicle industries. The company's products include a variety of brand names such as Accuride®, Accuride Wheel End Solutions™, Gunite®, KIC® and Gianetti Ruote™. Accuride is a portfolio company of Crestview Partners.

The transaction was led by Kirkland corporate partner Bernhard Guthy and Sidley corporate partner Björn Holland, both based in Munich. Björn Holland has recently joined Sidley Austin from Kirkland & Ellis. Kirkland also advised on restructuring issues with partner Sacha Luerken as well as on tax issues with tax partner Oded Schein and associate Daniel Hiemer. Antitrust aspects were handled by partner Sarah Jordan and Of Counsel Mike Robert-Smith.