Berlin/Frankfurt—Global law firm Dentons advised Mobisol, a pioneer in solar power systems for households in developing countries, in its takeover announced today by French energy company ENGIE. Thanks to its unique global footprint, and in particular its strong presence in Africa, Dentons was able to seamlessly support the acquisition of Mobisol’s parent company and its subsidiaries across seven jurisdictions.

Dentons has been closely involved with Mobisol throughout its restructuring and sale process. After Mobisol put itself into self-administration in mid-April, Frankfurt Dentons partner Daniel F. Fritz was appointed general authorized representative and acted as Chief Insolvency Officer. An international Dentons team led by Frankfurt partner Dr. Clemens Maschke subsequently advised the company during the multijurisdictional M&A process. ENGIE’s acquisition of Mobisol includes all of its foreign operating subsidiaries in Africa, which continue to provide more than half a million people with energy independent of the power grid. ENGIE plans to develop Mobisol further after the formal takeover.

The transaction is currently subject to approval by antitrust authorities in Tanzania. All those responsible for restructuring will remain on board until antitrust approval is granted.

Daniel Fritz commented: "I am very happy to have created a secure perspective for the entire workforce in Berlin, the more than 500 employees of the group worldwide and the more than 800 freelancers in Africa. A particular challenge here was the immense complexity stemming from seven different, sometimes very special jurisdictions. The entire process had to be continuously coordinated with English, Chinese, German, Kenyan, Rwandan, Tanzanian and Mauritian law.” Clemens Maschke adds: “The whole team worked together wonderfully on a global scale.”

Mobisol Group aims to help alleviate poverty by providing sustainable and affordable energy solutions. It designs, sells and maintains home and commercial solar power systems, which combine high-tech solar powersets together with mobile payment technologies to ensure flexible and affordable payment options. Based in Germany, Mobisol has supplied more than half a million people in developing countries with electricity and runs its own projects in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda.

International energy company ENGIE was created in 2008 from the merger of Gaz de France and Suez. ENGIE, listed in Paris and Brussels, is active in 70 countries and employs 150,000 people worldwide. Turnover amounted to €60.6 billion in 2018.

Advisors to Mobisol:

Dentons (Frankfurt/Berlin): 

Insolvency and restructuring: Daniel F. Fritz (Lead Partner global and general authorized representative, Frankfurt), Dr. Benjamin Kurzberg (Counsel), Dr. Jakob Pickartz (Senior Associate), Dr. Dietmar Schubert (Senior Associate, all Berlin)

Corporate/M&A: Dr. Clemens Maschke (Partner, Lead), Tobias Henke (Senior Associate), Heinrich Raisch (Associate, all Frankfurt)

Employment: Frank Lenzen (Partner, Berlin), Matthias Stelzer (Counsel, Berlin)

Competition and Antitrust: Dr. Josef Hainz, (Partner), Dr. René Grafunder (Partner), Alexandra Prohm (Associate, all Berlin)

Tax: Michael Graf (Partner, Frankfurt)

Dentons (UK): Neil Griffiths (Partner, Dispute Resolution), Candice Chapman (Partner, Corporate), Rachael Del Riccio (Senior Associate, Corporate), Adam Eckersley-Waites (Associate, Banking & Finance).

Dentons Hamilton Harrison & Mathews (Kenya): Adil Khawaja (Managing Partner), Richard Omwela (Senior Partner), Peter Okaalet (Senior Associate, all Corporate)

Dentons (Mauritius): Sivakumaren Mardemootoo (Managing Partner, Banking & Finance), Kate Bosman (Senior Associate, Corporate), Mervyn Mooken (Associate, Corporate), Premila Balgobin (Legal Consultant)

Dentons (China): Glen Wei (Partner, Tax), Frank Niu (Counsel, Corporate)

Dentons Nextlaw Referral Network:

East African Law Chambers (Tanzania): Stella Ndikimi (Managing Partner, Corporate) Thomas Sipemba (Partner), Mark Tindamanyire (Associate, all Corporate), Joseph Thogo (Principal, Tax)

Trust Law Chambers (Rwanda): Richard Mugisha (Senior Partner), Daniel Gasaatura (Senior Associate) all Banking & Finance.

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