Milbank advised Altor Fund V on the agreement to acquire a majority stake in Rise Up Fashion GmbH (“oceansapart”), the legal entity owning oceansapart #soulful clothing, and on entering a partnership with the current owners, founders, and management. Altor will partner with a value creating investor. The cooperation is intended to support the growth of the company and the brand. The founders Susanna Wagner and Paul Engelmann will continue in their roles and remain significant shareholders. The completion of the transaction remains subject to review and approval from relevant authorities.
Since inception, the family of Altor funds has raised some €8.3 billion in total commitments. The funds have invested around €5 billion in more than 75 companies. The investments have been made in medium sized predominantly Nordic companies with the aim to create value through growth initiatives and operational improvements. Among current and past investments are Revolution Race, Toteme, iDeal of Sweden, Rossignol, and Helly Hansen.
Founded in 2018, oceansapart offers activewear sports apparel for a growing community focused on inclusivity and diversity rather than just sports performance. The activewear designs include leggings, bras, hoodies and activewear accessories targeting mainly female Gen Y and Gen Z customers. Headquartered in Berlin, the company’s core market comprises the DACH region with recent entries into France, Italy, Poland and Spain.
The Milbank team, which comprehensively advised Altor Fund V on corporate, tax, antitrust and finance law aspects of the transaction, was led by partner Michael Bernhardt and associate Sebastian Dexheimer (both Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and included partner Matthias Schell (Tax, Munich) and Alexander Rinne (Antitrust, Munich) as well as associates Johannes Wohlmuth (Corporate/M&A, Munich), Susanne Schricker, Matthias Riehl (both Antitrust, Munich) and Odilo Wallner (Finance, Frankfurt).
