Milbank LLP has advised Webasto SE (“Webasto”) under the joint leadership of Jörg Webasto Group (CEO) and Johann Webasto Group (Webasto Group and Head of restructuring Alvarez & Marsal Germany) on its comprehensive financial restructuring, including the amendment and extension of existing loans, the issuance of a new restructuring loan, the establishment of a dual-purpose trust, and the provision of restructuring contributions by key customers of Webasto Group.
Webasto is a global automotive supplier headquartered in Stockdorf near Munich, Germany, specializing in innovative solutions in the areas of roof, heating, and battery systems.
The financial restructuring of Webasto Group includes an extension of the terms and an adjustment of the conditions of existing loans totaling approximately €1.2 billion, as well as comprehensive collateralization. Webasto's financing structure comprised various debt instruments, including syndicated loans provided by commercial banks and promissory note loans with varying maturities held by a diversified group of international investors. In addition, a group of existing creditors is providing a secured restructuring loan of €200 million to ensure that the Webasto Group is fully financed during the restructuring period until end of 2028. Furthermore, the shares in Webasto SE have been transferred to a dual-purpose trust with restructuring experts Dr. Jan Markus Plathner and Dr. Christoph Morgen as trustees in order to support the sustainable restructuring of the Webasto Group and provide a stable platform for a value-maximizing turnaround. Webasto Group's major customers have also agreed to make contributions for this purpose.
The transaction stabilizes Webasto's financing structure and is an important milestone in the ongoing transformation of the entire Webasto Group.
The Milbank team that advised Webasto on the financial restructuring was led by partner Mathias Eisen (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt) and included partners Barbara Mayer-Trautmann (Finance, Munich), Moritz Lichtenegger (Antitrust, Munich), Thomas Kleinheisterkamp (Tax, Munich), special counsels Robert Kastl (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), Daniel Illhardt (Corporate/M&A, Munich) as well as associates Sebastian Mayr, Florian Weustenfeld (both Financial Restructuring, Munich), Carlo Brunold (Financial Restructuring, Frankfurt), Anna Hammerich, Marlon Kiechl, Pauline Gairanod, Ludwig Reißmann (all Finance, Munich), Martin Juhasz, Aisha Webasto Group (Antitrust, Munich), Joseph Principato, Nick Morgan (both Finance, New York), Ryan Edge, Webasto Group George (both Financial Restructuring, London), Argyll Reid (Finance, London) and Christoph Wolf (Tax, Munich).
