Taylor Wessing advises insolvency administrator on the sale of Swedish Green Wood Sverige AB to Profura

Taylor Wessing, under the lead of Munich partners Dr Hendrik Boss and Dr Philip Cavaillès, successfully advised insolvency administrator Volker Böhm (Schultze & Braun) on the sale of Green Wood Sverige AB, with its two sawmill subsidiaries Bäckebrons Sagverk AB and Balungstrands Sagverk AB, to the Swedish holding Profura by way of a share deal. The Swedish sawmills were not among the 27 Ziegler companies that had to file for insolvency in the wake of the Ziegler Group's insolvency.

Green Wood Sverige AB and its subsidiaries employ a total of around 85 people at their two sites in Bäckebrons and Balungstrands. The new owner Profura has announced that it will continue to operate both sites and will retain all employees. The Ziegler Group had only acquired the two sawmills from Profura in 2022. The sale is still subject to approval by the Swedish authorities.

Taylor Wessing supported the insolvency administrator in all legal matters relating to the transaction and successfully concluded the contract negotiations.

Since the end of November 2024, 27 of the 45 Ziegler Group companies had filed for insolvency. In recent years, the group had embarked on an aggressive growth course, not least through acquisitions. In addition to its core business of woodworking and wood processing for the construction industry, the Ziegler Group is now active in logistics, pellet production, forestry, house and modular construction, as well as in related trades such as building services. However, in the midst of its growth phase, the group was hit hard by the slump in demand in the construction sector as a result of the war in Ukraine and the rise in interest rates. According to its own information, the Ziegler Group employed around 3,000 people in three countries (Germany, Sweden and Romania) at the beginning of the insolvency proceedings and generated group sales of around 750 million euros in 2023 in weak markets.

Legal Advisors of insolvency administrator/Volker Böhm

Taylor Wessing Germany: Dr. Hendrik Boss (Partner, Restructuring & Insolvency), Dr. Philip Cavaillès (both lead partners, Corporate/M&A), Eric-Sebastian Velten, LL.M, Inken Brandt, LL.M. (beide Associate, Corporate/M&A, Munich), Lisa Iwersen (Senior Associate), Timo Pröbster, Constantin Borowiak (beide Associate, alle Restructuring & Insolvency, alle München), Clemens Niedner, Maike Schöber (beide Partner), Dr. Stephan Klein (Senior Associate) (alle Banking/Finance, Frankfurt a.M.), Dr. Marco Hartmann-Rüppel (Partner), Dr. Stefan Horn, LL.B. (Salary Partner), Lena Rindsfus (Associate, alle Hamburg, alle Competition, EU & Trade).