AG has advised UK-based Kynetec Group, a leading global agricultural products and animal health market research company and a wholly owned portfolio company of private equity investor Inflexion, on its acquisition of Germany-based Kleffmann Group.

Founded in 1990, the Kleffmann Group is a leading international market research institute for agricultural products with over 300 employees. With more than 18 international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and Latin America, the institute offers a comprehensive portfolio of market research solutions in over 70 countries worldwide.

Kynetec has many years of experience in market research in the areas of animal health and agricultural animal nutrition, crop protection, agricultural machinery and equipment, seeds/biotechnology and fertilisers. About 900 employees work in the 24 countries important to agriculture and animal health and are regularly active in research projects in more than 80 countries.

By merging their complementary market research businesses, the two companies hope to better meet the challenges of customer consolidation in the animal health and agriculture sectors. In addition, the two companies plan to invest in digital technologies and Big Data in the future. With the sale, CEO and founder Burkhard Kleffmann is leaving the Kleffmann Group to focus on the remote sensing business, which was spun off in a carve-out as part of the transaction, in the area of satellite-based cartography for agriculture.

For Kynetec/Inflexion

Addleshaw Goddard (Hamburg):

• Dr. Hubertus Schröder (Corporate/M&A, leadership)
• Dr. Maximilian Karacz (Corporate/M&A, leadership)
• Andrew Green (Corporate/M&A, Manchester)
• Dr. Martin Lüderitz (Labour Law)
• Jens Peters (Labour Law)
• Dr. StaffanWegdell (Real Estate)

Associates:

• Dr. Natalia Ilyevich (Corporate/M&A)
• Carolyn Krampitz (Commercial)
• George Danczak (Corporate/M&A, Manchester)

Taylor Wessing (Düsseldorf):

• Lead by Dr. Ernst-Albrecht von Beauvais (Corporate/M&A), acted for the sellers