이 기사는 2021년 10월 07일 07시58분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

McDermott Will & Emery, a US-based global law firm, provided legal advice on Hanwha Solutions’ 727 million euro ($843 million) acquisition of RES Mediterranee SAS (RES France), the largest deal in the South Korean company’s history.

Hanwha Solutions, part of the country’s conglomerate Hanwha Group, received legal counsel on the cross-border deal from McDermott and Seoul-based Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, according to industry sources. McDermott is said to have more deeply involved throughout the acquisition process than the local law firm.

McDermott, which has more than 1,200 lawyers around the world, had tried to build its presence in South Korea by launching its Seoul office in 2012 but ultimately shuttered it in 2019, retreating from the market dominated by large local law firms.

The international law firm however has continued to provide legal advice to South Korean companies pursuing cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

McDermott advised Hanwha Group on the conglomerate’s acquisition of German photovoltaic manufacturer Q Cells in 2012. The law firm also acted as legal counsel to Hanwha Advanced Materials on its 2015 purchase of German auto parts maker Heycoustics.

Dr. Bernd Meyer-Witting and Florian Lechner, lawyers at the law firm’s Frankfurt office, played a key role in the RES France deal. They previously advised Hanwha on the acquisitions of Q Cells and Heycoustics, respectively. Lechner also advised Samsung Electronics on its takeover of Harman.

Apart from them, McDermott’s many other lawyers in its Frankfurt, Paris and Brussels offices who specialize in M&A, labor and intellectual property matters were involved in the deal.

The RES France acquisition is at the final stages and is expected to be completed in early or mid-November. In its announcement of the deal in early August, Hanwha Solutions said it would continue to expand investments at home and abroad as part of its ambitions to grow as a leading company in the global green energy market. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)