K&L Gates Advises APK AG on Investor Agreement With LyondellBasell

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP advised APK AG, an innovative recycling company for complex plastic waste with registered seat in Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) on the conclusion of an investor agreement with LyondellBasell (LYB) on the acquisition of all shares in APK AG by way of an insolvency plan.

Insolvency lawyers Nadja Raiß and Dr Georg Bernsau have been appointed as chief restructuring officers (CRO) for APK AG in its debtor-in possession proceedings, which were opened on 1 August 2024. A team from K&L Gates also advised on the structured M&A sale process and contract negotiations. Prof. Dr. Lucas F. Flöther of the law firm Flöther & Wissing was appointed as monitor. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the insolvency plan by the creditors.

APK AG was founded in 2008 with the vision of producing high purity plastic recyclates from plastic waste. The properties of the recyclates should be comparable to those of virgin material, thus closing the material loop. With the Newcycling®-process, scientists and engineers at APK AG have developed a pioneering recycling technology that combines mechanical and solvent-based steps. This resource saving process minimizes CO2-emissions and produces high quality recyclates suitable for premium applications such as personal care packaging. The Newcycling®-process has been scaled up to an industrial level at the pilot plant in Merseburg. Since 2022 APK AG has also been operating a pilot plant in Frankfurt-Höchst (Hesse, Germany) through its subsidiary APK Newcycling Competence Centre GmbH.

LYB, a leading company in the global chemical industry, pictures APK's physical, solvent-based recycling technology as an important addition to its existing and future mechanical and advanced recycling processes.

The K&L Gates team was led by Frankfurt based partners Nadja Raiß and Dr Georg Bernsau (Restructuring and Insolvency, lead), Dr Simone Wernicke (Employment), Rainer Schmitt (Tax, all Partners), Dr Angelika Bartholomäi (M&A/Corporate) and Marion Baumann (Antitrust, both Counsel) as well as the Associates Rodica Wegele (Restructuring & Insolvency), James Schütze (M&A/Corporate), Dr Isabel Kainer-Pfuhl and Lilly Reichwein (both Employment).