KPMG Law advises DKB on joint ventures with Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe in credit processing

KPMG Law advises Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB) on the establishment of a joint venture in the field of credit card processing with companies of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (KPMG Law) provided legal advice to DKB on the merger of Bayern Card-Services GmbH (BCS) and PLUSCARD Service-Gesellschaft für Kreditkarten-Processing mbH (PLUSCARD) to form a joint venture under the name qards GmbH. DKB was previously the majority shareholder of BCS and is now a co-shareholder of the joint venture with a stake of approx. 26%. The shares in PLUSCARD were fully owned by companies of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe.

With over 28 million cards under management, qards GmbH is one of Germany’s leading card processing companies. The joint venture’s range of services extends from the development, introduction and issuing of credit and debit cards to the processing of the card business – including marketing, customer service, strategy and consulting.

As part of the project, KPMG Law provided legal advice on the drafting and negotiation of the contracts underlying the merger (joint venture framework agreement, shareholders’ agreement, articles of association, merger documentation, etc.) as well as the preceding legal due diligence. KPMG Law worked together with the experts from KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, in particular on the due diligence.

DKB advisors:

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH: Dr. Dr. Boris Schilmar (Partner, overall responsibility), Dr. Anna Melikov (Senior Manager), Sebastian Stöhr (Senior Manager), Dr. Johanna Schrammen (Senior Manager), Franz-Jakob Schipp (Senior Associate), Arijan Shaboviq (Associate), Lukas Witty (Associate), all Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf, Dr. Matthias Henke (Partner), Jonas Sturies (Manager), Ralph Kokott (Associate), all banking regulatory law, Frankfurt am Main, Dr. Martin Trayer (Partner), Hanna Michalak (Senior Manager), Liza Rauter (Associate) all employment law, Frankfurt am Main.

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft: Marc Oliver Poggel (Partner), Dr. Ulrich Müller (Senior Manager), both FS Deal Advisory, Frankfurt am Main/Düsseldorf.