GSK Stockmann advised the leading digital consumer products platform and brand aggregator Branded Group S.A., based in Luxembourg, on the acquisition of Heyday Technologies, Inc. from San Francisco, USA. The companies create the combined business Essor in the USA as a fully digital CPG platform.

The acquisition of the two companies and merger of their businesses creates Essor, a company with more than one billion social media views, hundreds of bestselling products and revenues of approximately USD 400 million. Essor combines Branded Group's strength in robust, technology-enabled operational processes with Heyday Technologies' expertise in marketing scaling and establishing digital-first brands in omni-channel distribution. The focus of Essor's portfolio is on wellness brands for personal care and household products.

The GSK Stockmann team from Luxembourg and Berlin, led by Dr. Katy Ritzmann, provided comprehensive legal advice to Branded Group S.A. on the acquisition of Heyday Technologies, Inc. and the formation of Essor. In addition to the acquisition and cross-border takeover to the USA, the team advised on an efficiency-oriented restructuring of the venture debt financings existing on both sides of the transaction.

Advisers Branded Group S.A.

GSK Stockmann: Dr. Katy Ritzmann (Lead, Venture Capital), Dr. Philipp Mössner, LL.M. (Corporate M&A, Finance), Anna Gassner (Corporate M&A), Mathilde Ostertag (Tax), Andrea Carraretto (Corporate M&A), Chara Papagiannidi (Corporate M&A), Maria Gusinski (Corporate M&A)

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman: Lindsey K. Livingston, Victoria Judd, Melissa B. Jones-Prus, Stephen B. Amdur, Joel Simon, Nora E. Burke, Jessica Lutrin, Nick Burgess, Ryan A. Kenny, Jack Welch, Max Griffin, Daniel Kong, Sarah L. Browne, Anahita Shahrokh, Tanzilah Iqbal

Winston & Strawn: Jason Jun, Sam Levinson, Angel Grimaldi, Daniel Passage, Richard Jung

Advisers Heyday Technologies, Inc

Cooley: Claudia F. Torres, Zachary Sonenshine, Nicolas L. Francis, Christopher M. Nickas, Danielle T. Joe, Well Mackey Jr., Julie Orr, Yoana Y Setzer

Arendt & Medernach: Messaouda Benbouzid, Bob Calmes, Lara Gorecka, Guillaume Bouriaud, Marjolaine Bonvalot

Advisers Venture Debt Providers

Katten: John P. Huang, Julia Brook, Emily Kay Watson, Christopher S. Atkinson, Jesse Sanchez, Mark R. Grossmann, Nia A Sims, Usha Avasarala, Peter Englund, Cara Brown,

Bird & Bird: Dan Campbell, Jenny Stockford, Struan Penwarden, Mark Penwarden, William Schofield, Jessica Derocque.

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