K&L Gates Advises Continental on the Sale of Italian Drum Brake Plant to Mutares

Global law firm K&L Gates has advised Continental on the sale of its hydraulic drum brake plant in Cairo Montenotte, Italy, to financial investor Mutares SE & Co. KGaA (Mutares). The divestment is part of Continental Automotive’s, soon to be Aumovio, strategic focus on its core business.

Mutares SE & Co. KGaA is a publicly listed investment company based in Munich that specializes in acquiring business units from large corporations as well as medium-sized enterprises.

As part of the share deal, Mutares will acquire all business operations at the Cairo Montenotte site, including production, research and development, and approximately 400 employees. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter of 2025 following the planned stock market listing of Continental’s Automotive division as an independent company under the name Aumovio, subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

The transaction was led by Berlin partner Dr. Thomas Lappe. He was supported by the Milan partners Giampaolo Salsi and Bruno Vascellari, along with Berlin partners Dr. Annette Mutschler-Siebert and Dr. Thomas Nietsch, Milan partners Andrea Campana and Vittorio Salvadori di Wiesenhoff, Berlin counsel Marion Baumann, Berlin senior associate Dr. Gabriella Piras, and Milan associate Lorenzo Fidanza.

K&L Gates’ Corporate practice is one of the most substantial in the legal industry, with hundreds of lawyers in offices on five continents, providing clients with practical legal solutions in the structuring, financing, and completion of domestic, international, and cross-border transactions.