Freshfields advises Ottobock on the sale of its Human Mobility division to DHCare

Deals

Global law firm Freshfields is advising SDAX-listed Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA on the sale of its Human Mobility division to the international medical technology company DHCare. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

The Ottobock Group is a leading international provider of medical technology products and solutions and the global market leader in prosthetics, neuro-orthotics, digital O&P solutions, and bionic exoskeletons. The Human Mobility division comprises Ottobock’s wheelchair business, whose product portfolio includes manual and electric wheelchairs, pediatric wheelchairs, and pediatric rehabilitation strollers, as well as seating and positioning solutions. As part of the transaction, the German Human Mobility companies and the Dutch pediatric wheelchair specialist veldink4Kids will be fully integrated into the new corporate group.

DHCare was most recently formed from the merger of Invacare Holdings S.à r.l. and Direct Healthcare Group (DHG).Freshfields is advising on the structuring of the transaction, including share and asset purchase agreements, the drafting and negotiation of transaction documents, post-closing service agreements, and the coordination of all local legal counsel.

The multi-jurisdictional Freshfields team is led by Partner Christoph H. Seibt, with key support from Principal Associate Jil Rollmann (both Corporate/M&A, Hamburg) and Counsel Philipp Lehmann (Frankfurt) and Marius Scherb (Hamburg, both Commercial/IP). The team also includes:

Partners: Philipp Dohnke (Commercial/IP, Hamburg), Dominic Divivier (Antitrust, Düsseldorf), Michael Ramb (Regulatory, Düsseldorf/Berlin), Bob van Kasteren (Tax, Amsterdam), Elodie Favre-Thellmann (Employment Law, Paris), Alexander Schwahn (Tax, Hamburg), Stephan Denk (Compliance, Vienna), Gerrit Beckhaus (Real Estate, Hamburg), Brechje Nollen (Amsterdam), Satya Staes Polet (Brussels, both Employment Law)

Counsel: Björn Junior (Tax, Hamburg), Etienne Létang (Corporate/M&A, Paris), Lukas Pomaroli (Sanctions, Vienna), Matteo Tola (Employment Law, Milan)

Senior/Principal Associates: Tim Vohwinkel (Antitrust, Düsseldorf), Hubertus Reinbach (Employment Law, Hamburg), Katharina Reinhardt (Regulatory, Berlin), Manuel Jäger (Pensions, Düsseldorf), Laura Druckenbrodt, Nina Gissinger (both Real Estate, Hamburg)

Associates: Moritz Meyer (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Lena Minkenberg (Commercial/IP, Düsseldorf), Johanna Karstaedt (Corporate/M&A), Ann-Theres Hall (Employment Law), Melanie Jacobi (Corporate/M&A, all Hamburg), Vinzent Will (Regulatory, Berlin), Anne Reungoat (Employment Law, Paris), Merel Van Essen (Tax, Amsterdam), Benedikt Behrendt (Commercial/IP, Frankfurt), Lotte Somers (Amsterdam), Nicolò Schiavo (Milan, both Employment Law), Tensin Studer (Sanctions, Vienna), Matthias Wahls (Antitrust and Foreign Trade, Berlin), Sophie Pretscher (Employment Law, Vienna), Ann-Kathrin Pletzer (Restructuring & Insolvency, Hamburg)

Transaction Lawyers: Maik Sascha Brücher, Pia Kühlkamp (both Senior Transaction Lawyers), Sonja Kirschberger (all Düsseldorf)

At Ottobock, the transaction is being managed by Arne Kreitz (Chief Financial Officer), Alexander Gück (Head of Corporate, Strategy and M&A), and Edgar Matyschok (Legal Counsel).

Teams led by Freshfields partner Christoph H. Seibt have been regularly advising the Ottobock Group and its majority shareholder, the Näder family, for a decade on corporate law matters as well as M&A transactions and financing, e.g., during the company’s conversion to the legal form of an SE & Co. KGaA, the addition of the financial investor EQT to the shareholder base in 2017, and the acquisition of a strategic stake in the publicly traded ONWARD Medical NV in 2024. Furthermore, Freshfields advised on the repurchase of EQT’s minority stake by Näder Holding in 2024. Freshfields also provided comprehensive advice on all capital markets, corporate, and labor law issues in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA in the fall of 2025 and, in parallel, advised Näder Holding GmbH & Co. KG on a refinancing transaction carried out in connection with the IPO.