McDermott Will & Schulte has advised Maire Group on the conclusion and implementation of its joint venture agreements with Newcleo SA. Maire, through its subsidiary Nextchem, and Newcleo SA, an innovative company in the nuclear energy sector co founded by Stefano Buono, have completed the establishment of NEXT N, a joint venture focused on developing advanced technologies and specialised technical services for the nuclear energy industry.
The new company, owned 60% by Nextchem and 40% by Newcleo, will concentrate on the design and integration of the Conventional Island and Balance of Plant for Newcleo's next generation 200 MWe advanced modular reactors (AMRs).
As part of the overall joint venture framework, Nextchem also received approximately 1.25% of the share capital of Newcleo Ltd, the holding company of the Newcleo group, with the right to increase its stake up to 5%, based on the agreed pre money valuation and the achievement of certain milestones.
McDermott supported the Maire Group legal team led by Group General Counsel Fabio Fagioli, with Stefano di Berardino and Emanuela Procario for Legal & Contracts, and Davide Ragosa and Caterina Pietris for Corporate across all legal and tax aspects of the transaction.
The firm provided multi jurisdictional support coordinated by partner Alfonso Annibale de Marco, with contributions from:
- Italian corporate: partner Agata Todarello with trainee Chiara Carta
- French corporate, IP and regulatory: partners Fabrice Piollet, Côme Wirz, Marie Muriel Barthelet, Frédéric Pradelles and Sabine Naugès, with counsel Charles de Raignac and Matthieu Adam
- English law: partner Jason Zemmel with associate Tom Johnson
- International tax: partners Andrea Tempestini, Romain Desmonts, Antoine Vergnat, Alex Jupp and Giuseppe Mazzarella, with counsel Elizabeth Spencer and associates Paul Henry de Laguiche and Filippo Trova