International law firm Bird & Bird has advised longstanding client Airhive, a London-based direct air capture (DAC) company, on its acquisition of Dutch DAC competitor Carbyon.
Both companies have developed different but complementary technology to remove atmospheric CO2.
The combined entity, which will operate under Airhive’s name, will be a European leader in low-cost DAC technology with a strengthened position for deploying low-cost DAC at the scale required to mitigate climate change.
Simultaneously to the acquisition, Bird & Bird also advised the combined entity on a Series A financing round.
The acquisition was led by Struan Penwarden (partner, Corporate) and Sarah Bratton-Bishop (senior associate, Corporate), alongside Poppy Stopford (trainee, Corporate) in collaboration with our Netherlands team led by Pauline Vos (partner, Corporate) and Jephta Zantinge (associate, Corporate). Jesse Dalton (partner, Tax) and Andrew Rink (senior associate, Tax) advised on the tax aspects.
Struan Penwarden (partner, Corporate) and Ellie Goonetillake (associate, Corporate) advised on the Series A financing.
Struan Penwarden Corporate Partner at Bird & Bird commented: “This is a landmark transaction for the European carbon removal sector. Combining Airhive’s next-generation technology with Carbyon’s R&D depth creates a compelling platform for scaling direct air capture at the costs the market needs. Having advised Airhive since their seed round, we are proud to have supported them to this milestone and look forward to watching them continue to grow.”
