A&O Shearman advises AUTODOC on the acquisition of a minority stake in Apollo

The purchase was financed by the placement of a term loan B in the amount of EUR530 million and marks the conclusion of a successful partnership. In April 2024, the Apollo funds acquired a minority stake in AUTODOC at an equity valuation of EUR2.3bn. From the outset, the collaboration was designed to be time-limited and targeted: As an institutional partner, Apollo supported AUTODOC with strategic advice to expand access to institutional capital markets and prepare the company for a possible future IPO. 

The partnership with Apollo has brought AUTODOC significant progress in the areas of corporate governance, reporting and operational scalability. With the completion of the transaction, the three founders—Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner and Vitalij Kungel—now indirectly hold 100 percent of the shares in Autodoc SE again through their investment company AutoTech GmbH & Co. KG.

AUTODOC, the leading digital pure-play platform for automotive spare parts in Europe, was founded in Berlin in 2008 by Alexej Erdle, Max Wegner, and Vitalij Kungel. Since November 2022, the company has been operating as the European company Autodoc SE. As of December 31, 2025, AUTODOC's product range comprised around 7.8 million item numbers from around 2,700 brand manufacturers, including parts for cars, trucks and motorcycles, tires and complementary products such as tools, accessories, oils, fluids and consumables. 

In 2025, AUTODOC generated sales of EUR1.8bn (2024: EUR 1.6bn). AUTODOC operates online shops in 27 European countries and employs more than 5,500 people at 13 locations in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Apollo is a global asset manager that invests capital in alternative asset classes such as private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate for institutional and private investors. In addition to asset management, Apollo offers financing solutions to companies worldwide and is also active in the field of retirement provision and annuity products through its subsidiary Athene.

The core team of A&O Shearman was led by partner Dr. Christian Eichner and counsel Kyrill Chilevych and also included senior associate Eva Hohmann and associates Dr. Christina Vossen and Lasse Ostholt (all corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf). In addition, the team included partners Hans Diekmann (corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Walter Uebelhoer (banking, Munich), Knut Sauer (capital markets, Frankfurt), Sebastian Schulz (employment and benefits, Frankfurt), counsel Nadine Kämper (capital markets, Frankfurt), Senior Associate Nils Holzgrefe (banking, Munich) as well as associates Nico Theiss (capital markets, Frankfurt) and Thomas Hohe (employment and benefits, Frankfurt).

The financing of the transaction was also advised by A&O Shearman. The financing team was led by Dr. Walter Uebelhoer (Munich) and Xinni Lim (London) and included partners Neil Sinha (debt finance, London), senior associates Julia Bräuer and Nils Holzgrefe as well as associates Jack Mellet and Melvin Loo (London).

The transaction was legally supported in-house by Maximilian Freiherr von Schorlemer, chief legal officer of AUTODOC, with regard to all legally relevant aspects.

A&O Shearman had already advised AUTODOC in 2024 in connection with the establishment of the cooperation with Apollo and in 2025 on the preparation of an IPO.