Find Lawyers in Germany for Private Equity Law
Practice Area Overview
"Private Equity Law" is effectively a special field within the practice area of "Mergers & Acquisitions Law." It typically covers all legal aspects of the investment activity of private equity investment funds. Such private equity investment funds include "classical" corporate buy-out funds, real estate funds, and infrastructure funds. Recently, it has, however, become more and more difficult to draw an exact line between these classical private equity investment funds and other types of investment funds such as sovereign wealth funds, venture capital funds, family offices, and to a certain extent, hedge funds. The reason is that these other types of investment funds have broadened their scope of activity and are now often competing with private equity investment funds for the same transactions.
A typical private equity transaction (as a distinguishing factor to the other investment activities of investment funds) would be aimed at acquiring a significant portion of the equity (typically at least a majority) in a matured and healthy business with a combination of equity made available by the private equity investment fund and debt provided by banks (the so-called "leverage"). Advising on such leveraged buy-outs, which are by nature very complex and regularly implemented on an accelerated time table, requires a combination of legal expertise in structuring a transaction, acquisition finance (both in the private and public debt markets), and traditional M&A skills (such as performing a due diligence on the target and preparing and negotiating the transaction documentation). Private equity deals relate to targets in all kinds of industry sectors and could result in both a private and a public M&A transaction. Consequently, private equity lawyers work closely with specialist lawyers in areas such as Tax, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, Regulatory, as well as with industry experts in the target's sector. Further complexity is added if the target is acquired out of a bankruptcy or needs to be carved-out of a larger conglomerate before it can be acquired.
On very large transactions, several private equity funds may form a consortium to pursue a transaction jointly. This requires additional expertise in setting up the rules governing such "club deals" from the joint bidding and during the joint ownership and until an exit. In addition, private equity investors offer (and require) the target's management in almost every deal to make a co-investment to incentivise them. Private equity law, hence, extends to the legal aspects of such management equity participation programs.
Private equity lawyers also help their clients to grow the acquired company through additional transactions (so-called "buy & build") and assist them upon an exit through a trade sale or an IPO.
Besides the typical transactional work, Private Equity Law also extends to the formation of private investment funds and advising them during their life in connection with the ever increasing regulatory requirements they have to comply with.
"Private Equity Law" is effectively a special field within the practice area of "Mergers & Acquisitions Law." It typically covers all legal aspects of the investment activity of private equity investment funds. Such private equity investment funds include "classical" corporate buy-out funds, real estate funds, and infrastructure funds. Recently, it has, however, become more and more difficult to draw an exact line between these classical private equity investment funds and other types of investment funds such as sovereign wealth funds, venture capital funds, family offices, and to a certain extent, hedge funds. The reason is that these other types of investment funds have broadened their scope of activity and are now often competing with private equity investment funds for the same transactions.
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Henrik Armah is a shareholder in the M&A/Corporate group of Greenberg Traurig's German office. He advises international and domestic clients on M&A transactions, joint ventures, corporate transformations and on all general matters of corporate law. He specializes in cross border transactions (buy side and sell side). His clients include industry players as well as private equity, venture capital and strategic investors. Henrik is an expert with particular experience in the technology,...
Uwe Bärenz is a partner at POELLATH in Berlin. He focuses on private investment funds, GP and investors advice. He is predominantly engaged in private equity funds, including cross-border work, mainly Luxembourg, tax and regulatory issues, filings, terms and conditions, private and public placements, investors' needs (pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds, fund of funds, private clients), complex secondary transactions. He is one of the most experienced advisors for the es...
Dr. Jan Bauer is head of Skadden’s private equity practice in Germany and leads the firm’s German offices. He focuses on advising private equity and corporate clients on complex cross-border M&A transactions, including private and public deals as well as joint ventures. He also advises on corporate governance matters, corporate restructurings and capital markets-related issues.
Dr Matthias Bruse is a founding partner of POELLATH (formerly P+P Pöllath + Partners). He has practiced corporate law since 1984 and has decades of expertise in transactions with a focus on private equity investments and family-owned businesses. In addition, he is also highly regarded for his corporate law advice, often with regard to succession issues. Matthias is also active as arbitrator, in particular with respect to post-M&A disputes. He is frequently ranked as one of the preemi...
Otto Haberstock is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. Otto is a proven expert in legal and tax advice for investors, entrepreneurs, corporates, founders and management teams in M&A, private equity, venture capital and capital market transactions. With more than 30 years of experience, he is one of the leading advisors in the market for complex M&A, private equity and venture capital projects and thus continuously ranked among the top experts in his areas of expertise. He graduated from ...
Dr. Holger Hofmeister advises corporate clients and private equity firms in connection with acquisitions, divestitures, public takeovers, joint ventures, and other M&A and corporate matters, including capital markets-related issues. In addition, he advises on corporate governance-related matters and corporate restructurings.
Josef Hofschroer focuses his practice on corporate law, with an emphasis on M&A transactions for national and international clients. He particularly advises on all aspects of capital markets and securities law. Furthermore, his practice includes distressed investments as well as joint ventures. Josef has particularly wide-ranging experience in the fields of energy, technology, telecommunications and real estate. Among his clients are start-ups, medium-sized and large companies as well as ...
Dr Benedikt Hohaus is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. He is the clear number one in the market for management advice. Benedikt works in the areas of private equity, tax law and corporate law. Within these specialist areas, he focuses on advising private equity funds and managers on all legal and tax aspects of management investments, incentives for managers and employees and management buy-out / management buy-in. Domestic and international ranking publications, including JUVE, Chambers, The...
Dr. Matthias Horbach is head of Skadden’s German M&A practice, advising on complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions, inbound and outbound investments, corporate finance, and various other corporate transactions. Mr. Horbach’s M&A work includes advising a broad range of clients, including industrial companies, private equity investment firms and investment banks, on acquisitions, dispositions, cross-border mergers, joint ventures and public takeover transactions. In th...
Jens Hörmann has been advising on M&A and private equity transactions for more than 20 years, also in the infrastructure and healthcare sectors. Furthermore, he has a great deal of experience in carve-out situations. He is regularly listed and recommended in relevant rankings. Clients particularly appreciate his reliability, competence and the consistently high quality of his advice. Jens’ clients include well-known insurance companies, financial investors and strategists. He i...
Dr Michael Inhester is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. Michael advises national and international companies from various industries on corporate and tax law. He is known for his pragmatic and solution-oriented approach as a transactional lawyer with many years of cross-industry practical experience in areas such as M&A, restructuring, private equity and venture capital. His client base includes corporate and VC/PE companies. Thanks to his more than 20 years of experience in the transacti...
Jens Kleinert practises as a lawyer and a certified tax lawyer, advising clients on all issues dealing with national and international tax law, in particular on the development of tax-optimised structures and the implementation thereof. This also comprises the development and application of capital market products, especially by using investment funds. He has broad experience in advising on complex restructurings and cross-border transactions. His focus is particularly on business succession ...
Dipl.-Kfm. Dr. iur. Maximilian Koch is the Managing Director and Founder of KOCH Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH in Dusseldorf, Germany. He studied economics at the University of Hagen (Diplom-Kaufmann) and law at the University of Osnabruck (1st legal state exam with honors, ranking among the top 5% of graduates), in addition to earning his Dr. iur. "summa cum laude". After completing his legal clerkship in Lower Saxony, he excelled in the 2nd state law examination, achieving a high distinctio...
Dr. Barbara Koch-Schulte is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. She specializes in legal and tax advisory on management participation (MBI/MBO), including ESOPs, phantom shares and other incentive programs. A main focus is the accompaniment of management participation in the taxation process, in tax audits and other disputes with the tax authorities. Her clients are managers and employees, as well as investors and employers. Her dual qualification as a lawyer and tax advisor also makes her a sou...
Tarek Mardini is a partner in the private funds practice group of POELLATH in Berlin. He specializes in comprehensive advice on contract, corporate, regulatory and tax law and market practice in the area of alternative investment funds and asset management. He advises German and international fund managers on fund structuring, as well as institutional investors and family offices on investments in private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure, real estate funds and other alter...
Dr Eva Nase is a partner and a member of the management board at POELLATH in Munich. Eva advises publicly listed and private companies on preparing and conducting their shareholder meetings and on reorganizing the corporate group structure by way of spin-offs and hive-downs of business units, national and international mergers and conversions of legal form (e.g., into a European stock corporation, SE), also from a co-determination perspective, as well as on all corporate advisory matters rela...
Dr. Thomas M. Schmid Attorney Partner Specialists area : Mergers & acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, capital market law, corporate law I specialise in advising on M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions. My clients include national and international companies as well as private equity/venture capital funds and start-ups, which I advise on (cross-border) transactions. In addition, I advise on venture and growth capital/corporate venture investments, but also h...
Peter Schorling is chair of the firm’s German Corporate Group, focusing his practice on M&A transactions. Peter advises on all aspects of M&A and corporate law, providing in-depth expertise in buy-side and sell-side transactions, private equity, joint ventures, corporate restructurings and capital markets. In particular, this includes various cross-border projects for international clients. Peter has wide-ranging experience advising clients in the real estate and media, technolo...
Dr. Philip Schwarz van Berk, LL.M . is a partner at POELLATH in Berlin. Philip has been advising German and international fund managers on the structuring of alternative investment funds for over 15 years. He and his team have advised numerous German fund managers on venture capital, buyout and real estate private equity funds. His expertise also includes secondary transactions and advising family offices on investments and investment structures for private equity and venture capital. Philip ...
Dr Frank Thiäner is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. Frank advises shareholders, investors and companies on M&A transactions. His focus is on private equity, family-owned enterprises and cross-border transactions. He also advises on venture capital transactions and succession planning. His clients include well-known German and international private equity funds, owners of medium-sized companies and private investors. He is one of the founders of the Munich M&A Forum e.V., served ...
Christian Tönies is a partner at POELLATH in Munich and Berlin. He spezialises in M&A with a focus on private equity and venture capital transactions, including trade sale, IPOs and asset sale. Together with Michael Inhester, he heads the venture capital practice at POELLATH and advises in particular on the entire range of venture capital – from financing and acquisitions to exits. His clients include venture capital funds, corporate venture capitalists, start-ups, as well as i...
Amos Veith is a partner of POELLATH's private funds practice in Berlin. He has practised tax and corporate law since 2000 and assisted clients in structuring and reviewing several hundred venture capital and private equity funds and similar alternative investments. He provides fiscal and legal advice to domestic and foreign institutional and private investors and initiators in the foregoing fields of closed-end funds. His clients include many well-known international banks, insurance companie...
Philipp von Braunschweig is a partner at POELLATH in Munich. For over 25 years, he acts as a trusted advisor to well-known entrepreneurial families, management teams and, in particular, private equity funds on transactional M&A, venture capital with a focus on leveraged buy-outs and private equity, including management equity programs. He is consistently ranked among the leading lawyers for his private equity and M&A practice. Philipp is a member of the German-American Lawyers' Associ...
Being an Associate in the German Corporate/M&A team, Lukas Gauert advises national and international clients in M&A transactions, the structuring of joint ventures and on all general corporate law matters. Furthermore, he focuses his practice on advising start-ups and on venture capital financings. Prior to joining the firm as an attorney, Lukas Gauert worked as a paralegal and legal clerk in both the Berlin and the New York offices of Greenberg Traurig.
Alexander Hoeffler represents corporate clients and private equity firms in connection with a wide range of M&A transactions. Mr. Hoeffler has experience in counseling domestic and international clients on both the buy-side and sell-side. His practice also covers general corporate, restructuring and foreign investment control matters.
Angelina Seelbach works as a senior associate in POELLATH's Munich office. She provides legal advice on M&A/private equity and venture capital, as well as corporate and capital markets law. She advises investors, entrepreneurs, founders and management teams on mergers & acquisitions and private equity transactions. She is also an expert in the field of venture capital transactions, where she focuses on advising corporates and start-ups.
Daniel Zhu is a counsel at POELLATH in Munich. He provides legal advice on mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions as well as venture capital and corporate law. His clients include investors, corporate enterprises, entrepreneurs, founders and management teams. Daniel joined POELLATH in 2022 and worked previously as (senior) associate at two internationally operating law firms in Munich (2017-2022). He studied law at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich and was admitted...
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