The Legal 500

Accura Advokataktieselskab’s practice is ‘top of the league’, with a strong record for top clients across industry sectors. Thomas Weincke represented Unilever in its planned acquisition of Sara Lee’s personal care business and Metso in its acquisition of M&J Industries. Jacob Vinther advised windmill manufacturer Skykon on EQT’s expansion capital investment and Polar Is in its acquisition of Premiere Is from Nestlé. The ‘extremely well connected’ Kåre Stolt, who ‘combines legal and business skills’, represented Irish conglomerate DCC in its acquisition of Shell’s Danish distribution business and Axcel in its acquisition of furniture retailer ILVA. Michael Vinther represented Kuntkes Holding on its divestment of Alliance Clean & Care to Polaris Private Equity. Karsten Pedersen is also recommended.

Jacob Hjortshøj and his team at Bech-Bruun represented Kommunernes Landsforening in its €269m disposal of KMD to EQT, and Altor in its €142m acquisition of MedTech. Monica Reib advised the majority shareholder on Fullrate’s sale to TDC, and represented Wayport during its €195m sale to AT&T. Niels Kornerup is ‘extremely helpful during sales negotiations’, while Niels Erik Nielsen, Søren Meisling, Jacob Hjortshøj and Mikkel Baaring Lerche are also recommended.

Gorrissen Federspiel’s M&A department handles major Danish and international transactions including advising Alm. Brand Forsikring on its DKK150m disposal of Det Kjøbenhavnske Reassurance-Compagni to Enstar Group; EQT on its acquisition of KMD; AT&T on its $275m acquisition of Wayport; and CVC Capital Partners with the sale of its 22% shareholding in Post Danmark to the Danish State. Department head Tomas Haagen Jensen plus Niels Heering, Klaus Søgaard, Rikke Schiøtt Petersen and Camilla Collet are recommended.

Kromann Reumert’s highly respected group includes Copenhagen-based Marianne Philip, Jørgen Kjergaard Madsen, Henrik Møgelmose, Anders Lavesen, Peter Ketelsen, Caroline Pontoppidan, Christian Lundgren and the Aarhus-based Poul Viggo Bartels Petersen. The group advised the Danish Ministry of Transport in connection with the merger of Post Danmark and Posten and on the state acquisition of a 22% shareholding in Post Danmark from funds managed by CVC Capital Partners. It assisted DONG Energy in the largest-ever purchase of off-shore wind turbines (from Siemens Windpower), and advised eBay on its €280m purchase of media group Den Blå Avis and affiliated companies in Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

Plesner leads the market in terms of transaction size and volume with Finn Lernø, Jacob Bier and Christian Kjølbye attracting big-ticket deals across industries. The group represented transportation and logistics giant DSV in its €750m acquisition of Belgium-based ABX World Wide Logistics from 3i. Jacob Christensen and Christian Kjølbye led a team representing Post Danmark in its merger with Posten. Jacob Bier acted for the Danish arm of Nordea in its €121m acquisition of Fionia Bank from Finansiel Stabilitet. Jacob Bier and Torben Nørskov represented EQT Expansion Capital II in its investment in windmill manufacturer Skykon.

Bruun & Hjejle has increased its visibility with recent highlights including representing Clipper, DKA and LD Invest Equity in the €167m sale of A2SEA to DONG Energy and handling US-listed Technitrol’s €140m divestment of MedTech to Altor and its MEMS business to EPCOS. The team also acted for the owners during the sale of Capital Four Management to Saxo Bank and for DKA II in acquiring a 79% stake in Traen. The team is ‘proactive and focused on the important matters’, has ‘excellent negotiating skills’ and is ‘pleasant to work with’. Key players include Mogens Thorninger, Oluf Engell, Mogens Ebeling, Christian Schow Madsen, Morten Stadil, Robin Philip, Henrik Rossing Lønberg, Karsten Kristoffersen, Christian Gregersen and Andreas Nielsen.

Horten advises public-sector and mid-market clients with particular focus on the energy and utility sectors. Lise Lotte Hjerrild represents E.ON Danmark, acted the Municipality of Gladsaxe in merging its water and waste business with that of the Municipality of Gentofte to form the Nordvand Group, and advised the Karsten Ree Group on divesting Den Blå Avis to eBay. Hans Christian Pape advised Polaris Private Equity on its acquisition of Alliance Clean & Care and Kølving & Thaning. Jim Øksnebjerg advises Copenhagen Energy. Louise Borch has ‘an excellent practical feel for how the market works’.

‘Experienced negotiator’ Henrik Juul Hansen heads Rønne & Lundgren’s 25-lawyer M&A group, which is ‘eager to meet deadlines and definitely value for money’. The team represented Saxo Bank on its acquisition of E*Trade International’s Nordic business. Other work included advising Albihns on its merger with Zacco and acted for Avelon Group OY on selling Skandia Transport to Scandinavian Motortransport. Morten Jensen advised SoftScan and its shareholders on the sale of the entire share capital.

Lett Law Firm’s 58-lawyer team focuses on industrial transactions. Group head Sebastian Ingversen sits on the panel of legal advisers to Danish telecoms giant TDC, and advised TDC on its purchase of broadband company Fullrate. He also represented YouSee during its purchase of A+ Group. Finn Overgaard and Ulrik Bangsbo Hansen advised on the divestment of TDC’s subsidiary Invitel to private equity firm Mid Europa Partners, while Torkil Høg and Ulrik Bangsbo Hansen advised longstanding client Shell on the divestment of its ‘small drop’ business to DCC Energy. Jutland-based Niels Bo Andersen and Hans-Christian Ohrt are also recommended.

Lind Cadovius acted for the sellers on a number of leveraged international deals, notably the sales of Svendborg Brakes and IT solutions provider KMD. Søren Jørgensen also advises 3i.

‘Competent, diligent and service-oriented’ Nielsen Nørager is well reputed for M&A, including venture capital and funds transactions. Morten Eldrup-Jørgensen and Thomas Weisbjerg acted for Swedish private equity fund Segulah on the sale of Danish discount mobile operator BiBoB to Telenor.

German-qualified lawyer Frans Rossen heads the M&A team at Delacour Dania, which also includes Kaj Andreassen and Kristian Andersson. Recent highlights include advising Trackside Holdings on the acquisition of the Finnish subsidiaries of Landic Property, advising Greentech Energy Systems on agreements with EDF Energies Nouvelles, and representing a consortium bidding for Fionia Bank.

Eversheds Advokataktieselskab’s M&A group works closely with Eversheds LLP, handling cross-border transactions for international clients including Tyco, Veolia, Boeing and Adidas. Sam Jalaei assisted Wind Energy on several deals, including the DKK290m purchase of Gortahile Wind Farm, and advised Gate Gourmet on real estate acquisitions in Denmark. Nikolaj Juhl Hansen assisted New Nations Investment on its acquisition of a minority stake in Johnson Oil.

MAQS Law Firm’s six-partner team in Denmark works closely with its offices in Sweden and Estonia, and focuses on cross-border and mid-market transactions. Recent mandates include acting on Goaldirect’s purchase of a division of T-Systems; K/S BI DT Opportunity Fund’s purchase of a majority shareholding in Danske Telecom and subsequent divestment of shares by BankInvest-managed P/S BI IT Venture; UK venture funds Kenneth III A and III B’s investment in GoViral; and LEM Group’s acquisition of Danfysik ACP. Lars Lokdam heads the group.

J Korsø Jensen at Mazanti-Andersen, Korsø Jensen & Partnere handles M&A transactions and corporate restructurings in numerous industry sectors.

Philip Law Firm maintains a strong M&A practice, advising equity funds, investment companies and industrial companies. Steen Rode, Jakob Kristensen and Jesper Rothe are recommended. The team represented Primagaz in its acquisition of the gas division of Statoil and acted on the sale of the Danish business of Ingram Micro.

Johannes Leipold and his team at DAHL Advokatfirma handle mergers involving regional banks. It also advises corporate clients on Danish and international transactions.

Danders & More’s managing partner Anders Hansen and Claus Abildstrøm handled a steady flow of Danish and international deals in 2009. They advised Siemens on a due diligence review of the Danish subsidiaries of Innotec, ACS-Trælast in connection with an unsolicited takeover bid, and Doughty Hanson on its acquisition of Svendborg Brakes.

Hamburg-based Knud Damsgaard at Focus Advokater (LLP) handles restructuring and bankruptcy work, particularly in the real estate sector. Otto Sliid undertakes international and cross-border work, while Peter Ringsted handles transactional work for Swedish shipowners.

Lassen Ricard represented Schades Holding in its acquisition of international paper products manufacturer Schades Papir, and advised a bank consortium on the acquisition of N&W Global Vending. Lennart Ricard ‘lends a positive atmosphere to difficult negotiations’, while Peter Lambert and Thomas Riise ‘are very knowledgeable and always available.’

Erik Hovgaard at Lund Elmer Sandager represents leading Danish consulting engineers Alectia in acquisitions in Denmark and abroad.

Dan Moalem and his team at newly established Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen bring ‘commercial understanding, speed and value for money’ to high-profile deals, notably representing Realdania in its takeover of Danish real estate conglomerate, Kuben. New client wins include M. Goldschmidt Capital, the majority shareholder in domestic appliances giant, Imerco.

Torben Mauritzen at NORDIA Law Firm handles cross-border real estate mergers, notably for a subsidiary of ABN AMRO Life. He represented Kiwi Deposit Holdings in its purchase of NASDAQ OMX-listed Gudme Raaschou Vision. Michael Vesthardt’s longstanding clients include AstraZeneca and Valora Trade Denmark.