The Legal 500

Accura Advokatpartnerselskab recruited Henrik Juul Hansen and his team from Rønne & Lundgren. They join a ‘credible, reliable’ group that handled more transactions than any other Danish firm. Thomas Weincke, who ‘cuts straight to the issues and is very persuasive in his arguments’, assisted Swedish capital fund Ratos in its DKK1.09bn acquisition of Stofa from TeliaSonera. Jesper Schultz Larsen represented Mediq in its acquisition of Oriola-KD Healthcare Trade; Morten Jensen assisted Saxo Bank with its contemplated take over of retail savings institution Brørup Sparekasse. Jacob Vinther Michael Vinther, Thomas Kræmer, commended for his ‘honest negotiation style’, and senior partner Kåre Stolt are leading names.

Jacob Hjortshøj and his ‘experienced, knowledgeable’ team at Bech-Bruun represented Lindorff Group (owned by Altor and Investor AB) on its DKK820m acquisition of debt collection company Finansservice. Tue Frandsen and Monica Reib advised Swedish Teracom on its €186m acquisition of the broadcast infrastructure businesses from DR and TV2. Søren Meisling advised on the €1.2bn cross-border merger between PBS Holding and Norwegian Nordito. Niels Kornerup and Jesper Kaltoft advised Nordic Sugar on its sale of Maribo Seed International to Syngenta. Philip Risbjørn, Mikkel Baaring Lerche and Nikolaj Bjørnholm left to join Hannes Snellman Attorneys at Law Ltd.

Gorrissen Federspiel provides ‘swift response times and cost-effective advice’. It focuses on big-ticket deals, handling seven M&A transactions with values exceeding DKK1bn. Department head Tomas Haagen Jensen and Niels Heering advised Nykredit on the DKK2.5bn sale of its insurance company Nykredit Forsikring. Finn Møller advised DFDS on its acquisition of Norfolk Line. Klaus Søgaard, whose ‘calm and relaxed tactics are much appreciated’, advised TeliaSonera on the DKK1.1bn sale of STOFA. Rikke Schiøtt Petersen and Camilla Collet are recommended.

At Kromann Reumert, Anders Stubbe Arndal advised DONG Energy on the divestment of part of its fibre communications network to TDC. Peter Ketelsen assisted EQT Infrastructure with its acquisition of hazardous waste treatment company Kommunekemi. Jens Steen Jensen advised Gjensidige Forsikring on its DKK2.5bn acquisition of Nykredit Forsikring and Caroline Pontoppidan advised TrygVesta in its acquisition of Morderna Forsäkring and the divestment of its Marine Hull business to Codan. Henrik Møgelmose represented Finansiel Stabilitet on the acquisition of the banking activities of Gudme Raaschou Bank and Capinordic Bank and the sale of Dansk OTC. Christian Lundgren is advising Scandinavian Tobacco Group on its agreement with Swedish Match. Marianne Philip, Jørgen Kjergaard Madsen, Anders Lavesen, and Aarhus-based Poul Viggo and Bartels Petersen are also recommended.

Plesner’s ‘talented M&A lawyers’ Finn Lernø, Jacob Bier and Christian Kjølbye focus on big-ticket deals. Jacob Bier and Torben Nørskov acted for new client A P Moller-Maersk in the €345m sale of Norfolk Line to DFDS, advised DR and TV2|DANMARK on the sale of Danish broadcasting infrastructure assets to Teracom and represented EQT Expansion Capital II in its investment in windmill manufacturer Skykon. The ‘responsive, sensitive and whip smart’ Thomas Holst Laursen and his team are representing Swedish Match in negotiations with Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

At Bruun & Hjejle, ‘top partners with excellent skills’ include ‘super negotiator’ Mogens Thorninger, Oluf Engell, Mogens Ebeling, ‘flexible, fast’ Christian Schow Madsen, Morten Stadil, Robin Philip, Henrik Rossing Lønberg, Karsten Kristoffersen, Christian Gregersen Andreas Nielsen and lateral hire Henning Aasmul-Olsen from Danske Bank. Highlights included representing PensionDanmark in its €95m acquisition of 50% of offshore wind park Nysted Havvindmøllepark to create a joint venture with DONG Energy, handling the Danish elements of Herkules’ €375m sale of Handicare to Nordic Capital and Intel’s €1.1bn acquisition of Infineon’s wireless solutions business.

Horten advises public-sector and mid-market clients with particular focus on the energy and utility sectors. Lise Lotte Hjerrild, who 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 Benteler in connection with its eight-jurisdiction acquisition of Norsk Hydro’s automotive structure business. Practice head Hans Christian Pape advised Danone in its acquisition of 41% of Aqua d’or mineral water from Feldt Holding and Pernod Ricard on the Danish elements of its SEK835m sale of Swedish and Danish assets to Altia.

The ‘remarkably fast and precise’ Lett Law Firm recruited Søren Brinkmann from Eversheds Advokataktieselskab. Group head Sebastian Ingversen acted for longstanding client TDC in its strategic purchase of DONG’s fibre network. Finn Overgaard ‘brilliantly assists with complicated issues’. Along with Ulrik Bangsbo Hansen Overgaard advised Invitel Holdings on transferring a majority shareholding to Mid Europa Partners and its subsequent debt restructuring. Torkil Høg and Ulrik Bangsbo Hansen advised Shell on the strategic divestment of its Danish oil distribution business to DDC Energy and on distribution agreements with DCC and DLG. Other instructions included advising CW Obel on the joint venture between Swedish Match and Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Jutland-based Niels Bo Andersen and Hans-Christian Ohrt are recommended.

At Lind Cadovius, Jens Krogh Petersen assisted Visma with its €70M purchase of the Sirius IT group and KKR’s €1.3bn investment in Visma. Petersen acted for the sellers of Copenhagen Airport handling company Novia in the sale of its Danish operations to Odin Equity Partners. Marlene Winther Plas, Martin Lavesen and Søren Jørgensen are recommended.

Nielsen Nørager’s team which handles M&A transactions, venture capital and funds work, hired Frantz Palluden and a seven-strong team from Lind Cadovius. Morten Eldrup-Jørgensen and Jakob Mosegaard Larsen represented Thermo Fisher Scientific in its acquisition of Proxeon.

German-qualified lawyer Frans Rossen heads the team at Delacour Dania, which includes Kaj Andreassen and Kristian Andersson. Aarhus-based Kristian Tokkesdal joined from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma and Mikkel Primdal Kæregaard was elected partner. Recent highlights include advising Union Engineering on its sale to Capidea, advising Logimatic Software on its sale to AVEVA and representing BankNordik (previously Føroya Banki) in the acquisition of 12 branch offices of Sparbank.

Eversheds Advokataktieselskab lost senior partner Sam Jalaei and his three partner team to Lett Law Firm. Managing partner Troels Askerud has also left the firm. Senior partner Nikolaj Juhl Hansen works closely with Eversheds LLP, handling cross-border transactions for clients including Tyco, Veolia, Boeing and adidas. Juhl Hansen advised SPX on its acquisition of food equipment manufacturer Gerstenberg Schröder and Codan Forsikring on the acquisition of a marine hull insurance portfolio from TrygVesta. Jalaei’s clients include Green Wind Energy, Spectronic Denmark and Gate Gourmet and he is lead counsel to a London FTSE 100 listed company in a €2.4m arbitration matter involving intellectual property right and contract law.

MAQS Law Firm’s ‘readily available’ six-partner team works closely with its offices in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and focuses on cross-border and mid-market transactions. Recent mandates include Univar USA’s purchase of a division of Shell, Norwegian Cellcura’s purchase of IHMedical, and Royal Philips Electronics’ acquisition of lighting companies. Lars Lokdam heads the group which also fields Philip Graff.

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

Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen recruited the ‘very thorough’ Christoffer Galbo from Kromann Reumert and Jakob Bundgaard from Deloitte. Dan Moalem and his ‘tight, coordinated team’ advised Brørup Sparekasse on its sale to Saxo Bank, and Intrum Justitia in the takeover of Citi Bank’s credit card portfolio in Denmark.

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.

Having lost leading M&A partners to Accura Advokatpartnerselskab, Rønne & Lundgren merged with Amstrup Jung & Partnere, a breakaway entity comprising former Copenhagen partners of DAHL Advokatfirma. Practice head Nicolai Jung, senior partner Michael Gaarmann and lateral hire from Gorrissen Federspiel Jens Folker Bruun, assisted with the sale of TS Transport to Post Danmark and advised Saxo Bank on the acquisition of E-Trade Bank.

DAHL Advokatfirma’s Thomas Markert, Frederik Bruhn and Jesper Nørgaard represent clients in Copenhagen while Dan Larsen in Esbjerg and Johannes Leipold in Viborg represent major players in the energy market.

Danders & More merged with NSR Advokatfirma, adding nine lawyers to the team. Senior partner Anders Hansen advised Siemens on a due diligence review of the Danish subsidiaries of Innotec and ACS-Trælast in connection with an unsolicited takeover bid. Claus Abildstrøm is ‘fast, knowledgeable and firm in difficult situations’.

Hamburg-based Knud Damsgaard at Focus Advokater (LLP) handles restructuring and insolvency work. Otto Sliid undertakes international and cross-border work, while Peter Ringsted handles transactional work for Swedish shipowners.

At Lassen Ricard, practice heads Lennart Ricard and Thomas Riise represented Vehicle Communication Sweden in the acquisition of Comlog and Comlog Telematic Solutions.

Carsten Brink and Philip Baruch head Lund Elmer Sandager’s practice. Baruch advised Ricoh Denmark in its merger with Ikon Office Solutions. Morten Schwartz Nielsen advised Lindhardt in its acquisition of a software company, and Erik Hovgaard represents consulting engineers Alectia.

NORDIA Law Firm’s Niels Schiersing is advising Andco on its €5m management buy-out from Omnicom. Together with the firm’s Swedish partners, Schiersing advised Twentyfourseven on the acquisition of EBH from Nordisk Film. Torben Mauritzen, who also handles real estate transactions, advised on the €4m sale of skin product manufacturer Dermapharm. Michael Vesthardt left to join MAQS Law Firm.